For the materials in the scene, I created simple gradient textures in Blender, with a bit of subsurface scattering. I controlled the color ramp values to control which parts of the models were colored. The example above is using a color ramp to give the ocean tiles a dark-to-light blue gradient for the water, and a yellow color for the sand.
Here is a wireframe view of the final project render scene. I didn't pay much attention to optimizing topology for this project because it was meant to be 3D printed at the end, so if it looked good in a render, it would most likely look good in real life as well.
I had multiple files to keep myself organized on this project, with this file being exclusively for modeling the different player factions and player tokens// getting everything ready to be exported as STL files.
The geometry nodes setup was used to subdivide a plane, and height maps of terrain generated in Gaea were used to displace the tokens.
Final 3D Prints!!!
Printing the Catan Pieces With Resin! I've been painting the tiles with model paints and gouache with friends. Also, the original whiteboard thumbnail idea that kicked off this whole project.