From Video game Designer To 3D Modeler- MTM #23 WanderingWastelander

In this episode of 'Meet the Makers,' we sit down with Wandering Wastelander, a skilled 3D modeler, printer, and game enthusiast. Discover how he turned personal challenges into creative opportunities, leading to his passion for 3D modeling and printing. Learn about his journey into 3D game development, his love for the Fallout series, and his various maker projects, including a stunning 1:1 scale plasma rifle from Fallout 4 and 76. We also delve into his foray into resin printing and sticker creation. Tune in for insights, tips, and inspiring stories from a maker who brings virtual worlds to life.

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Where to find WanderingWastelander
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wanderingwastelander?lang=en
Etsy:https://etsy.com/shop/WwdesignsShop
Cults3D: https://cults3d.com/en/users/wanderingwastelander/3d-models 
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Come be a guest on meet the makers: https://forms.gle/wTqzxqGpsu9hZ39F6

Follow misfit printing on Tiktok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@misfit_printing

Chapters 
00:00 Welcome to Meet the Makers: Featuring Wandering Wastelander
00:18 Journey into 3D Printing and Modeling in Nomad Sculpt
02:09 From Gaming to 3D Modeling: A Creative Transition
03:34 The Fallout Fandom: A Deep Dive
06:09 Exploring Current and Future Projects
08:09 The Challenges and Triumphs of 3D Printing
18:36 Diving into Digital Art and Sticker Creation
22:35 Venturing into Resin Printing: A New Frontier
28:35 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Wandering Wastelander Online

Transcript

riverside_wandering_& kate _ may 20, 2024 001_misfit_printing's s 
[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of meet the makers today. I have a 3d printer. He 3d prints, he 3d models. And when he's not doing both of those, you might find him out wandering the wasteland. Super excited to have you on here today. Wandering Wastelander. Thank you so much for coming on.
Howdy. So I'll kick us off with the question that I start everybody off with here. How did you get into 3D printing, 3D modeling, and just all your maker hobbies in general? 3D modeling I've got bad back problems.
So many years ago, probably 15 ish years ago, I was on short term disability through my work, and then I ended up losing my job. I ended up with a lot of extra time on my hands, and I decided that instead of sitting and moping and feeling down on myself, I was going to use that time to do something.
So I started a game project. Which pushed me into 3d modeling and things like that for video games using unity [00:01:00] and that kind of thing and I got to a point where I was like, I like this better than I do the programming stuff because It's not really my strongest suit. But fast forward to now.
As far as getting the 3D printer, as soon as the technology started coming down in price, and this has been many years ago, I knew I wanted one. And I knew that I wanted one because of the fact that I'm like as soon as I get one I'm going to be full throttle that there's not going to be any like hey, this is something I know i'm already interested in it because i've been 3d modeling and stuff for a while and I lost a lot of my game project stuff.
It took the air out of me, but now that I've got the printers, it gives me a chance to actually take those 3D models, turn them into something tangible. And here we are. Of course I do other stuff like the resin pour kind [00:02:00] of things like dice and things like that, that I haven't done a whole lot of videos and stuff on electronics.
Really I delved into a lot of stuff. I actually didn't know that you had a background in doing some game stuff. And one of your files that comes to mind for me, it was actually one of the first files that I saw you. post on cults, but you had a Mothman file and the way that you had displayed it on there, I don't see 

