|
Post by Aestelon on May 6, 2009 9:43:46 GMT -9
This is a brilliant model. I think the only thing missing from the set is a cyber-mutt called Munch.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 6, 2009 9:41:36 GMT -9
I've gotta say, I'm finding that pricing your models is probably the most difficult thing about writing a game. Getting a decent set of rules is (fairly) easy, but working out a way of costing models, especially when (as I do) you want players to be able to create their own units and price them accordingly.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 6, 2009 7:06:09 GMT -9
Oh, wow - that suddenly looks so much more awesome! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 6, 2009 5:26:28 GMT -9
After checking out some of those links, although I'm currently using 4Shared, I can definitely see me hooking myself up with a Mediafire account...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 6, 2009 3:51:04 GMT -9
I definitely see where you're coming from. Besides, sites like RPGNow, as far as I can tell, are pretty much ideal if you want to set up selling stuff by yourself, and I must admit, I wouldn't mind giving it a go myself once I've got a few more of my original designs ready to go.
Remember, not working as a team isn't the same as actually being in competition. Say I set up a small press section on RPGNow selling my figures. Even if I design them in such a way as to be easily compatible with Jim's (which I daresay I would, simply because it works so well), we still have different art styles, and people are bound to have their own preferences as to which they like. On top of which, it's a simple matter to differentiate oneself by doing minis that Jim doesn't have planned, or won't be doing for the foreseeable future, thereby covering an empty niche in the market rather than directly competing.
Is it easy to set up a publisher's account? Are there any up-front fees to deal with or particular prerequisites?
|
|
|
Mage
May 5, 2009 19:02:30 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 19:02:30 GMT -9
That's pretty much exactly what I do, actually. Main difference being I tend to set the opacity a bit lower than 50% (usually more like 30%) to get a smoother gradient.
|
|
|
Mage
May 5, 2009 16:04:39 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 16:04:39 GMT -9
I was having a look over Afet's wish list thread, and got a bit inspired and decided to see what I could come up with. This is the first one nearly finished, and is my response to his 'evil mage' request. As such, I'm colouring him with largely dark, muted colours, but I imagine with a lighter pallette and a couple of tweaks he could quite easily serve as a magic-user of some other kind (although he'd still look pretty grim regardless). I've got a couple of others on the way, including a half-dragon warrior (which could again quite easily double, probably as a demon of some sort) and a blacksmith (with anvil, of course). He's almost ready; he pretty much just needs some shade and highlight, and maybe a little texturing.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 15:30:39 GMT -9
Ooh dear, it's come to threats, has it?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 14:47:54 GMT -9
In-fraggin'-credible. That's absolutely gorgeous!
And yeah, carry on posting here for the time being, although if you want to submit these to the Hoard, dropping a post in the Hoard thread would be a good idea as well - just so's it's easy to find when Jim & co are rounding up all the entries. If you feel you're going to be doing more, I'd say take Jim up on his offer of a board; he'll move the threads from here into that.
|
|
|
Tiling
May 5, 2009 13:01:04 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 13:01:04 GMT -9
Now you're talking! ;D
And brilliant idea, using the Difference Clouds filter to create 'random' shadows!
|
|
|
Tiling
May 5, 2009 9:47:22 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 9:47:22 GMT -9
You know what would be cool? 6" versions, so they can be applied to Ebbles' tabbed tiles. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 9:45:21 GMT -9
Heh, that's one way of doing it. ;D Tell you what, download these. These are my tabs, which I made to attach to figs with 25mm bases. They work out at 4mm by 20mm, which is how Jim rigs them (so you can, if you decide to, fit them into a 20mm base instead). The smaller file prints at the above dimensions at 300dpi, and the larger one at 600dpi. If you're attaching it to a figure at double size to scale it down later, use the large tab. If you want to mod the tabs so they come out at different widths, open them up in Paint and add 59 pixels to the width for every 5mm you want to add (to the 300dpi version; add 118 pixels to the 600dpi). 300dpi: 600dpi:
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 9:34:27 GMT -9
Definitely. The gradients, as simple as they are, are working well too.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 9:27:36 GMT -9
To be honest, it sounds like Jim's issue is less to do with unfolding and more about getting the models the way he wants them in the first place, which, given my own experience of SketchUp, I can relate to. I'm sure it's possible to get the kind of control he and I both like, but if the learning curve makes it hard to get there, then it can be prohibitive. I must admit, my biggest issue with SketchUp is that it tries to be intuitive, but I find the things it's intuiting aren't the things I want it to intuit. As I've said, I personally find it much easier to use a CAD program to do the model and work out the unfolding in my head than it would be to learn how to do what I want in SketchUp, and then find (and possibly have to pay for) a program to unfold the model for me. But then, that's largely easier for me because I'm already experienced with CAD, and I've been doing both 2D and 3D stuff with it for nearly ten years, so that doesn't involve me actually having to learn anything new. By the way, Jim, I've just realised you may not actually have my Googlemail address - I thought that was what I signed up with, but I used my Hotmail, which I seem to only be able to access now and again. Stupid thing. If you e-mail me the stuff at als[dot]brainstorm[at]googlemail[dot]com, I'll get it a lot more easily.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 6:16:52 GMT -9
The Drone looks cool. It's basically an oversized Buzzer with new bio-weapons and an extra set of slashing talons, right? What size did you scale it up to?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 5:05:01 GMT -9
Oh, wow, that's awesome work - I especially love the colouring on the fur. Well done! ;D
I've given it the once-over, and I certainly don't see any glaring mistakes. The closest I can see is the top end of the club, where it looks like part of it's facing both forwards and backwards (in that we can see the top from both sides). But that's probably easily explained by saying the top's got a bit of a curve to it and peaks in the middle.
