YOU ARE THE CRITMAKER™.
Critmaker is more than just a name. It’s not who we are, it’s who you are. You’re the Critmaker, we help you to learn the art of dice making. A Critmaker is someone passionate about dice craft and bringing new handmade creations into the world.
I’m Aaron, the author of the best-selling dice making book, “The Critmaker™ Guide to Dice Craft”. I’ve been making dice for almost two years now and got into the hobby looking for a way to customise my characters!
As I went through the huge amounts of resources for dice making online I realised that apart from all the solid information there was also a lot of contradictory advice and superstition. Figuring others would be in the same boat, I set about writing the guide as a way to help other dice makers who might get lost too.
Introduction to the Critmaker Guide to Dice Craft
The best ideas don’t just materialise, they’re more often the result of an overlap in a life-sized Venn diagram. This concept is often referred to as the cross- pollination of ideas – when two or more things overlap, something new is born.
Like many others living with ADHD, I’ve found the “hobby trap” is a very real thing. You find something interesting, obsess over it, research it, try it, get bored of it and move on. The constant cycle of interest and expertise can be incredibly frustrating to those around us (and ourselves). However, the constant flow of hobbies and interests does make for some interesting ideas!
When I left my job a year and a half ago, I set out to find something that could combine all my passions into one. Making, writing, educating, social marketing, web development and design. Combined with my countless hobbies over the years, CritmakerTM was born. A brand that can help people to do the things they love. Help new people find the excitement that comes from a new hobby. Help express their passion to others. And to help grow an already incredible, close-knit community of exceptional makers.
When I sat down to write this, it was originally going to be a four-page booklet to include in our dice-making kits. But, as I reflected on the last year and a half and all the things that I’d learned, I realized I couldn’t compress it down into so few pages. This book covers the basics of dice craft and more advanced topics to help you perfect your dice and even scale your hobby into a business.
WHAT INSPIRED THIS GUIDE?
Like many others, I was heavily into role-playing and war gaming during high school. My friends and I would play D&D on Saturday mornings, followed by lengthy campaigns of Warhammer 40k and Magic: The Gathering.
I collected many dice over the years, but as time progressed, my dice moved from pride of place down into the “drawers of random objects and cables” before finally settling under a layer of dust.
Thanks to the global pandemic as well as Critical Role and Stranger Things, D&D hit new heights – an activity that could connect people even when they couldn’t physically be with each other.
For those outside of Australia, Melbourne had one of the longest and most strict lock-downs in the world – over 262 days of being unable to leave the house except for a few specific reasons. Many gaming groups and communities sprang up, and thanks to the forced evolution of video platforms and tools like DnDBeyond, virtual gaming became more accessible than ever.
Friends of mine had started a campaign remotely and invited my wife and me to play a couple of one-shot adventures – and we’re still playing with the same group every Wednesday night! Returning to the swing of D&D rekindled my love for dice, and it turns out I’m not alone in this renaissance. Thousands of makers proudly show their creations, make tutorials, sell their wares at conventions and push the boundaries of what’s possible with resin art.
A guide like this is only possible with the incredible community of dice makers who have pioneered this hobby. Thanks for coming on this journey with me, and I hope you enjoy this guide!