|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 5, 2016 10:45:42 GMT -9
Hey Everyone! I started trying to make paper minis a couple years ago - I love the idea of art that people can play with - as an excuse to get myself drawing regularly again outside of the day job. Plus it's just fun to roll around in D&D stuff. It's been a learning experience and I've been evolving my process as I go (adding backviews, moving to 32mm scale, different PDF layouts, etc). I release free versions of my minis without backviews (front's duplicated on the back) and you can download them all here: PrintableHeroes ArchiveFormat/scale varies at bit for some of the older ones. I've been slowly going back through and updating them to 32mm. As of 2016 I started doing back views, reskins, and recolors for patrons through Patreon. I'm hoping to start selling minis and sets on their own in the near future, but still sorting out best PDF practices/easy of use and going back through and updating older minis with back views and variations. Anyhow, I'm excited to finally be creating a post here! It's a bit daunting - always seems like there's something else I want to try to figure out or get working better! Thanks for your time!
|
|
|
Post by squirmydad on Aug 5, 2016 13:08:31 GMT -9
That looks great! I especially like the oozes and the chicken.
|
|
|
Post by Vermin King on Aug 5, 2016 14:35:40 GMT -9
Outstanding art work
|
|
|
Post by chiefasaur on Aug 5, 2016 16:35:01 GMT -9
Welcome to the party! Glad to see you here
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 6, 2016 20:59:19 GMT -9
Thanks guys! Here's a work in progress image for a set of giants I'm working on currently,
|
|
|
Post by pavaro on Aug 6, 2016 22:16:27 GMT -9
Nice work. Tell me how big are your all sketches (cm or mm)? Now do you share information about your work in progress?
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 6, 2016 22:34:49 GMT -9
Thanks! For these giants the sketches are roughly 125x180mm (at 600dpi) each. I'll be scaling finals down to work at 32mm scale, so from feet to eyes they should be roughly 64mm tall when printed.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by cowboyleland on Aug 7, 2016 6:53:29 GMT -9
Female giants are a good idea!
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 7, 2016 8:32:44 GMT -9
Female giants are a good idea! Yeah, I hadn't seen that many examples of female giants, especially female frost giants, and thought they needed a bit more representations
|
|
|
Post by cowboycentaur on Aug 7, 2016 18:53:34 GMT -9
Awesome to have you here! All my favorite miniature creators chilling in the same forum, what could be better?
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 9, 2016 15:08:08 GMT -9
Still got some work to do on the Frost Giant, but couldn't resist sneaking in a test print and doing a scale comparison.
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 12, 2016 23:03:44 GMT -9
First time trying out black borders, still rather on the fence about it... Millions of ink cartridges crying out and suddenly silent.
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Aug 13, 2016 3:25:53 GMT -9
The real benefit of black borders is that they make it much easier for those who cut by hand to get a good looking finished product, and that ease of use is quite important to many crafters. The trade-off would generally seem to be worth it. In any case, a lot of paper mini users are not that ink conscious. If they were they wouldn't be printing at best quality on high end photopaper They only tend to start complaining when their ink gets used up on stuff that doesn't actually need to be there.
|
|
|
Post by Vermin King on Aug 13, 2016 3:56:53 GMT -9
Your black bases will use a lot of ink, but black borders don't use that much. You must admit, that Giant will look really good in play this way.
I like black borders, but when I convert figures, I use a medium-dark gray sometimes. I use Gimp to run lines around the figure and fill the gap with the gray before printing. As I'm cutting them out is when I get closer to the shape. I'm better with a blade than with a mouse
|
|
|
Post by nolabert on Aug 13, 2016 8:49:00 GMT -9
That hill giant looks awesome! Regarding black borders, I agree completely with bravesirkevin. His minis are the best in my opinion in terms of cutting minis by hand (I don't own a robocutter). His black border is quite generous that makes finishing the mini much quicker. One Monk and Permes also have black borders but I have to use a marker to extend the border after cutting because I don't cut that close to the border. I wish all were like Kev's Lounge minis. The black border just looks really good too (the large white border of the minis in your first post in this thread don't look as good in my opinion). Regarding printing quality. I always just use standard quality and print on 110 lb Staples brand cardstock. I also have never varnished or laminated my minis--not sure if it's worth the effort (and I am printing on an ink jet).
|
|
|
Post by oldschooldm on Aug 13, 2016 14:33:05 GMT -9
Another shout out for Black Borders. It's my only choice.
