Turn your dreams into (tiny) reality with this easy-to-follow guide to building tabletop terrain. No complicated tools or expensive materials required. Experience the chaotic fun of making things!
This zine is not a game. We love TTRPGs and spend most of our time designing and playing games. But when it came to picking a topic for our zine, we felt we wanted to offer you something different this time. We decided to share our passion for creating miniature worlds and show you how easy it is to start making your own amazing projects.
You may use them to dazzle your friends or hobby groups, make unforgettable encounters in role-playing campaigns, or create one-of-a-kind landscapes for miniature battles. But most importantly, you'll get to experience something special - the magical feeling of creating something with your own hands and making your ideas take physical shape. Orcs & Crafts Zine aims to teach you the basics of miniature terrain building as well as equip you with new techniques and tools you might not be familiar with. This self-contained first issue focuses on cardboard foundations. With your support, we will expand into new materials and techniques.
The zine is available as a 60-page physical issue in A4/Letter format, as well as in PDF. Those pledging for the physical zine will also receive the PDF.
Remember when you were just a kid, and creating stuff was just this amazing fun? How a few crude lines of your drawing could actually become a fully-fledged house? A bunch of pillows could turn into an awesome fort? An old cardboard box could turn into a dollhouse? Join us, and we'll show you how to reconnect with this feeling and make something that looks good enough for others not to question your hobby. ;-)
The zine equips you with techniques that will allow you to create amazing miniature terrain of your own design with breakdowns of every technique - from making wood planks to hills or stone walls, along with additional tips and advice. To help you get the hang of things, we include several detailed build instructions - something for you to practice and hone skills, while you’re getting ready to start your own unique projects. By following the instructions, you'll see how to use the techniques, and you'll get a chance to experiment with them. Oh, and you'll end up with miniature terrain in the process!
Hey, the world is what it is right now. So, how about every once in a while you immerse yourself in a simple act of creating something physical with your own hands, using basic tools you already own, even if you haven't made a single miniature model in your life. And utilizing materials that you would otherwise throw away.
While there are plenty of amazing techniques you can use to bring your ideas to life, in the zine's first (and quite possibly only) issue, we focus on the most accessible builds that do not require any advanced tools or materials. A pair of scissors and a hobby knife are among the most complicated tools you'll need to create amazing-looking terrain pieces. Or, if you're feeling really adventurous, you may use a middle-school grade compass to draw a few circles when designing fancy shapes for your build. But that's it!
Worst-case scenario, you're a few bucks and a single local shop visit away from having absolutely everything needed to create amazing builds! And chances are, you already have all the materials and tools at home.
We'll guide you and help you to make the first few steps on this journey. The rest will be up to you - it's about your voice, your imagination, and your vision. With this zine, you'll learn the foundations that you can build upon later.
And if you're already into building stuff? We believe the zine offers plenty of useful tips and ideas to inspire you. Some stuff you already know, some you do differently, and you might want to check out our way to pick up a few interesting techniques. And maybe, some things you'd never think of, just as you probably have some ideas we'd never come up with. Our highly trained, professional Orc assistants will help you along the way with tips and additional information. The wise Crathar offers additional ways to improve or change your build if you’re willing to go the extra mile. The Painscar’s main concern is your safety and well-being. Bob is kinda new around here, but he’s more than willing to share whatever basic tips he can come up with! There's something absolutely magical about creating things out of, basically, trash and everyday items. And while we do include a few ready-to-use recipes, we're most thrilled when readers find their own style and voice and learn a new way to express themselves.
Even if you're following one of our guides, we aim to give you as much creative space as possible. Follow the instructions to the letter, or use our tips and your own ideas to customize the projects and make them your own! Modify the builds so they are the perfect match for your favorite role-playing games, so they make for interesting terrain in your wargame, or simply to make them look exactly the way you want them to look.
The main idea behind the Orcs & Crafts movement is to make it accessible and fun for everybody. Building the terrain, imagining your perfect build, and then seeing it take physical shape is, quite frankly, even better than the awe of your friends or all the tabletop uses you may have for it. Having said that, we do understand that some of you have particular expectations when it comes to crafting miniature terrain, so we do our best to cater to your needs. If you're a fan of a game that uses minis and battle mats for combat, you're in the right place. We want to show you how handmade terrain can become a great tool for making combat encounters more exciting and an excellent new way of visual storytelling. Even if your first builds won't be as crisp as the 16k super slick resin prints or as sophisticated as the incredibly intricate MDF cutouts, you'll have full creative control over them. From the shapes and general feel, through game-wise important details, you can create stuff that perfectly fits your setting and your campaign. And the fact that you don't need fancy equipment or a big budget is a nice addition, too.
