why link these sculptors?
Essentially, two reasons.
Firstly - I like them! these are all sculptors I have supported at some point myself in the past or would in the future, I know they make high quality stuff and are among the creators I 'keep tabs on' as they suit my needs for my personal games :) I may add to this list in future with those I think are awesome, even if they don't suit my personal style, but for now they're all stuff I'd use :)
Secondly - I don't like my videos feeling restricted creatively. Whenever I have an STL sponsor, as part of the sponsorship I now make sure they understand that other creator's minis will feature in the video, because purely using the sponsor's minis is unrealistic (in terms of getting enough printed and painted for every video!) and also creatively restricting. At the end of the day, the video quality for the audience is the most important thing to me.
So instead, I came up with a way I could still work with them, especially smaller creators who can't always afford sponsorships - AND they could help the channel, without it feeling too restrictive on me or unfair on them! What I do now is offer to creators I like is a place in the equipment list, as well as the opportunity to share a small taster of minis with my patrons, which will then be briefly featured in a video alongside other creator's work in a fair and balanced way.
I do still do sponsorships with STL creators, but only on the understanding that their product doesn't control or restrict the art of the video. This is my way of ensuring my videos stay true to their intended purpose :)
Alexei is my go-to for dark, brooding and brutal minis. He makes a stunning pack of dark souls-esque weirdness every month, and even if you have a more mundane style for your minis most of the time, his packs work perfectly as undead, extraplanar or downright far realm madness.
His minotaur (aurox) are gruesome and bloodthirsty, perfect creations of Baphomet! His various insane undead monstrosities are perfect for mad necromancers and Thanatos, realm of Orcus alike. And most of his packs come with some very nice scatter terrain that adds a lot of flavour to your modular tiles.
Highly reccommend.
João , his partner and their studio are stunning new creators I've recently spotted who sculpt beautiful realistic heroes, monsters, scatter terrain and busts (including 75mm versions) much in the same format as certain other high end STL creators.
Their minis just ooze character, particularly the heroes, and the monsters are very D&D focused rather than just 'doing their own thing', which I massively appreciate, and I think some of you might too. We actually have an awesome mini for a banderhobb now!
I will definitely be availing myself of their sculpts in the future, for me its a matter of getting them painted to appear on the channel!
Ignazio makes some fantastic sets that I like for fairly specific uses. He's recently started adding NPCs to the lineup of each release (not sure if he plans to continue EVERY time!) which are fantastic for running city scenes in nonhuman or culturally specific areas that feel perfect and add that master level of attention to detail...for when the party need to rescue them from slavering monsters :D
On top of those though he makes some great elves, and his egyptian set was a really nice 'clean' set that you don't see often, perfect if your egyptian culture is a bit more complex than 'evil and mummies and stuff'!
I first found him through his 'magitek' steampunk release though. These I snapped up for that steampunk campaign we all have planned! I actually ran mine once...and with these musket-soldier minis I'm tempted to run it again...
He also colours many of his releases, which is a nice touch that can really help the less confident of use choose a paint scheme that works :) Oh and his sculpting style really lends itself to beginner painting, its very clean, with lots of clear, segmented areas, perfect for learning brush control.