How to Make Crushed Opal Resin Dice
How to Make Crushed Opal Resin Dice
Why settle for mundane dice when you can roll with a set that oozes your unique style? This talented resin artist crafts one-of-a-kind dice that will add a special flair to your game nights. Take a look at how Crushed Opal can be incorporated into any resin creation!
The Featured Creator: Full Moon Dice
Don't let the fun pass you by! Give @fullmoondice a follow and join the party to witness the amazing work of this creative maker! 🌟
- The Project -
A Fall Inspired Set of Crushed Opal Resin Dice
Learn The Process From Full Moon Dice
🎲 "I like to start projects with a base color or theme in mind to help narrow down techniques and settle on a limited color palette. I’m a huge fan of color, so making the selections beforehand helps me work smoothly – if I didn’t give myself a narrow field, everything I make would be an explosion of colors." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "To make a set of “geode” dice, I use blanks that fit neatly inside my numbered dice molds, so that the design is encased in a protective layer of resin and the numbers are easy to read. I carved out a set of blanks to make a mold (for many geode sets to come), and used that mold for the blanks for this project." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "I settled on the brown crushed opal pack as the starting point of my color palette, with the idea that I could make something warm and harvest-themed for fall. The colors of the pack reminded me a lot of the colors of autumn trees in my area, so I poured a set of simple brown blanks as a base, putting a bit of sparkle and some texture in them with alcohol ink and mica powder. When they came out of the mold, I wasn’t satisfied with the wood grain texture from the alcohol ink, so I painted over them with acrylics, making sure the sparkle of the mica powder still glittered through, and gave the channels where the opals would sit a layer of pale gold paint to help them stand out." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "I debated mixing together the three opals to give an even distribution of color, but decided instead to do them in sections somewhat randomly, thinking it would have the effect of looking out at a forest all turning autumn colors – that natural variety and unevenness. I applied the crushed opals in small sections using UV resin and a silicone brush to set them in place, and cure the sections as I go to ensure that they don’t shift position once I’ve gotten them where I want them. It’s a careful process that takes several hours, but I think the results are always worth it." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "Once I got going, the channels and the wood texture I’d made were reminding me more of fossilized wood than autumn leaves – the veins of opals looked so much like pockets of opalized wood, it was a delightful surprise! The way the colors in each type of crushed opal change in the light and when introduced to resin makes the process of working with them so dynamic and interesting. I'm a big fan." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "With all the channels filled, I gave them an extra coating of UV resin to keep them from scratching the numbered molds, and then they sat in the sun for a few days curing to full hardness. Then, into the numbered molds they went, covered in epoxy resin to cure overnight, and the next day I was thrilled to demold them and see how beautiful they’d turned out. The fossilized wood vibes really came through with the numbered shell evening out the finish, and I spent a long while just spinning them around to marvel at them. To clean up the fresh dice, I trim off excess resin from the mold, and then sand and polish any faces with imperfections to ensure every face has the same glass-like finish. A perfectly clear face also means that the opals are on full view, which is important." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "The very last step is inking the numbers. It took a few tests to find the right color – I thought of a reddish-gold or metallic to harken back to the initial autumn leaves idea, or a very pale gold for some value contrast, but ended up with a translucent, color-shifting gold/red/yellow paint that allowed the veins of opal to show through the clearest, and that fit the color palette the best. I always wipe off excess paint on a wet paper towel to reduce streaks on the nice clean faces, and I had to do a few coats with this paint on the numbers that were just over the wood texture to give them more contrast. Normally I care more about how legible the numbers on the dice are, but the opals are so beautiful, I feel fine sacrificing a level of legibility to let them shine through." -@fullmoondice
🎲 "Once the paint dried and the sun came out, it was time for their final glamor shots! I’m amazed at how intense the colors in the opals become in the sun, and how different they look in different lighting conditions. For most sets I like to photograph in direct sunlight, but I found these opals looked best under a cloudy autumn sky. They ended up being a perfect fall set after all." -@fullmoondice
The Results Speak for Themselves
Featured Materials
Brown Crushed Opal Value Pack - Size Medium
*Includes 3 Stunning Brown Shades of Crushed Opal:
Dark Matter Crushed Opal - Size Medium
Magma Crushed Opal - Size Medium
Tigers Eye Crushed Opal - Size Medium
Other Materials
Resin Molds
PPE Safety Supplies
Meet The Artist Behind The Vision
Full Moon Dice started working with Crushed Opal this year and plans to make more geode dice sets. It did not take them long to fall in love with Crushed Opal.
"It has a kaleidoscopic effect when encased in resin that I find absolutely mesmerizing. The colors constantly surprise me – even if I think I know what to expect when I pick colors going into a set, once the resin touches them, it’s like they take on a whole new life. I struggle painting the numbers when they cover over where the opals are because I don’t want to block any of their depth, even if that leaves the dice difficult to read. Such are the sacrifices we must sometimes make." - Reed, @fullmoondice
Get Ready for Some Dice-tastic Action!