(Not that there's anything wrong with resin prints of MDF kits - you can still combine the two with your own builds.)
Depending on what game you play, there are so many reasons to make your own terrain and so many different things to keep in mind. We'll guide you through the idea of wargaming scale (which you might already know is kind of wanky, at best) and how to address this in your builds. We'll help you think in 3d if your game has robust height mechanics. We'll help you assess the overall aesthetics of your game and your army, team, troupe, or warband, and create terrain pieces that capture your vision for your factions and help communicate it to other players.
Even if your game currently uses only a few L-shapes as the only terrain on the board, there's still so much you can do with it to tell the story of your particular troops or of the broader conflict that serves as a background for your game.
While plenty of our builds here are clearly fantasy-inspired, our first stretch goal will expand the terrain straight into the 41st Millennium and beyond, so if you're one of the grim future guys, don't worry - we've got you covered! We will keep repeating this over and over again: We truly believe that terrain building is an awesome kind of fun in its own right! It costs next to nothing, you can do this with your friends and family (we're actually covering the topic of terrain-crafting parties in the zine), and it enables you to craft your own unique worlds. Once you try it, you'll know, but for now, you have to believe us - it's pure magic. You think of something, envision the idea, then start crafting, usually make some compromises or accidentally make elements you didn't plan, but you're really happy with, and finally - it's there! The thing that was only a figment of your imagination now exists in the physical world. Whatever weird, solemn, vibrant, monumental, or down-to-earth idea you have, you can build it! It might take some time to master techniques (or come up with new ones) to get to exactly where you wanna be, but you can get there. And this zine is your ticket for the first part of the trip. So, hop on board!
As you might already know, we want to help people who never had the time or tools needed to start crafting. Don't worry, we'll help you; that's the whole idea of the zine. Will you make some errors at the beginning? That's quite possible, sure. But since the entry point is set so low, since the materials will cost next to nothing, and you don't have to invest in tools, why should this stop you? We offer additional advice for beginners to minimize the chances of mistakes, and especially to steer you away from major botches that would ruin your builds. The worst that can happen is that you'll have to redo the last step of the guide, so no biggie!
If you're an experienced terrain builder, you're probably most interested in the specifics. What will the zine offer you? Honestly, we can't tell you. We've got our unique brand of ideas and techniques (as does everyone), and there's no way of telling how many of them you know or use in your hobby. We're taking a broad approach to the subject, starting by looking at the future build from a designer's perspective and modifying your plans based on the exact effect you want to achieve. Then we go through various techniques that require only basic tools and materials, and we include information on potential shortcuts. Sometimes, having advanced tools can help you shorten building time or, in other ways, improve the results. It's not worth buying them just for this reason, but if you already have them, awesome! Finally, we take some time to talk about painting, but not only from a technical standpoint. It's more about what kind of effect you want to achieve and how to best approach this.
We're sure you will find plenty of interesting stuff in the zine!
In addition to the €2000 funding goal, we have several stretch goals that unlock new bonuses for Backers.
The zine is a go! We can start working on the layout, complete the writing, and test all our builds to ensure they are easy to follow. All Backers will receive their digital and printed rewards.
The digital addon pack will now include advice and tips on creating terrain for the games set in the grim dark future of the 41st Millennium (and perhaps a bit of info on builds from 10 Millennia earlier). The aesthetics, the game rules that may influence your builds, and the best crafting techniques to capture the essence of the dark future - whether you command a gang on a forsaken planet, drive on combat patrols, participate in giant battles, or, erm... you're killing teams...? - the addon will now have the perfect stuff for you. Another digital addon upgrade! 3 new relief templates, each in a different style, now join the five already available reliefs. More ways to decorate your walls, obelisks, gates, and altars! Print the files and create the reliefs exactly as designed, or make your own modifications. The digital addon will now include an additional course. We’ll teach you how to create aesthetically consistent terrain sets that highlight the themes of your campaign or setting. We’ll also include a guide to replicating the style and theme of three visually interesting movies, which you can all choose in a poll.
Here's a breakdown of all the rewards available during this campaign.
The Orcs & Crafts Zine
60-page long, A4/Letter-sized zine filled with information, tips, and guides. Illustrated with photos and infographics to make the techniques easier to understand. That's what we're all here for, right?
There's also a PDF version available through the Digital Orc and Digital Orc Boss Pledge or as a free download with the physical pledges.
Addon Pack
A digital pack filled with additional goodies, including: - An additional guide: build your own tower! - Ready-to-use relief cutouts. You can adorn the walls of your builds with these! - Advice and tips on making builds for TTRPG combat encounters in 5E settings. - A guide to making your own cardboard cover of the zine. Make the zine truly yours!
