Forget grey. This tutorial is the gold standard. ✊

@GreylightMay

8 ай бұрын

This is one of my best comments ever! Thank you!!

@spacecentergames

8 ай бұрын

@@GreylightMay Well deserved. Very concise, thorough, and immediately applicable. I could watch you design an entire table of buildings.

@GreylightMay

8 ай бұрын

😁

Extremely helpful to a new user such as myself. Thank you!

@GreylightMay

9 ай бұрын

That's great to hear, thanks for letting me know!

Thank you a million times over for doing an illustrator tutorial. Your method is amazing. I came from doing AutoCad drafting to illustrator and didn't know how to convert that over to using illustrator. ps The style of your building is actually Art Nouveau. It was contemporary with Art Deco but Art Deco was very geometric whereas Art Nouveau was inspired by organic shapes, curves, and nature.

@GreylightMay

2 жыл бұрын

Elspeth, thank you for your comment and for your ps tip. I've probably been using those terms interchangeably for years, and I like to get things right. Now (hopefully) I will!

normally i dont necro post, but io have to thank you for the advice in this video. there is nothing quite like it anywhere. you are a real life saver. thank you so much

@GreylightMay

Жыл бұрын

Such a nice comment, tekno, I really appreciate it! I think there is a real shortage of design content on KZread. People will sell you or even give you their design files but not many people teach you how to make your own. I think that's the most important part, though, which is why I made this video after viewers requested more detailed information. I'm so glad this is useful to you!!

holy moley, your killing it putting his sort of stuff out there!

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

This made me smile, thank you!!

Thank you so much, this is so very helpful!

I've been looking for alternatives for my wargaming scenery and this tutorial is most helpful. Many many thanks!

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Felipe! As soon as the pandemic is over and I can get back to the laser cutter at my local makerspace, I'm going to do a new terrain project. Scale models are among my very favorite things to make!

I wish I could like this video twice! Thank you!

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

John, what a nice thing to say, thank you!

I have been looking for a video just like this one. Thanks so much. Great work 🙂🙂👍👍👏immediately subscribed

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Perhany! I've been unable to do any terrain buildings for awhile, because of the pandemic and losing access to my laser cutter, but I'm hopeful I can do one soon. They are some of my favorite projects!

@galip.

3 жыл бұрын

@@GreylightMay I hope your channel gets more subscribers. You definitely deserve more attention.

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Perhany, I'm very glad YOU found me!

Thank you so much. I've subscribed, keen to get started making my own.

@GreylightMay

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Tristan, scale models are among my favorite projects. Such a wide open and creative process!!

Wow, those look really good. Nice work!

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Rob, for your support - I appreciate it!

You my friend so rock. This is a wonderful tutorial. I am not making a house, but you never know when I may need to make a doll house for a grand baby or what not down the road.I am walking back into the office and going to set up my tabs in Illustrator like you have them to help me with my work flow. Doing the last part and making the arrangement fit into their respective spots as well as the image trace was extremely helpful to me. so thank you so much, I have used the pen too some with photoshop, but doing it like you did and then making the areas curved after the fact is so much easier than trying to make it curved to begin with. have done the cop and flip the image horizontally to make them uniform in the past, but dong the curves after the straight line pen tools looks like a much more efficient way that what I have been doing. Thanks again for taking the time to share this with us and have a blessed week. Dale

@GreylightMay

4 жыл бұрын

Dale, you may have noticed that this is longer than my normal videos but I had several requests for an in-depth one focusing on the design step and I'm glad you found this helpful!

@HeartlandMakesAndOutdoors

4 жыл бұрын

Greylight May yes mam. I noticed and appreciated it very much. I’m in the office making some templates for leather parts, because you taught me how. Thank you so much. I’m a hugger, so don’t punch me in the face when I get to meet you someday. ;). Thank you so much. Your very helpful. What your teaching, how your teaching. It works for me. Thank you. Have a blessed weekend. Dale.

what a lovely work ! that is AMAZING! !!!

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Carla, this is one of my favorite projects as well; I really loved making it! I'm so glad you like it...

Your videos are wonderful, thank you!

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, bat, you have no idea how much I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a message!

