This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Chuck Stover, the talented designer from Michigan, specializing in beautiful dice for tabletop Role Playing Games.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?
I’m an artist who lives in Lansing, MI. I graduated from Michigan State University with a BFA in sculpture.

What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?
I have played tabletop RPGs for the past 20 years and as soon as I heard of Shapeways I knew that I wanted to make some amazing dice to use at our weekend games. I aim to impress my gaming group with every new set. If they like them, I know other people will too. My non-dice designs are made for my friends and family and, again, if they like them, I know other people will as well.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
A poster on the Enworld.org game forums posted information about a miniature he was making for a game and included a link to Shapeways.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?
I taught myself during a long layoff from my factory job.

How do you promote your work?
I posted my work to various RPG forum sites when I was first starting out, and my friends sometimes post pictures of the models I give them on Reddit. My self-promotion skills aren’t great, and it’s something I need to improve once I start designing full time.

Who are your favorite designers or artists?
In school I was inspired by the work of George Ohr and Robert Arneson. Lately I have been admiring the work of local (to me) origami artist Beth Johnson.


Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?

Bathsheba’s designs are always fascinating to me. Brian Chan’s arthropods are intricate and amazing. I enjoy Michael Mueller’s designs for their whimsy and clean design.

If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
With the recent expansions of 3D printing technologies (human kidneys, houses, chocolate) I’m not sure I can think of anything that someone, somewhere, couldn’t print. Maybe a spare brain in case something happens to the one I have.

Check out more dice and other amazing products by Chuck in his Shapeways Shop or his website. If you’d like to be featured, feel free to email aimee@shapeways.com.