Clay vs resin vs 3D-printed figurines

Full-colour resin. Every piece is made to order: printed in full-colour resin by our production partner, one piece at a time.

You send a photo and get a free preview. When you're happy, you order (on this site, or in our Etsy shop) and approve a 3D preview of your piece; nothing is printed before that. Then it's printed in full colour, packed with care and shipped, tracked, with duties and import VAT included.

The colour is printed, not painted on. Your MiniME is 3D-printed in full-colour resin from your photo, and it is not clay or a hand sculpt.

That is how it keeps the face, hair and fur markings from your photo: patches, stripes and colouring are matched from the photo and printed in full colour.

Display it indoors, out of prolonged direct sunlight, and clean it gently with a soft dry cloth. It's a decorative collectible, not a toy.

As a cake topper: it's solid resin. We recommend 8 cm or 10 cm for cake toppers, and a small food-safe barrier under the base.

We don't make clay figurines.

In general, clay figurines are shaped by hand. Polymer clay is usually hardened by baking it in a home oven, following the maker's instructions for temperature and time, which often depend on how thick the piece is. Air-dry clay usually hardens by drying in the open air, often over a day or more depending on thickness, without an oven or kiln.

The main difference is how a piece is made. Clay figurines are usually shaped by hand and then baked or air-dried, as described above. A MiniME is made in a different way: it is 3D-printed in full-colour resin from your photo.

• A MiniME is full-colour resin, 3D-printed one piece at a time and made to order from one photo.
• You get a free preview before paying, and you approve a 3D preview of your piece before anything is printed.
• It takes 6 business days to make, then 10-16 days of free tracked shipping, with all duties and import VAT included.
• Sizes are 6, 8 and 10 cm for figurines of people, 4, 5 and 6 cm for pet figurines, and 3, 4 and 5 cm for keychains.
• Hand-shaped clay pieces are made in the ways described in the clay section, and the materials differ in how they harden: polymer clay by baking, air-dry clay by drying.

A 3D-printed full-colour resin MiniME fits if you have a photo, want full colour and would like to see a free preview before you decide. Nothing is printed until you have approved a 3D preview.

Another kind of figurine may suit you better if you want a piece shaped entirely by hand, or a specific traditional craft. That is a matter of taste, and both can make a lovely keepsake.