Thanks GM, from an old designer/manufacturer, who grew up in the old days learning my skills as i went along, and hand crafting producing models for customers, this is an eye opener, i don't understand most of what you are doing but you certainly have a way of making the whole piece very very interesting. So now i know why all these flat packed wargames buildings are being made, its computer geeks, it appears you dont need artistic skills so much these days you need computer skills, ah, the world moves on. tks.

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Artourious, I really enjoyed your comment, thank you! I like to believe I have some artistic skills as well, but you are right - now that CNC machines are accessible to ordinary people like me, computer skills have become very useful. There is a learning curve for software like Illustrator and I hope my videos can help others get up that curve faster.

@artourious6346

6 жыл бұрын

GM, many thanks for your reply. You certainly have artistic skills, a have gone through some of your other posts. I retired 4 years ago, and sold up my wargames businesses at the right time by the look of it. We were one of the leading manufacturers of resin wargames and fantasy buildings, where an artistic skill was required to produce a master, a master mold and a production mold, and a skill in the casting and cleaning of the product. It appears now if you have computer skills, and have a good laser cutter you can produce a ready commercial product.

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

The laser cutter is hard to beat for things that can be reduced to flat, 2D components, but there are a lot of things for which creating a 3D model and molds is the only way to go. I know people who are using 3D printers to make the 3D models, but I haven't gotten into that yet myself. 3D CAD software is even harder to use than Illustrator, and I don't have access to high quality 3D printers (yet). Someday......

This was amazingly helpful!! Thank you so much!!

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Fab, I appreciate it! I get access again to my laser cutter in June and some new scale models are at the top of my project list!!

This video is amazing

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Andrew, thank you, I appreciate you saying that!

This is some great stuff. :D

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Snail Mail!

Great video...

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you, it's a long one and it's been nice to see that people are interested enough to watch it. I wasn't sure I could hold anyone's attention for 15 minutes!

I've been looking into getting a lazercutter to make my own buildings. 10mm and up, your videos are great.

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Paladin, my terrain projects are some of my favorites!! I'm glad they are helpful to you...

Aaaawesome!

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Lars! Since this is a different kind of video for me (long and more detailed) it is good to have feedback on whether or not it has value...

I found your channel when looking for laser cutting models. You have some really great stuff, quite inspiring. I'm curious if you have any recommendations or experience or designing more complex 3D models. I'm thinking similar to the old dinosaur puzzle kits. I feel in love with the Spartan Scenics SGSS13 starship model, I purchased a number, but now that Spartan is defunct - I'm thinking I would like to design similar larger-scale starship models. Design tools and ideas isn't a problem but figuring out how and break down as design for cutting seems a little daunting right now. Any advice or resources you can recommend?

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Christopher, if I have the right type of model in mind, it is made of flat parts but assemble into a 3D figure, right? That is a really interesting problem, because it isn't classic 3D modeling, it's kind of a hybrid between 2D and 3D. I'm not really sure because I couldn't find any good images in my Google search. You could probably create it in a 3D tool like Fusion 360, but I think your question is about the mental process you go through to create the design. I'm not really sure... are there any model making subreddits where you could ask about this?

@christopherm4510

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the response. I'm exploring some of the 3D to 2D techniques the paper modelers use tools like Papercraft 3D. just wasn't sure if there were some tricks used by the laser cutters to do similar. I'll continue to explore and see where I get. Thanks for the inspiration!

Thank you so much for making this video. I found it very helpful, I’m still struggling to learn adobe illustrator (and on an iPad which is probably not helping). Do you have any recommendations for videos or channels or other means of learning to use adobe illustrator specifically for model/diorama building?

@GreylightMay

9 ай бұрын

Thanks, Alex, I'm glad this was helpful! I don't know of any videos to recommend. I'm self taught, and I frequently look for videos for a particular technique in Illustrator, but I've never run across anyone using Illustrator for scale models. Mostly, the heavy users are illustrators doing graphic design and art. I have several other videos on making buildings, and they all start with design, so you can check those out. I have a video on 10 techniques for designing mandalas that has some things that are generally useful and it is made for beginners, which most Illustrator videos aren't. Will you be using a laser cutter to make yours? I'd love to see anything you make!!

