How to Make Resin Dice: The Complete Guide

You want to spend quality time at home. How does making a batch of cupcakes or rearranging your living room furniture sound? (My back and thighs say neither is a good idea.) Instead, how about a fun family game night? Especially if you make the game pieces. Let’s learn how to make resin dice.

What dice style should you make?

There are multiple dice styles. They all fall into one of seven types based on their shape. You can tell what they are by the number included in the type.

For example, D4 = 4-sided die

(And I had no idea the singular of dice is die. That is until spell check blew up with all the times I wrote di.)

Each die has a unique shape. Plus, the numbers on the faces vary.

• D4: The faces have numbers one to four. When you roll the die, the number facing up to the point is the number you play.

• D6: The sides have numbers one through six. The sides will have numerals or dots representing each number. This is the most common dice shape for board games.

• D8: The sides have numbers one through eight. It’s a ‘double pyramid’ shape. It’s like two pyramids glued together at their bases.

• D10: The faces have numbers zero through nine or one through ten. The odd integers on the faces meet on one side by a point, and the even integers meet on the opposite point faces. It’s in the shape of a pentagonal trapezohedron. No, I didn’t know that. I googled it. 🤣

• D12: Numbers one through twelve decorate the faces. Each face is a pentagon shape.

• D20: The sides have numbers one through twenty. Each face is a triangular shape. In my opinion, this dice shape is the most sparkly.

• D100: This die has ten sides, numbered 1 through 10 or multiples of 10 through 90.

All seven of these dice styles are used in Dungeons and Dragons games. Otherwise, if you simply want to learn how to make dice for your favorite board game, a D6 is your best choice.

Now that you’ve picked out the style, you need dice molds.

The only dice molds I recommend are the ones we sell.

They are hand-poured, clear silicone dice molds made by the husband and wife team of House of Molds. Now, these molds aren’t cheap. But here’s why I love them:

1. They’re made to last. The poured silicone ensures they won’t misshape over time or with repeated use.

2. Getting even dice is easy. Because these molds are made with poured silicone, they won’t distort or change shape as pressed molds can. That means you can touch and hold your molds, even while curing, without worrying they’ll squish and change shape.

3. You can use almost anything you want in these molds. Besides epoxy resin, you can use polyester and polyurethane resins, concrete, clay, and more.

You can shop them all here:

 

Get your resin

Here’s the most critical step of how to make resin dice. I’m guessing you want to make something hard, durable, and bubble-free. Here’s where I see people go wrong.

They choose what they think is the best resin for making dice instead of the best resin for making dice in molds.

The mold part of this equation is key. Not all resins work in molds. It’s why sometimes you get tiny microbubbles and dentable dice. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that you used the wrong resin.

That’s why for dice molds, the Resin Obsession super clear craft resin is the perfect choice. It cures hard, durable, shiny, and clear. Plus, you can demold it as soon as twelve hours after pouring it into your mold.

You’ve got your resin and molds. What else do you need to make resin dice?

The other resin supplies you’ll need are:

Mixing cups
Resin colors
Packing tape
Stirring sticks
Plastic pipettes
Safety gloves
Silicone mat or wax paper (to protect your table)
Files and sandpaper to finish edges
Acrylic paint or paint pen

Step 1: Prep the mold

These dice molds have small splits down each side to help you demold. If you didn’t have the cuts, you wouldn’t be able to get the cured resin out. To ensure your mixed resin doesn’t leak out, wrap packing tape around the mold to keep the cut edges in place.

Step 2: Measure and mix the resin

The super clear resin mixes two parts A to one part B. For this D20 mold, you’ll need to mix ½ ounce (total) of resin. That breaks down into 10 cc part A and 5 cc part B.

💡 Pro tip: You don’t have to guess how much resin you need. Take the finished die measurements and input them into our resin calculator. That will tell you how much to mix.

Step 3: Add color

Choose a resin color you like. If you’re using the Resin Obsession epoxy pigments, it won’t take much to color your resin. The pigment is super concentrated.

You can see how a dot of color at the end of a toothpick.

It colored the clear resin very intensely.

Step 4: Pour into the mold

Squeeze the sides of your mixing cup together to form a spout. Then, carefully pour your casting resin into the opening at the top of the mold.

💡 Pro tip: Go slowly and have patience. The hole at the top of the mold acts as a sink drain. Flood it too fast, and you’ll overflow and make a mess.

You can also use pipettes to drop resin into the mold. But, be careful that you don’t introduce air bubbles too.

Overfill the mold into the stem.

Step 5: Check for bubbles

If you’re multi-tasking, come back to me. This is where you can help yourself out and avoid divots and voids in your resin dice.

Over the next few minutes, bubbles will rise to the opening in the mold. The dice mold opening is where they like to catch. One of the ways I force them to come out is to gently squeeze the mold, pushing them out of the opening. Have your heat gun ready to pop the bubbles as this happens.

You’ll need to do this a couple more times over the next 10 to 15 minutes.

💡 Pro tip: Finish by making sure the stem (also known as a sprue) is filled with resin. Then, should more bubbles rise, there is resin to fill the void.

Let your resin die cure for 12 to 24 hours.

Step 6: Demold

 

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This is the second-best part about how to make resin dice.

(The best part is coming up.)

Remove the tape and grab the resin stem. Then, remove your die from its silicone mold.

Step 7: Remove the stem

Pull or clip your stem from the end of the die. You may need to file or sand to get the edge smooth and even.

This is how the mold makers recommend removing that end:

💡 Pro tip: You might be thinking, ‘Why don’t I add a little less resin? That way, I won’t have an edge to sand.’ Because resin shrinks as it cures. It’s almost impossible to guess the right amount of resin, so you don’t have to get off the extra. Trust me—I’ve tried. Plus, it’s easier to sand resin off rather than fill it in.

Step 8: Highlight the numbers

So here’s my favorite part of how to make resin dice. It’s time to highlight the numbers.

Choose a color of acrylic paint or a paint pen, then add it to the sides.

Wipe off excess with a paper towel.

Try to contain your excitement while waiting for your resin dice to dry.

Pat yourself on the back. Not only did you just learn how to make resin dice, but you are a game night boss.

What if you need your dice in a hurry?

I’m so glad you asked. You can use quick-curing resin to have dice in under an hour.

Here’s how:

Ready to learn more resin basics?

Then you’ll want a copy of Resin Fundamentals. I wrote the PDF book with the beginner resin crafter in mind. Don’t waste your time and supplies on making something you wouldn’t show anyone. Instead, learn from MY mistakes. Buy the ebook now and get a download link in minutes.

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