a lot of modelers do this, but you had, it had almost been this like beautifully lit scene. 
And I don't know if like your background and maybe like doing game stuff, fed into how you presented that model on there, but I remember seeing it, and for people who aren't familiar with what I'm talking about it's on Colts3D, but really it was just the way it was presented was so beautiful.
Did you feel like that skill set from the gaming side of things translated into your skills when you started doing the modeling for the 3D printing side? Absolutely. And I know exactly what model you're talking about. That'd be the pole dancer mock man, I'm guessing. So yeah, a lot of that was me learning [00:03:00] Nomad and getting into that particular program, even though I know how to do things in other programs.
It's a little different. It's more, I would say closer akin to Some of the paint programs and stuff just the way that it's set up on the screen and everything else it Leans in that direction more so it's a lot easier for people to come across to it If I had to guess it was for me but yeah, absolutely video games definitely play a part in a lot of things that I do.
Yeah for people who haven't concluded already from your name on here you're obviously a big Fallout fan. I don't have a ton of experience playing Fallout. I think I played, maybe it was Fallout 4 I played once, and I don't know if I'm thinking of the right one, but the opening cutscene for it, I watched, it was, like, so realistic almost It seems like there's a huge following for that game and people are really passionate about it.
What was your introduction to playing that and how has that kind [00:04:00] of evolved for you over the years of playing that? This'll definitely age me. So I graduated high school in 1997. that game came out, Later that year, in November, I didn't have the money to get one, Fallout 1, the very first one.
It came out in 97, I think I got it in 98. The first part of 98, whenever I was able to. it came out on DOS. It wasn't even like a regular Windows game as you would think of it now. It was on DOS. And what drew me to it was the storytelling side of things was so much different than anything else that I'd ever played.
And I just. really like the way that everything was set up. You could explore. Of course, you pay for it sometimes. Die out in the middle of the desert because 

some radroach got you But I definitely enjoy that [00:05:00] aspect of it. The explorative side and the story side. 
It just pulled me in. And then, from there, I got every game since. the first Bethesda one was Fallout 3. And, I just, I liked the fact that they changed direction a little bit. And, I've just stuck with it since then. Of course I'm also, a Bethesda fan in general.
I also like some other games, like I'm a fan of Bioshock, I like that game style. There's a few other games that are in that realm. And It's just always been a passion for me to begin with, and obviously with a name like Wandering Wastelander, I ran with it. Yeah, that was when I first came onto TikTok, I think you almost in theme with the storytelling and that game being so good you had stood out to me and it was always really easy to recognize you on here because you yourself almost had just a storytelling aspect and you [00:06:00] always fell into your game.
Just, it was really easy to recognize you on the platform. So I always liked that about your content. And recently I know you've been doing different models like around followed as well. Can you talk a little bit about some of the different projects that you've been working on recently?
So probably one of the biggest. Most obvious projects is this little guy or rather big guy that's on the table behind me If I lean out of the way for the folks that are just doing audio I'm doing a one to one scale, plasma rifle, from fallout 4 fallout 76 it's a commission for a friend and it's going to be fully lit.
It's going to have sounds I mean i'm going to Going all out on it. And I've been working on it since March, And just different things have slowed me down. I lost my job. Just printers giving me problems. And there's always something when you're a project creator, you're making things, there's always something that's going to put a little bit of a wrench [00:07:00] in the proverbial, you I don't know how to word that best.
Throw a wrench in the whole process. Another model that I'll probably be releasing here pretty soon. I'm working on a retro TV switch stand. I've also got a Mimic Dice Tower, that's also a dice drawer and pencil holder. That thing is massive. I've actually pulled the size down a little bit, because I had somebody else in the community print one for me, because at the time my printer was down, and yeah.