Definitely looking forward to seeing your future efforts!
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 4:54:51 GMT -9
And completed! Black/blue variant: Blue/magenta variant: Purple/green variant:
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 5, 2009 1:02:57 GMT -9
I actually found the easiest way was to draw the tab in Paint, believe it or not. I just did a little maths to work out the pixel dimensions (4x20mm, multiplied by 600dpi since I was working double sized and 300dpi), then drew and filled the appropriate sized rectangle in black. The advantage with Paint here is that you can actually draw in pixels, as if you zoom in to the right degree the grid actually shows the individual pixels. Then of course I changed the colour of the bottom row of pixels (to red in my case), then copied and flipped the tab upside down. That way, I'd got the two sides of the tab, with a red fold-line along the middle.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 4, 2009 16:24:42 GMT -9
I'm currently using www.4shared.com to create temporary backups of some of my files, as well as occasionally sharing stuff with friends. Standard accounts are free, and you can have as many as you have e-mail addresses (much like Photobucket). Registering gets you 5Gb of storage space, which you can divide up into folders if you need to, and you can upload individual files of up to 100Mb.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 4, 2009 12:59:32 GMT -9
Seems fair to me. Send it through to the e-mail address I signed up to the forum with (the Googlemail one). That's my main address nowadays anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 4, 2009 11:11:37 GMT -9
Thanks! To be honest, they're not really any darker than the official Hybrid figures, although it's possible there are a few areas that aren't highlighted quite as brightly. I'll have to have a quick look at that and maybe touch a couple of bits up before I post the full files.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 4, 2009 7:57:33 GMT -9
For the record, everyone's gone now, so I should be able to get started ASAP if you've got any sketches ready to work on.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on May 1, 2009 12:12:46 GMT -9
amnable IP laws. Considering the point of them existing in the first place was to make creating new ideas profitable enough to continue doing it, they certainly go a long way to stifle the creative potential.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 18:14:58 GMT -9
I just downloaded the folding hills a few hours ago. I've tried assembling one of the straight hill pieces (at half-size, using the 4-to-a-page option), and I must say that while at first it seems unnecessarily convoluted, the result is actually really impressive.
How did you texture yours, Dave? I'm guessing it was a case of printing a sheet of texture, cutting out the appropriate shapes and just sticking them onto the completed model, amirite?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 15:40:40 GMT -9
Sounds cool.
I didn't actually do this in SketchUp, I used AutoCAD. Essentially I knocked up a quick 3D version of the model, then used the dimensions to measure out the net form. "Unfolding" was pretty much done in my head, and then refined on screen.
After the weekend's cool. I'm gonna have a houseful of people over the weekend, so I'm probably not going to be online much anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 14:50:01 GMT -9
By the way, here's the above car, built up. It's probably a bit big, but I was using a Transformer for dimensions rather than an actual scale vehicle.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 14:27:18 GMT -9
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 10:55:16 GMT -9
Heh. Yah, well, I haven't a lot of free time today, so I'm having to do bits when I can. That said, the test brood is assembled, and they seem to work pretty well. I'll get a few snaps later tonight, when I've got a bit more time and the glue's dried clear.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 10:08:43 GMT -9
Good thought - take the normal bat and make it dire! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Apr 30, 2009 0:25:47 GMT -9
Offhand, no; I've just looked at the Hypertext SRD and you're right, there pretty much just seems to be the two listings. But then the entry for bat does say that it specificlly refers to "small, insectivorous bats". Way I see it, there's nothing wrong with bumping up a few of the stats (like giving it a couple more hit points and a bite attack) and knocking the Size up to Small to make the creature you're after.
|
|