I got into 3d printing initially to pair with my miniature/model painting services. I've been in the miniature painting industry for about 20 years now. The plan was to offer 3d printing so my customers wouldn't have to wait for shipping from Hero Forge, Etsy, and other such companies and I could control the quality of the print. The 3D printing side of things took a life of its own and I ended opening up to full services to anyone that needed their files and creations printed out. While I print for everyone now, I still paint. This Tiamat project was completed last year around this time and sent off to finish a long running D&D game.
This Tiamat design was made by Lord of the Print and the files can be found on MyMiniFactory. I printed it out on my Epax X10 and Sonic Mini 4K over the course of the week and had it painted within a month.
I added the photos as a project in my gallery, but I'll add a few here as well.
I start out with printing all the parts out and make sure they're cleaned and dry. Any large parts, such as the wings and heads, get pinned. I work in sub-assemblies, which means I assemble as much as I can without parts getting in the way of painting. Gaps are filled with putty or light cure resin. I sand the seams and make sure all parts look seamless.
An airbrush is used for the first coats of paint and maybe some highlights and I paint the rest of the details with a brush.
It's time consuming, but these are some of my favorite projects. If you'd like to see more work, visit Still Life Miniatures. That site is a little behind on being updated but it gives an idea of what I do for painting commissions.
If you have any questions or would like to inquire about a commission, please contact me and I'll be happy to help.