Big is an understatement. Let me adjust that some. I'm always working on something right now non public. Printing projects. As far as design goes, I'm working on some stuff from a portfolio because I am applying for some game dev positions for like 3D modeling character design, things of that nature, pretty much just seeing what'll [00:08:00] stick. 
As well as just, I may end up having to just take a regular job until something comes along. Yeah. Yeah, I know. It really is always something for your plasma rifle. in that project specifically, I guess either like on the modeling side or on the printing side, has there been anything that you would consider like the biggest challenge so far in that project?
I think my biggest challenge has been that my Sovol, my big printer, my Sovol SV03 has been down. I've replaced a bunch of parts on it and obviously there's parts on that won't really fit on my Ender unless I cut them. And I'm trying to avoid cutting anything down any more than I absolutely have to.
Because I've got to, basically ship this in two parts so that I'm not shipping them basically this really long, like weird looking box or whatever. But that would be my biggest challenge. So [00:09:00] it slows me down because there's only one printer I can do it on. It's just, it's been a headache in that aspect, It's hit or miss. There's little things here and there that I think it's going to work. And then I print the whole thing. And then that didn't work out at all. So I'm like, I've just wasted a third of a roll of that's something I'm always curious about for like modelers. I guess how often when you're like modeling something and then like actually bringing it to the printer and running it I guess how much of that is prototyping where you have to print it, go back, change it.
Like how is that process typically for you? And like the initial prints. With. Anything that is moving, anything where there, your pressure fitting, anything that's connected that you have to have a little bit of space for it to connect correctly. What I'll usually do is print as little of something as I can so that I can keep from using too much filament.
And then if it looks good from there, I'll usually print [00:10:00] the whole thing. Now, of course, sometimes that doesn't work out, 
As far as prototyping goes, I do my best to print as little of something as I can Or Icompletely commit to the whole piece just so I can keep from wasting filament for no reason. the rest of the project may be fine, but if that one little hinge or whatever, I'm worried about connection, little pins and stuff like that.

If that one part doesn't fit, then, I've just wasted You know who knows how much filament for that project. I always say I don't have my printers super dialed in, so my tolerances is always something I struggle with, and I oftentimes will be doing a larger print where, like you said, they either have to the pieces fit together, or, they need to be, like pretty The seams have to go together, things like that, and it's so often that I'll get them both pieces printed out, and then they just don't quite fit together. 
However, I will say, I have not tried this, but I saw an [00:11:00] interesting video the other day of somebody, they had two pieces, they weren't quite fitting together just quite right, and they had put one of them in boiling water, and then pressure fit them together, 
So it could have a little bit of bind. So I've never seen somebody do that before, but I thought that was actually really clever. What I'll usually do if I'm going to do something like that is I'll take my little torch at a distance and heat it up just enough to where the plastic is just a little bit.
I don't want to melt it, obviously, because then you get it stuck and, it's not a great thing, but that's the same idea as boiling the part, I've I've gotten with my with my heat gun before, and I get a, I think I get a little too excited with the heat gun because I have full on just melted my parts.
Before, so when I saw him dip it in boiling water, I was like, it probably can't go too wrong with that. So I'll have to try that one in the future. keep this lady away from open flame. We might have explosions. Yeah. Things things don't end well here when fire gets involved. But you have a lot of different experience be it on the [00:12:00] game side or be it on the modeling side in making these different projects. I'm familiar with you using most and I've seen your videos. I know you've done some tutorials on it is Nomad in particular.
Is that kind of the main thing that you're using these days? Or are there other softwares that you kind of use when you model? especially on organic models, I'm mostly using Nomad because as I mentioned earlier, I've got some back problems. So sometimes it's better for me to just lay down and then I can, on my tablet.
Sit there for two hours and model something or you know something like that I've even got it set up to where I can remote to my other computer from my tablet In certain cases and that's whenever I get in to use blender or fusion 360 or Tinkercad I Can go either way, on my tablet or on the computer, 

So I remote from my tablet and play [00:13:00] all out or whatever I want from the comfort of my bed. Yeah, that was actually the appeal of me getting a tablet was I work remotely, so I make most of my content sitting at this desk, but I also work all day sitting at this desk, so typically, like, when I'm done working and done making videos for the day, the last thing I want to do is continue to sit at this desk and model here. 
So I was like, man, yeah, that'd be so nice. I'll get a tablet. I'll just lay on the couch and watch TV and model stuff. I have not devoted enough time to modeling as I would like to, but it seems like Nomad is it, I am not great at it still, but it seems like it is pretty beginner friendly in the sense that like you can pretty quickly.
 Get the basics of it down, but it has the ability for you to really scale and make fantastic things in there, which I think is cool. It definitely has a lot of functionality that you would not have seen in software, say even two or three years ago.
Because the hardware wasn't there, the software back end wasn't there. There's just some things that wouldn't [00:14:00] have worked as well. In fact, some of my earlier like digital drawings were done from a cell phone. I was using a little stylist that I used that it wasn't even like a stylist for the phone.
It was just like a touch pad that pretended to be your finger, but I could get more precise. Things drawn. And then now, with Nomad, it is a little bit more user friendly, I would say because of just the way that it's laid out, but there are a lot of functions in there that you can make some pretty interesting scenes.
Pretty interesting looking stuff. Like I did a campfire scene and added it to my art station. Of course, Nomad doesn't have what they call volumetric simulation, so fire, smoke, that kind of stuff, water. And usually with Blender or some of the other programs that use that kind of stuff, you can run a [00:15:00] simulation and kind of pick the frames that you think look the best based on the way that it simulates smoke and flame and stuff.
But with Nomad, it doesn't have that. So you're stuck with using tricks of light, tricks of material, changing the material to more of a translucent material so that you put the light inside of it and it catches the colors. And if you have multiple, like objects that are, different colors, but they're the same object, just different sizes and twisted and stuff.

