Table Top RPG Creators Corner — Dice Maker Indrani Of ‘Nonagon Dice’
by Anton Kromoff
Anton: Are you a full-time artist or do you follow other paths when not creating colorful math rocks?
Indrani: When I’m not making math rocks, I’m handling marketing and communications for a couple of companies! Specifically an indie game studio and an NGO! I’ve always enjoyed marketing as a trade; even though it has the potential to be used in awful ways, I think there’s a joy in ethical marketing. It’s great being able to bring people’s attention to something you love and believe in.
Anton: The owl seems to come up across your dice. What led you to choose that as your icon?
Indrani: That’s my boy Geralt! He is my Fey snowy owl familiar! He has appeared in quite a few of my D&D campaigns. My head canon is that he has worked with multiple adventurers over the course of his life, including my IRL-self!
Anton: You hand-cast dice making each one an individual piece of art. Can you take us through what that process looks like from conception to completion?
Indrani: Strap in, it’s gonna be a long one. But before we start: SAFETY GEAR. IS. IMPORTANT. If you wanna get into this craft, do not skimp on the safety gear for working with epoxy resin!First, I designed my dice masters and 3D printed them. Then, I made molds out of them. Now that I have molds, I’m ready to cast actual resin dice. I usually jot ideas down in my notebook, and then prop it up on my desk so it acts like guide while I work.
Often I’m inspired by the D&D games I play in, popular culture, and just general geekdom. I’ve made dice based out of my campaigns, comic books, SFF novels, etc.
Once I have my design down, I do the actual resin pour. This process can be different based on the design. If I’m making Arrakis dice – based off Frank Herbert’s Dune – I’ll use sandy textures, warm colors, etc.
Then I cure my dice in a pressure pot, which is basically a tiny bomb. I’m kidding. It’s a container which gets pressurized with air, and that compresses the bubbles inside the resin til they’re gone.
Once the dice are cured, I get to the worst part of dicemaking. Sanding and polishing. Gotta get that mirror shine!
The final step is inking the numbers! Then I take some pretty photos… and we’re good to go!
Anton: How would one contact you to commission a set of dice?
Indrani: You can reach me at https://nonagondice.com/contact-me to commission dice! I also have a shop update happening on the 3rd of July!
Anton: When creating dice for a client do you prefer being given a lot of direction or more vague ideas and then being allowed to create as you go?
Indrani: Anything goes. If you have a very specific vision, I’ll tell you if I can execute it or not. If you have an idea or a theme, I’ll help you brainstorm what the actual design would look like. It’s a really rewarding and collaborative process. Take me up on it!
Anton: You also are active in the TTRPG actual play space. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Indrani: I started streaming TTRPG actual plays on the Desis & Dragons Twitch channel as a way to promote TTRPGs in India. Turns out, I love the format.
Since then, I’ve appeared on a handful of international TTRPG streams. I always try to create characters that represent a part of my culture. In a world where western fantasy is considered “default” my goal is to introduce people to more options!
Anton: I really appreciate you taking the time to sit and speak with me. Please tell our audiences where they can keep up with you and follow your creative journey.
Indrani: My social media handle everywhere is @nonagondice! My website is nonagondice.com.
You can find Desis & Dragons everywhere as @desisndragons! You can join our Discord community over at desisndragons.com/discord.
You can find me live every week at Twitch.tv/desisndragons and Twitch.tv/dimplesndice for Wayward Revelry!
