First Figure

[poptarticus]

Hey there. I happened upon the whole concept of paper miniatures for mass war gaming only a few days ago. It in intrigued me because I'm a huge Legend of the Five Rings fan, but I missed out on Clan War in the late nineties. They just announced that a company called Valiant is re-releasing some of the miniatures in time for L5R's anniversary, but not enough of them to play the game, which was a big let down.

This site was the only paper mini site I could find with really excellent tutorials and help in creating your own high quality pieces. I appreciated it so much I wanted to share what this site led me to make. It was more of a proof-of-concept attempt than anything, so there isn't a back shot.

This is a Dragon Clan samurai. He is based on a figure from the Clan War game that you can see here: www.veltd.net/32mm/vell5rd17.htm.



I took the photograph of the figure, scaled it up and increased it's DPI, and then traced it in a new layer in GIMP. I then imported that picture and traced it in Inkscape to do the coloring. I'd never worked with Inkscape prior to this, and I'd be curious to hear reviews/criticism, and any tips or tricks anyone has about this piece. The headpiece, you'll notice, is a bit different from the figure. I based the headpiece design on a card from the L5R CCG (simultaneously the most complicated and gratifying CCG you'll ever play): www.l5rsearch.com/images/cards/mirumoto_ishino.jpg.

My goal, lofty and insane as it is, is to make full armies for each of the playable clans in Clan War and make them available to fans of the game. I had to track down a copy of the rules book (which I did gleefully after realizing I could make my own good-quality figures for the game without too much trouble), so until I get it I won't have more than a vague idea of what to work on or really how much work it's actually going to be. I think a lot of the figures can easily be generic drawings just colored to fit the clan motifs, and I think I might just make the actual SVG files available along with the clan symbols for application to different figures and for personal coloring options.

Beyond my L5R obsession, I actually just want to make various Japanese and Chinese inspired figures. I love running "oriental" RPG campaigns, and this would be a great excuse. We'll see if I do much else. This may end up fizzling out. Who knows?

Thanks again to everyone on these forums and to Jim for inspiring me and helping me understand just what the heck I needed to do to break into this interesting hobby!

-Poptart

[WaffleM]

Awesome samurai! There aren't enough Asian paper figures out there. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see more! Any chance of seeing any Asian mythological figures?

[squirmydad]

Welcome!

The samurai looks great for your first figure. I can totally see how you adapted some of the tutorial steps in your designs.

the Gimp/Inkscape combo is perfect for figure creation. About the only thing missing for me is some fancy filter effects, but even then, there are solutions. I know I am actually contemplating switching to this combination of programs for my own designs. It makes it easier to collaborate and share production designs.

For mass figure designs. I suggest you learn to design the figures in parts, legs, torso, arms and heads. This makes posing the figures easier, and drawing the rear views easier as well.

Good luck. Just keep posting stuff to this topic, or create new ones for new projects. I'll create your own board once you a have a few established.
JIM

[old squirmydad]

That's a great start. ;D
Do you plan on doing the back-side as well?

[poptarticus]

Thanks for the compliments! It's heartening. ;D

Any chance of seeing any Asian mythological figures?

Probably, but my initial focus is going to be humans and oni for the mass combat game. After I achieve some level of success with that I'll move to figures for RPG use. Kirin, kappa, and all those other interesting entities are on the list. :] Not to say the mass combat figures won't be viable for RPG use, and I'll be sure to post them!

Do you plan on doing the back-side as well?

This figure, I think, is going to languish in a folder for a while. I'm going to take Jim's suggestion about doing figures in pieces to heart and work on getting that down before I come back to this guy. I do like this figure, and when I get around to making RPG-based figures he'll be among the first I do. (Or redo, in this case.)

About the only thing missing for me is some fancy filter effects, but even then, there are solutions. I know I am actually contemplating switching to this combination of programs for my own designs.

I use Linux (Ubuntu flavor), so I have few other options when it comes to vector programs. I'm having a hard time finding easily understandable Inkscape tutorials that aren't youTube videos. You wouldn't happen to have any suggestions on good ones, would you? I'm honestly considering buying a print book on the subject. Vector drawing is a little out of my purview.

[Floyd]

Nice line work. Sometimes that can be difficult to get just right for the scale.

~F

[squirmydad]

If you can get a printed manual for anything ,it's a 100 times better than online stuff.

I don't know Inkscape well enough to do a tutorial, but it's like anything else new, just learn the tools you need at the time you need them.
JIM

[tugunmojo]

I really like your mini and I would love to have a whole army of them!

[jabbro]

Very cool. Keep up the good work.