It actually makes it look more realistic. So you can get an effect that's similar, it is still limited, but there are a lot of things that a lot of folks don't really utilize within that program. I think what's cool about Nomad 2 and like the tablet in particular is for people who are new into 3D modeling, at least this was my perception was like, I thought for one that you had to have a really intensive heavy computer and most tablets, I [00:16:00] think I believe that it's only on Apple right now, it's Android and Apple. I think. I don't think there's any difference in the program. I think that they release certain updates first on Apple, but I could be wrong. 
That's good. I guess for anybody listening who wants to get into Nomad, I guess it doesn't matter what type of tablet you want. , the other thing that had surprised me about Nomad was The cost, I think when I bought it, I think it like incrementally maybe goes up, but I think it was about like 14 or 16 when I had bought it.
Which again, I come from Adobe and I'm used to paying like a decently high subscription costs per month. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was like just a one time fee and it's like pretty affordable software. So I thought that was cool too. Absolutely. And there's some good free ones.
Like I said, there's Blender. There are some. Modeling programs that are not quite like Nomad that aren't as robust on Android and iPhone iOS devices. But I think Nomad [00:17:00] out of the group is probably In my opinion, one of the better ones, of course, you've got Tinkercad, but Tinkercad is very specific.
You can do a lot of really cool stuff with it, but I think I'd rather do it in Fusion 360, honestly, just because it has some functions that I really need in that program, Tinkercad was my very first thing that I had ever tried and I think that at least for me it was a really good introduction to modeling and getting used to just like being in a 3D space and kind of manipulating a model around, but I see some people do really incredible things in there.
I don't know. I feel for me Tinkercad always feels a little limiting, but I think it's maybe just, like, where your skill set is. You can definitely do a lot of better things in there. And then it seems like your skillset in, if you get proficient in Tinkercad, it seems like it would be easy to transition to Fusion 360 from there.
Absolutely. And that's, I can do things in Tinkercad and I have I just, because I guess I like the [00:18:00] tactile of having the keyboard and getting the number keys and things like that, rather than the way that it's manipulative 

within Tinkercad. Whereas with Nomad, it's designed for that interface. 
For the touchscreen kind of interface, it feels like it's more fluid.
Yeah, I I agree. I think it's again, it will depend if you're looking to make something that's a little more organic or if you're looking to make something that's like a little more on the functional side. But for those organic style pieces, I think Nomad, at least to me, it seems like you said, having that tactile feedback is is helpful and just getting going with that.
Transitioning off of the modeling side and going into one of the other things that I know you do. you do these stickers that you make. How did you getting into sticker creation and what is your process for that?
As far as getting into stickers, I've always been into like digital art and stuff to begin with. And I started messing around with [00:19:00] that style of thing whenever I started Twitch streaming several years back. I'm even an affiliate with Twitch, but it's been like a year since I've streamed.
So You know I got into it mainly to make emotes and things like that, like the little screen surrounds some of that kind of cool stuff, and I decided, you know what, I want to make some stickers for some of these, and I went in that direction. I've got a video up kind of showing a little bit of how I make the stickers where you take a vinyl sticker sheet, you print it, and then I use a cricket machine.
Of course you can do it with any cutter, but yeah, I'll put a laminate on top. And then that way it kind of seals the sticker in and then cut it. And, voila! You've got a sticker, and I've started playing around with some glitter vinyl and some other kinds, [00:20:00] not just the plain white, so that I can have some of that show through on certain stickers.
 seeing the, you're one of my stickers on something of yours or on anybody's any really, it's really it's a neat experience, honestly, because. You looking like that's hundreds of miles away, or thousands or whatever.
It's just neat to see that kind of thing happen. And I appreciate you ordering those from me. It really anytime I get a sticker or anything like that order, I obviously I take a lot of Time to make sure that they're done right.