In addition, we plan to unlock more content for the addon pack through stretch goals. We'd love to share tips and advice on creating terrain for specific TTRPGs and wargames, as well as building terrain inspired by movies or architectural styles.
Check the Stretch Goal section to see what bonuses are already unlocked!
A Special Handmade Cover Edition Just For You
To thank our most generous Backers, we'll be sending each of them one of the ten unique Editions of the Zine, each with its own cardboard, hand-painted cover, unique to each copy.
There's also an invitation to a 1-on-1 online meeting with Martin included with every copy of this reward. You can chat about your builds, ask for advice on your terrain, or hear him ramble about weird movies - it's all up to you!
The Orcs & Crafts Zine offers you three kinds of guides - information on planning and design, breakdown of different crafting techniques, and full project building instructions.
Planning and Design
We'll show you how to think about your projects, how to properly choose scale, decide on aesthetics, and design your build with all your goals in mind.
Technique Breakdowns
From making trees and hills to building walls and structures, we'll show you easy, accessible techniques for creating the most commonly needed terrain elements. We'll also propose various painting techniques to bring your creations to life.
Building Instructions
We're adding the step-by-step building instructions to help you practise the skills and techniques explained in the zine. Learn through making your first projects, and end up with amazing miniature terrain in the process!
Movie Recommendations - Wait, What?
Yeah, so since many people like to watch movies as background during their crafting time, Martin decided to put his useless unique knowledge of obscure movies from the 60s, 70s, and 80s to recommend the best titles to watch while following each of the guides in the zine. Was it really worth putting extra time and effort into creating a mini rating system and coming up with the perfectly terrible, weird, or unhinged movie to go with every guide? Most likely not, but luckily, Martin didn't bother himself with such questions.
And don't worry - these do not take up too much space in the Zine. It's still 99% crafting advice and builds. ;-)
While we mostly focus on giving you the knowledge and tools you need to create your own builds, the zine also includes a few building instructions. Here are two examples of the stuff you'll be able to create simply by following our guides.
Simple Cardboard Tree
Pick up a pair of scissors to create a basic, tabletop-ready tree. Sturdy enough to withstand an occasional knockdown. Looking perfectly fine for a battlefield or diorama. Experiment with different trunk and canopy shapes! Materials used: cardboard from a cereal box, glue, a single sheet of paper, two tissues, and natural twine.
Ruined Gnomish Distillery
A large building, perfect as the centerpiece for your terrain build. Light but extremely durable, with plenty of vantage points and choke holds for your miniatures. For your tools, you'll need a pair of scissors, a hobby knife, a compass, a ruler, and a pencil to finish the build. Materials used: thick cardboard, glue, tissue paper, natural twine, and cardboard from a cereal box.
We are game designers and role-players with an educational background. We have experience with crowdfunding projects and have successfully delivered two large campaigns. To make sure everything is up to the highest orcish standards, however, we have co-opted a few Orcs into our movement.
A highly motivated, dynamic team of Orc experts shares their knowledge and tips all throughout the zine, making sure you get all the information you need to become a master crafter. Crafthar has been building terrain for years and has gained some fame among the Orcish crafting community as the only triple winner of the coveted Golden (Cardboard) Tusk award (for his "Pile of Bones", "Bigger Pile of Bones", and "A Single Very Large Bone" projects, respectively).
As the Chief Crafting Officer, his goal is to provide you with additional tips and inspiration to push your projects further and use more advanced techniques. Formely known as Immacular the Reckless, Painscar now knows better than to rush into projects with no concern for safety and proper practices. His scarred face serves as a warning for all those too careless for their own good.
Painscar's main concern in the zine is ensuring that everyone following the guides finishes their projects with the same number of digits and eyes as they started with.
Though named after a legendary ancient builder, Bob still has much to learn in the craft of miniature terrain making. He did manage to pick up a few basic techniques and is more than happy to share them with readers.
Bob's tips and explanations are here to help everyone understand what they're doing, even if it's their first time creating miniature terrain.
While all the important work is left to our talented Orcs Team, the Crafts Team handles the more menial tasks, such as designing miniature builds, writing the guide, taking photos, creating layouts, and so on. As we firmly believe all jobs are important, we'd like to introduce the grunts humans who also participate in the project.
Crowdfunding Experience and Passion for the Hobby
As a two-person design team, we have experience creating hobby materials and fulfilling crowdfunding projects. We're very happy with our past Defiant RPG crowdfunding projects, which introduced our games to thousands of players. This time, we want you to experience the fun of terrain building, another passion of ours!
Die-hard wargamer and roleplayer since the early 90s. Marcin's forces, of varying sizes, have suffered countless losses in sci-fi and fantasy universes across a multitude of different rulesets. Quite a few of his crushing defeats happened on gaming tables filled with miniature terrain he created.
