In the tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs) community creativity, storytelling and art are essential elements that always inspire dungeon masters and players alike. Miniatures help players visualize their characters, enemies, and the magic world around them. Fantastic Art Studios comes in to work with the community and provide them with artistic and innovative ways to make their RPG experience more immersive. We had the pleasure of speaking with Henry Miranda, one of the minds behind Fantastic Art Studios, to learn more about this exciting new project. Henry has been playing RPGs for over 30 years and has a passion for collecting and bringing high-quality miniatures to the gaming world .
Everything begins with Henry Miranda: a 42-year-old tabletop RPG enthusiast who has been playing since he was just 10 years old. He started out with games like GURPS and Vampire: the Masquerade, but quickly fell in love with Dungeons & Dragons. As if that wasn’t enough, Henry also had a passion for collecting miniatures, not just for using in his games at home, but also for painting. And he had quite the collection!
Over the years, Henry formed many different gaming groups and even had a whole room in his house dedicated to his miniatures so great was his passion. However, as we all know, life sometimes gets in the way, and he had to take a break from gaming due to work commitments. But, he never gave up on his love for collecting miniatures, and that special room in his house remained full of his treasures and brought him fond memories of adventures with friends late at night.
Years later, Henry found himself living in New York and with a family of his own. It was then that he rediscovered his love for gaming and introduced his 11-year-old son, 13-year-old daughter, and wife to the world of RPGs. The most amazing part of this story? His son took a special interest in gaming and quickly bonded with Henry over their shared passion.
Through their gaming sessions, Henry and his son were able to form a stronger relationship and connect on a deeper level. It’s incredible how something as simple as playing tabletop RPGs and collecting and painting miniatures can bring people together, isn’t it? Even better when father and son can really bond with one activity that both share and love. And this is important, because it is this passion and experience that keep inspiring Henry in trying to bring this experience for more people around the world
The idea for Fantastic Art Studios originated from Henry’s personal collection of miniatures. He wanted to create a way for others to access high-quality miniatures without breaking the bank. Not only that, he wanted amazing miniatures, the kind that you smile after opening the box or that represent exactly what you want to show in your tabletop game.
After extensive research and collaboration with renowned traditional sculptors Cicero D’Avila and Alex Oliver as well as the creators from RPG Planet, Henry began working with Gabriel Paula, Art Director, and a talented team of 3D modelers to create the perfect miniatures for his project.
After a year of hard work, the team had created 121 unique high-quality miniatures. With the onset of the pandemic, the team saw an opportunity to help RPG players around the world. They created Black Box Map Maker, a software that uses A.I. Technology to generate random dungeon maps for online (and even in-person) RPG sessions. With this tool everyone can create a map for their game in a matter of minutes, with details and high quality assets. As the GM of your table, you can customize the scenarios and maps to fit its needs, and Black Box Map Maker integrates them with some of the most important virtual tabletops (VTTs) so you and your players can have the best immersive gameplay experience.
Fantastic Art Studios has an important challenge for this year. They plan to release a first collection of miniatures for sale in physical form signed by Cicero D’Avila and Alex Oliver as well as an early access version of Black Box Map Maker, with a focus on the RPG beginners or veterans. In parallel, they have been working on other creative projects for the RPG community.Â
With a commitment to art, innovation, entertainment, high quality and with people that love RPG and everything that the hobby entails, Fantastic Art Studios is coming to make a big change in the world of RPG online and Miniature Collection. So now, there is only one question.
Are you ready for an adventure?
Join our community and get your FREE ready-to-print STL FILE of the Barbarian, a Fantastic Art Studios Miniature signed by renowned sculptor Alex Oliver.
