Resin Dice

Dice are my self-indulgent craft. Are they practical? No. Do they sell well? No. Do they increase my online presence? Also no. But damn they're fun to make, and I hope you think so too.

1. Do a Google search. 

I said this would always be the first step, and I'm not kidding. Do a Google search, and then notice what the results are. What kinds of dice are people making? What words are they using to describe them? If you’re struggling for key words, try phrases ranging from “resin dice” to “handmade resin” to “fancy dnd dice”. As you find terms you’re unfamiliar with, add those to your searches. You don’t need to save these searches or tabs. Just follow the links, absorb the content, and move on.

While you’re exploring, I recommend keeping an eye out for three key things: tutorials, examples, and debates. For tutorials, I like platforms like Youtube, Tiktok, and personal blogs. For examples, I tend more towards places like Pinterest or Etsy. Then, if you really want to get a grasp on the ins and outs of a craft, the next place to check is the forums.

People have opinions on their craft. They have advice, and horror stories, and words of caution. Find at least one resin forum, and look through it until you find two people having a disagreement. That’s where you’re going to get the real scoop.

2. Gather your supplies.

The supplies that you're going to use to make resin dice will vary wildly. At the bare minimum, you need a few things, and I'm going to talk about that here.

• Gloves (I like surgical gloves, but you do you)

• A ventilator mask (the kind with the filters you screw on, I am not messing around with this one)

• A large, flat surface (resin will stick to whatever you drop it on, just so you know)

• Container (if you get little silicone measuring cups, then you don't have to get a separate measuring device)

• Resin (there are so many opinions about resin, but I tend to like Teexpert)

• Colorant or Inclusions (unless you want perfectly clear dice)

• Paint or Ink (for the numbers)

• Dice Mold

Ready for the safety talk? Use a mask. Use a mask. Use a goddamn mask. A good mask, too, the kind that you'd use for sanding or chemical safety. Resin fumes are not to be fucked with. Goggles are ideal too, but at the bare minimum, use a mask. Okay?

Now, let's talk pressure pot.

I have never been able to make bubble-free dice without a pressure pot. There's lots of recommendations that really improved my game, but at the end of the day, the only thing that got rid of those pesky bubbles was a pressure pot. If you're only making one set and you can live with some bubbles, great! Don't get a pressure pot! If you want to commit to dice making as a hobby, or god forbid a profession (don't look at me), you'll want a pressure pot.

3. Design Your Dice.

Do this ahead of time. Learn from engineers, I am begging you. Do not wait until you've mixed your resin to decide what you want to put in your dice. Make a little scribbly sketch beforehand. Write it down. Get the things you need and line them up in a neat little row and pretend that they're friends playing make-believe in their neighborhood playground. Whatever works for you is fine, but make a plan before you pour.

4. Pour Your Resin!

The instructions on your chosen resin should be pretty clear, but just in case, here's the long and short of it:

1. Measure out how much total resin you need (I like to pour water in, then pour that water into a measuring container)

2. Mix 1/2 part A and 1/2 part B, or whatever your resin mixture says

3. Stir for the recommended time

4. Add your colorants, inclusions, etc. Or pour the resin into the mold, and then add your fancy stuff, depending on your design.

5. Put the cap on your mold(s)

6. Optional: Put that bad boy in your pressure pot. Pressurize the pot. Wait.

If you're wondering whether I have recommendations.... I do. I like to pour a little boiling water from a kettle into a glass dish, then put my silicone mixing cup in the hot water before I start stirring. My resin requires 3 minutes of stirring, so I stir for two minutes, add one drop of clear blending alcohol ink for every ten milligrams of resin, and then stir for one more minute.

I also use a lighter at every step in the whole goddamn process to pop bubbles. Done stirring? Lighter. Poured some resin in the mold? Lighter. Tapped the mold down, let it sit while I pour more dice? Lighter. Cap is ready to go on? Lighter. Giving the resin more time to sit in the mold and then using a lighter at each stage has really cut down on the amount of bubbles I end up with.

Finally, I don't put resin on my cap. This is a bit controversial, but personally I find I tend to trap air between the resin on the cap and the resin in the mold, so I just overfill my molds the tiniest bit, then put the cap directly on.

All of these things are just suggestions. If you're like me, you're going to look at every single one of these, ignore them, and then reluctantly try them one at a time to see which ones might actually help. More power to you.

5. Revel in Your Failure (or Success)

Congratulations! You made dice! They probably even work as dice, even if they look wonky. Maybe you ended up with a huge bubble that makes your d10 completely unusable. In that case, congratulations! You failed!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: even if you didn't learn anything from it, failure is a success. Failure is the price we pay for improvement. If you are afraid of failure, you will never start. So instead, revel in your failure. Put a little shelf up in your home and put all your failures on it where you can show them off. Do whatever you need to do to celebrate your failures.

If you got some serotonin from this whole process, then try it again! Even if it didn't work the first time, maybe it will work the next time, or the time after. Try it differently, or make something a little to the left. If you want some inspiration, stick around for more tutorials! 

Hey. Great job. Thanks for making dice with me.