Marcin's workflow usually follows the same pattern: 1) getting overly excited by some hobby project he's seen in a 5-second clip on the Internet; 2) spending hours trying to replicate the effect, ultimately failing due to lack of skills; 3) coming up with an easier, "almost-as-good" version that he's actually capable of creating.
An avid hobbyist and gamer, Katarzyna spends her free time creating clay figurines, making jewelry, painting, and designing miniature terrain. She's been designing games for over twenty years (or more, if you count her state-of-the-art homebrew Talisman expansion made when she was ten).
Katarzyna's approach to creating miniature terrain varies from ultra-realistic (mostly done to prove to her husband that she's more than capable of creating realistic-looking pieces) to off-the-rails vivid and imaginative projects that blur the lines between "oh, that looks amazing" and "wait, but what is it, really?" (her husband might have written this part).
Even more bonuses are coming your way! We've partnered up with companies and creators to bring you even more goodies!
The amazing designers at Modiphius Entertainment have made it possible for all of us to venture into countless worlds known from movies, books, and video games and experience them through role-playing and wargaming. From atom-punk postapocalyptic wastelands and spaceship decks, through fantasy landscapes, all the way to Lovecraftian World War 2, there’s so much scenery you can build to further enhance your gaming experience! And following the rules of OrcCraft enables you to do so in a fun and inexpensive way!
All Backers will receive a free guide to building terrain for futuristic mecha combat in the 6mm scale of the HARDWAR Miniatures game! The guide focuses on creating terrain at a smaller scale and using basic materials to achieve interesting, futuristic-looking effects.
“Take all the pomp and reverence out of YouTube miniature painting and scenics, while maintaining high production values.” That’s the MS Paints YouTube channel in a nutshell.
If you follow miniature painting channels, you likely already know Hector (and Dave - Dave’s part of the MS Paints, too, you know). From miniature and scenery painting tutorials to game reviews, all the way to mind-blowing Halloween specials and one surprisingly passionate defense of the third installment in the Alien franchise, there’s always something interesting to watch on the MS Paints channel.
Every Orcs & Crafts Backer will receive a detailed instruction guide for making their own shrine to the mysterious ancient Health and Safety frog-deity (with relief files included).
Content warning: No, no, occasional swearing is fine, and all. But there’s this one episode where Dave cracks open a mint-condition 1999 Battlefleet Gothic set and casually paints the ships. Some among the Orcs & Crafts team were somewhat traumatized by this (it was one of the Orcs, of course, and definitely not Marcin).
We're not done yet! Over the course of the campaign, we will announce more special bonuses!
We plan to finish the project and send it to the printing house in early May. Then it's the question of sending it to our EU and US warehouses and shipping it to you. By the end of June, even Backers from Australia should receive their copies. We have experience with fulfilling crowdfunding campaigns and already had to navigate the ever-changing tariff situation, so unless any drastic changes happen, the tariffs shouldn't have any impact on the shipping costs.
Estimated Shipping Costs
Shipping fees will be added after the campaign in the pledge manager.
(The price varies, depending on the total weight of the package)
United States: €8-€16 Canada: €9-€26 European Union: €4-€16 United Kingdom: €8-€18 Rest of the World: €8-€40 (The "Rest of the World" costs vary greatly, depending on the country)
Digital Fulfillment
All the PDF files will be delivered to you via DriveThruRPG.com - we've partnered with them in the past and believe this to be the best way to send you the digital copies of the zine and any additional materials that come with your pledge.
In case you had any doubts, our miniatures are not AI-generated. Nor are our texts, illustrations, layout, or any other part of the zine. If anything, we strive to give you a pretext to spend some time away from the digital, partially AI-generated world. A bit for "me time," or an activity you can enjoy with your friends and family.
Check out awesome Zine Month Projects from fellow creators:
Familiar Tower We love towers. This is a tower puzzle-dungeon, an escape room adventure for Old-School Essentials. And the art is beautiful!
Whispering Willows The Zine looks amazing, with captivating art and cozy atmosphere. You play as small animal folk - solo, cooperatively, or with a DM.
Fang Dungeon Bestiary New monsters for Fang Dungeon, illustrated in vintage children book style. It's cute and terryfing at the same time!
💥 Zinetopia 2026
This project is participating in Zinetopia! A Small-format TTRPG event celebrating Zine Month running February 2–27, 2026.
📖 What is Zine Month? Zine Month is a month-long online celebration observed every February by the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) community where creators share and launch new DIY zines.
🔥 Unlock the Limited Zinetopia Freebie! Receive the limited edition Zinetopia 2026 Group Zine when you back 5+ projects featuring 60+ pages from participating creators full of mini-games, sketches, activity pages, and more!