I think part of it may be what tradition you come to the minis from - if you were doing tent-style standups before (really, really easy to cut) you may be used to a rather large white background (takes no ink as well!)
For me, I've only ever built the 2D minis most designers here make. Having a closely-cut front/back mini is all about looking detailed and allows me to focus on the texture more. The black doesn't wash out the color - the black "disappears", whereas when I see white border (even one tightly cut) I can't NOT see the white.
There are some kits that didn't have black edges, so I import them to photoshop and add them. :-)
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Aug 14, 2016 2:51:22 GMT -9
An odd thing happened yesterday when someone wrote me on Facebook to tell me he wasn't going to buy my minis because the border wasn't a solid black.
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 16, 2016 18:51:46 GMT -9
I think part of it may be what tradition you come to the minis from - if you were doing tent-style standups before (really, really easy to cut) you may be used to a rather large white background (takes no ink as well!) Yeah, I think you're right about that. Whatever the reason the white borders don't bother me as much, but I have to concede that black borders do look more professional, and there is something rewarding about spending the extra time cutting close and edging. I'm hoping to get an entry into this year's Papercuts! so I'll be playing around with black borders more. I'm a slow learner, but eventually I get there!
|
|
|
Post by Vermin King on Aug 17, 2016 3:38:17 GMT -9
I don't know how slow you learn, but you learned to do your artwork very well
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Aug 22, 2016 14:59:40 GMT -9
|
|
|
Post by kgstanley81 on Aug 24, 2016 6:18:01 GMT -9
Wow, it is awesome
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Sept 2, 2016 22:52:43 GMT -9
Just posted up the free version of the giant set, available for download here: PrintableHeroes_August2016_Giants_Free.PDF
Click on the images in the PDF to cycle options (for minis and bases) and the little black silhouette buttons will toggle black borders. Please note that you'll need to download the PDF as the fancy buttons don't work in web browsers. Versions with back views are available to Patreon supporters.
|
|
|
Post by Rhannon on Sept 3, 2016 0:10:00 GMT -9
For now I have downloaded tier 1 version. ... I am speechless ( as always ). congratulations!!! Gorgeous figures, wonderful drawings, perfect colors ... But I would also like to focus on final product's high quality with all its options ( the pdf file ). Imho sometimes some authors and many buyers underestimate this aspect. However even this aspect is very complete in your products. Bravo! While we're on the subject I might make two personal opinions. 1 - I am a supporter of the "backs". I hope it is possible in the time that some of your old sets will be updated ( even with a special sale for your patreon supporters). Ok it is only half dream and half hope. 2 - Imho your products have a very high commercial quality. But they are hardly visible on the OBS websites. Why they are not even on RPGNow (DTRpg) and Wargame Vault? Ciao
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Sept 3, 2016 8:40:12 GMT -9
For now I have downloaded tier 1 version. ... I am speechless ( as always ). congratulations!!! Gorgeous figures, wonderful drawings, perfect colors ... But I would also like to focus on final product's high quality with all its options ( the pdf file ). Imho sometimes some authors and many buyers underestimate this aspect. However even this aspect is very complete in your products. Bravo! While we're on the subject I might make two personal opinions. 1 - I am a supporter of the "backs". I hope it is possible in the time that some of your old sets will be updated ( even with a special sale for your patreon supporters). Ok it is only half dream and half hope. 2 - Imho your products have a very high commercial quality. But they are hardly visible on the OBS websites. Why they are not even on RPGNow (DTRpg) and Wargame Vault? Ciao Thank you so much for the positive feedback and for your patronage The PDF setup has definitely been a work in progress, trying to find a clear and clean way to present multiple minis, their recolors, and give black border options... I definitely intend to update my older sets with backs and recolor options as time allows, I've updated a handful, but it's admittedly slow going :/ I just got setup with an account for DTRpg about a week ago and I need to create an "instructions" page for my PDFs, but I intend to start putting items up for people who don't want to subscribe to Patreon. I'd tried using DMGuild for the more specifically D&D related items, but even though my understanding of their EULA is that art is an exception to their 'exclusive rights' I'm still a bit iffy about putting stuff up on there, which is a shame. I also have a dream of hosting my own digital storefront, something more like a traditional miniature stores (http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/) where people can easily locate the exact hero/monster they need and buy it individually (with recolor options included) if they don't want to buy a whole set. Something just incredibly accessible, that can function as an online resource library. Someday!