@alexlong9019

9 ай бұрын

Yes! I just got a laser cutter and want to make some scenes and models from my favorite shows and movies. I went with adobe illustrator because it originally seemed like there was lots of content I could learn from, but I’ve found you’re exactly right, and most are for art and graphic design. I’ve played around with a few cad softwares but haven’t figured out an easy way to convert those to something 2D and usable for laser cutting. Not to mention the learning curve on those are even more intense than adobe illustrator. 😂

@GreylightMay

9 ай бұрын

Alex, Illustrator is definitely the way to go, don't get discouraged! The only comparable option for this application is Inkscape, and its strength is it is free and contains the functionality of Photoshop as well, but it is no easier to learn. Pick between those two and then just start designing and cutting. It will get easier, I promise. If you do stick with Adobe, which I use for everything, and you run into problems just send me a question. I may know the answer, or have a video I could suggest. Good luck! You will have great fun!!

Just found your brilliant you tube channel. Super helpful! What sort of laser cutter/engraver do you use as I have designed several buildings using Adobe illustrator and looking at purchasing a laser cutter. What are the things someone should look for when purchasing a laser cutter for war gaming miniature terrain? Thanks in advance. 😀

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Ryan, the materials for terrain are usually pretty easy to cut, I use 1/8" plywood, so power is not important for that but it is important for speed if you are doing intricate designs. Bed size can be important, but once again given the small scale of most projects that's not usually an issue. For me the biggest issue is the user interface and the ease of getting drawings out of AI into the cutter. I'm switching to a new makerspace right now and I have to learn a new 'CAM' software package called RDWorks to use the cutter. It's not that difficult but it requires every drawing be 'flattened' into just what I want to cut each time. Things that I've done in a single AI file will now have to be turned into many AI files, with many duplicate layers. I'm used to working in many levels in AI and turning on and off what I want to print, as needed, for the particular cut I'm making. This is a very flexible design environment that allows me to make changes on one level that immediately updates every drawing that uses that level. In this new environment that one level will have to be duplicated in every drawing/cut that uses it, and if I need to make a change I will have to make that change everywhere - very inconvenient. So what I would look for is a cutter that can take files directly out of AI, without an intervening piece of software. It also would be great if it had a materials database because otherwise you have to create your own. You may find that these requirements make the cutter cost prohibitive, in which case you have to weigh off the cost with the convenience factor. If your goal is to go into production and sell your designs, it may be worth the extra effort to create your cutting files and get a cheaper, more powerful cutter. Good luck! Let me know what you end up getting, and how things are going, I'm very interested!

@ryanschmidt2324

6 жыл бұрын

+Greylight May thanks for the reply 😊. I will keep you updated. i spoke with someone at my local gaming store today who sugested a cheap ebay model to start off cutting my own projects. At only $150 (Australian) i think it might be worth the gamble as it can print straight from AI. As i mentioned i will let you know how it goes and take it from there

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Ryan, can you share the link for that cutter?

genius your well talented do you do commission work? i want to make model railway buildings in different scales ,not sure ime up to designing i am laser cutting with a k40 via inkscape and k40 whisperer and its taking me ages to design something are you available to do the files i need?

@GreylightMay

5 жыл бұрын

Dingo, I never actually make things for people but I would consider design work. Send me a message at greylightmay@gmail.com and tell me more...

Soooooooo, what laser cutter do you use? I'm not sure what brand or style is good. I'm not necessarily worried about price either.

@GreylightMay

3 жыл бұрын

Kevin, I use a Rabbit 80 watt at my local makerspace. It is assembled and supported by an American company but is the same Chinese hardware used in a Boss laser cutter.

What laser cutter do you recommend please?

@GreylightMay

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Spanky... I can't really recommend one for purchase because I was using the Universal cutters at my makerspace TechShop (and I loved them but I think they are very expensive), but then TechShop locked the doors without warning and are filing for liquidation, so I am now looking for a solution for myself! I'm checking out another makerspace in my area but also looking at the Glowforge as a possibility for purchase. When I make a decision, I will be letting viewers know what I chose and why, but I don't have a recommendation at this point.

do you make your plans available for download?

@GreylightMay

7 жыл бұрын

Hi, therealmfp, I've been thinking about the possibility and the best way to do it. My current thinking is to eventually have a Patreon account (I have no ads because I don't want to discourage people from viewing) and to make all the plans available for patrons. Doing the projects and making the videos is so time consuming, I think eventually I will need to have some sort of monetization, and Patreon seems to be the least intrusive. Also, I want to share but I don't want someone to be able to sell what I design, and that requires some sort of licensing. I think doing it through Patreon would give me more control over my designs.