Yeah. On the flip side of that, it's beencool. sometimes people can see it in the videos, but I have your sticker right back here on my printer, but then slowly I've beenadding to the collection, I have one of Ray Sussman's stickers on My printer as well, and I hope over time for the entire printer to just be covered in different makers stickers. 
I am, a big fan of having stuff like that yeah, it's been [00:21:00] cool on both fronts. And to piggyback off that, I know that you were using the Cricut for And that is another one. There's an endless list of machines I would love to have in my office to just play around with and make different stuff with, but it seems that's at least in terms of being able to make stickers and signs and all kinds of that stuff, that's a machine that's higher up on my list, right now.
Yeah, they're pretty neat machines. If you're doing just. individual stickers. They have the smaller cricket and I think they're a rival company. I can't remember the name of that one, but they have something similar.
And I found out the other day that they have like the coffee cup press and things like that, where you can make coffee cups They're neat. And I didn't realize that Cricket did that kind of stuff. I'm like, cool. Another machine that I wouldn't mind having.
 I've seen a couple people with the mugs that people do where you can do the Cricut with the mugs, and that's another cool thing.
There's just, again, there's endless things out there. If I just had endless budget and endless time, I would I think I would [00:22:00] like to just make everything in my house. Because, I don't know, it's just there's something really satisfying about making your own stuff, especially with stuff that you can use in your house.
It's sure, I can buy something from the dollar store, but why do that when I can spend 30 on crafting supplies? Exactly. Before before we jumped on today, I just, I was at a trip over to Michael's at the craft store and, I went there to pick up a single can of spray paint and then 60 later, here we are.
So it's anytime that you have ideas or projects that just can very quickly go down the rabbit hole becoming an expensive thing, but it's fun nonetheless, I guess I'll say. Absolutely. Now in terms of recent purchases, I think one of the things that you recently got, I think it's your first one.

Did you just get a resin printer for the first time? I did. So I got a Creality Hallet one. It's a smaller one, but I got it for 70 off of Comgro. And they shipped it to me at And of course it was, I didn't read the fine print. It was [00:23:00] a used return and it wasn't like an inspected model. So as they put it on their site, basically there may be some minor parts missing. 
The print bed was missing off of this one. That's not a minor part. So I reached out to ComGrow and. went back and forth with them for a couple of days and they basically came out to, sorry, you bought a used printer. It's like I bought a used printer that I thought I was getting maybe 
a minor thing. So a month later I got one from China. I ordered one off of AliExpress. Got it in I now in fact AkumaMod sent me a 500ml bottle of resin, and I've been a little busy. I printed this little guy, which is SentryBot from Fallout, and then I just got through printing this [00:24:00] one, also.
I'm going through the robots of Fallout, in this. And I don't know if you can see it up in the corner over here, but that is a I don't want to move it because I'll break or fall apart. It's a Cogsworth from Fallout 4, basically. But it's one of the iBots. 
Now, coming from somebody who's done FDM for basically since you've had printers would you say cause I'm always on the fence about getting a resin printer, would you say it's worth having it now that you have it?
And do you like printing with it so far? I absolutely do. In fact, I wish I had one with a bigger built area because there are things that I want to print that are not, there's not quite enough space on there. 
Yeah. So I have that, of course, the costs of resin, but I've had less failures from my resin printer. Of course, you have to take some safety precautions and things like that. And the resin [00:25:00] doesn't smell the greatest. I use denatured alcohol based on what I've seen Akuma mods use he's given me some direction helped me tune everything in but yeah I've got my own little makeshift like Curing station and clean up station and all that kind of stuff.
So I'm definitely all in at this point. Yeah, it's Akuma as I couldn't think of a better person to go to for advice on resin printing, but yeah, it's it the, just like the detail that you can get with resin is something that always makes me just a little curious to get into it. So I might have to follow suit with you now and I might have to go and get one.

