So I recently discovered Hero Forge, a site that lets you design miniatures for tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons. (You can buy what you make if so inclined, too!) I have since spent uncounted hours making my agents and other PPC characters, because I am mildly obsessed with this sort of thing at the best of times, and the level of customization offered here is huge. The characters are slightly stylized with overlarge heads, hands, and feet, but the level of realism is otherwise quite good, too. I quickly found myself deep in the weeds, haha. Now, I want to share some of my results! I've downloaded screenshots using the built-in screenshot feature, which adds the logo and the character's name. Clicking on the image will (in all but one case) take you to the Hero Forge "workshop," where you can zoom in and rotate the figure for a 3D look!
Nume and Ilraen
As so often seems to be the case, Nume was easy to capture, and Ilraen was difficult. I've missed the androgynous quality he's supposed to have, and the hair isn't the fluffy curls I want. I refrained from making his expression too uncanny, though canonically he doesn't know how to smile properly. It also irritates the heck out of me that the messenger bag doesn't come with a strap, and there's no way to add one that actually works. It's the same with backpacks and other gear, too. Sigh.
And a bonus: You can choose how zoomed in you want your screenshots to be. I took advantage of that for a portrait of Ilraen in his natural form. I had to get quite creative with decals in order to get a nice fur texture and nose slits (actually a lip scar, used twice), and obviously it's not 100% accurate. Overlarge eye stalks are the major issue, I'm not at all certain there should be a navel there, and sadly, if you select the mouthless face, you can't customize any other features for some reason, and the facial posing available is also limited.
Even so, I'm pretty pleased with the result! No workshop link, though. I closed the tab by accident before grabbing it, and anyway, there was nothing worth seeing from the waist down.
Derik and Gall
For these two, I went with a bit of "residual self-image." I just wanted Derik not looking angry or sad for once, and when there's literal Viking clothing available for Gall, how can I resist? ^_^
Jenni and Henry
Took me a while to refine Jenni's face. My original attempt was very harsh, haha. This version is maybe a little too soft, but I wanted friendly and inviting, and I think I got it. The profile is almost exactly right, except the nose; it should have either no curve at all or a slight concave curve, rather than the slight convex here.
I think Henry is about 11 here. I originally made him looking kinda surly, but in the end I wanted more pleasant screenshots. I also did an adult version, but I want to tweak it some more before screenshotting and sharing.
Mirrad
Did this solely for the challenge of seeing how close I could get to a Minbari appearance. Obviously the bone crest is lacking, since it's being played here by "Balding" hair, haha. And I went with some warm colors instead of all-neutral purely because I didn't want to recolor the decal pattern on his clothes. ^_^; Very happy with the overall vibe, though!
Now I want to see yours! To help save you from sinking hours into it like I have, here are a few tips:
- When selecting facial features, pay attention to the contour lines/shadows that are added more than the exact sizes and shapes. Size, shape, and position can all be adjusted quite a bit. The contour shading can't.
- Design the face with a neutral expression. Add an expression in Pose -> Face.
- Color -> Decals is your friend for adding things like cheek color and eyelashes. You can select from a limited color palette using the "Settings" gear symbol in the feature selection panel.
- Color -> Mix is your friend for fine-tuning your colors, including things like pupil shape and iris size. Counter-intuitive, but great!
- The limited selection of hair styles was the only thing that really frustrated me. Be prepared to imagine your character with an alternative style.
- There IS an undo button. It's just hidden under the "File" icon, where you can also rename your character from "Hero*".
- Ignore all of this if it doesn't make creating your character more fun for you. {= )
Oh, and if you don't have someplace to upload your screenshots, feel free to just get the share link and post that. I will look!
~Neshomeh
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