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Sept 3, 2016 9:16:32 GMT -9
I just got setup with an account for DTRpg about a week ago and I need to create an "instructions" page for my PDFs, but I intend to start putting items up for people who don't want to subscribe to Patreon. I'd tried using DMGuild for the more specifically D&D related items, but even though my understanding of their EULA is that art is an exception to their 'exclusive rights' I'm still a bit iffy about putting stuff up on there, which is a shame. DM's Guild is specifically for 3rd party publishers to sell their own splat books and adventure modules for DnD 5th edition, and the main benefit is that you get to use the DnD trademarks to market your product... ... but you only get 50% of the selling price as royalties rather than 70%!
If you were doing DnD-specific content, like modules set in the Forgotten Realms, then that would likely be worth it, but since you're just doing minis that aren't necessarily tied to DnD or even the d20 system, you're probably better off putting it on RPGNow and Drivethru where you'll get the higher commission rate and won't have to abide by WotC's licence. The one benefit of using the DM's Guild licence is that you can legally sell things that are considered "product identity" which are generally excluded from the Open Game Licence. But the list of "product identity" items isn't actually that long: beholder gauth carrion crawler displacer beast githyanki githzerai kuo-toa mind flayer slaad umber hulk yuan-ti Literally everything else is fair game, and even some of those are still doable. For example: Yuan-Ti are a specific type of snakemen, but there's nothing stopping you from making generic snakemen as long as you don't use the name Yuan-Ti or any elements of their backstory in your materials.
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Sept 3, 2016 9:59:16 GMT -9
I just got setup with an account for DTRpg about a week ago and I need to create an "instructions" page for my PDFs, but I intend to start putting items up for people who don't want to subscribe to Patreon. I'd tried using DMGuild for the more specifically D&D related items, but even though my understanding of their EULA is that art is an exception to their 'exclusive rights' I'm still a bit iffy about putting stuff up on there, which is a shame. If you were doing DnD-specific content, like modules set in the Forgotten Realms, then that would likely be worth it, but since you're just doing minis that aren't necessarily tied to DnD or even the d20 system, you're probably better off putting it on RPGNow and Drivethru where you'll get the higher commission rate and won't have to abide by WotC's licence. Yeah, my thought with the DMsGuild was to do minis that could be used for specific modules (i.e. Storm Kings Thunder, Curse of Strahd, etc), but from a $$ standpoint it makes more sense to do them generic and release them else-where. Thanks for that list of product identity monsters, I didn't realize it was such a short list.
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Sept 3, 2016 10:31:55 GMT -9
The full list of "product identity" items is a lot longer but almost all of it is names of places in their fictional universes like "Underdark", "Faerun" and so on. The stuff you'd expect to be trademarked. Those are the only creatures they specifically label as product identity. You can find the full list in the fourth paragraph of the first page of the SRD here: media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/SRD-OGL_V5.1.pdf
|
|
|
Post by Rhannon on Sept 3, 2016 10:37:50 GMT -9
Imho, it is just a personal opinion as a buyer ( i'm not an author and therefore I can't have any experience as producer ), DMsGuild is much less visited than general OBS channels ( DTR, RPGNow ... ).
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Sept 5, 2016 16:00:11 GMT -9
Took a break from working on my reskins of the giants to update my old roper with new art and a back view (work in progress)
|
|
|
Post by printableheroes on Sept 22, 2016 22:24:23 GMT -9
|
|