Just don't get it from Congro, because you might get one without a build plate. Although, I will say, have a tiny, it's the Snapmaker original. I had bought it off of OfferUp, and I guess shame on me for not checking, but I had picked up the box and Everything looked good. 
They had the original box, everything I thought was inside, and it was actually missing the power cable, so I had to get a power cable [00:26:00] secondhand for that. Now, for you, again, we talked about, so You have your models that you work on, now you're on the resin side of things, you do stickers.
Are there any other big projects or different types of projects that you have coming up in the near future that you're excited about? I'm probably be doing a couple minor paint projects, like some mini type of things. I've done minis before, but it's been a while. 
I'm about to be doing a lot of painting on that plasma ratchel just like I did that wood finish on the stock. It came out pretty good. It looks like wood. Yeah. That came out beautiful. Was it, do you have experienced painting textures like that? Cause it looks like real wood, how you had painted it.
Not so much painting like on physical objects, but doing virtually doing a lot of the digital art and stuff. You get good at smoothing and things. And of course, I have to find the real world equivalents [00:27:00] of some of the brushes I use. But it was that, I think that helps.
Yeah. The fact that I've done that now. I have done things similar in the past, but not anything like that specifically. Yeah. That that came out amazing. I remember seeing the first video of it, and you could've fooled me at least that video. It looks like it's actual wood, so that's pretty cool. But one of the things you said in there that I guess I never had thought of is like maybe your skills in like a digital realm of working in nomad or working somewhere else.
Translating into the real world, which that's cool. And I guess something that I wouldn't have thought of in terms of those skills translating so well. Yeah. If you really think about it, especially like drawing, you're using the same muscles and the same, Things you're just doing in a digital medium now, of course, there's not a back button you can't control z your way out of a smudge or something like that So a lot of times whenever i'm painting something I purposefully try not to go back if I can avoid it [00:28:00] Just so that I'm not in that habit of trying my brain thinking that way whenever I do paint something outside of a digital realm.

Now, thank goodness that on some of my finished products in digital I can do that, but I try to avoid it whenever I can. I rely way too heavily on the back button to the point where I'll be a nomad and I'll be sculpting something and it's not just looking quite right. 
I'm like, Back up to the beginning. And then I do it, I go back and forth like 20 times. It's honestly probably a good piece of advice is to not rely on that, the control C as much as I do. So I like that tip. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk us through your projects that you have going on all the different things that you work on today for people who don't currently follow you or would be interested in checking out some of your different work and some of your different commissions that you're doing right now, where can people find you online?
I'm on TikTok, of course, as a Wandering Wastelander. I'm on Twitter as WanderingWaste1, [00:29:00] and pretty much, it's a combination of either one of those on most platforms. if you find me on any of those, I've got my Beacon's AI link on all of that. If you find one, you can find me on pretty much everything.
Thanks for joining. Yeah, you've got one of the most sophisticated link trees that I've ever seen. They can definitely find you on various places if they find you there. I purposely went through and revamped my stuff because I want it to be like a menu so that it's condensed i've got people that do games and I do some gaming content some 3d printing content just some random me being a silly guy content i've got All these things that kind of come together and sometimes it's hard to figure out where to put them.
Yeah, so Having the that's why I went to beacons ai is So that had that menu drop downs so that you came for 3d [00:30:00] printing great Here's a menu for that if you came to buy something from me first link on the thing or second link, I think And so on. Awesome. I, again, I appreciate you coming on here.
I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to talk to us today. And with that said, that is meet the makers.