Character Contest 6: Animalia

Your character creation challenge for this week is going to be a bit more focused than last time: you must create a character (or characters) based on the animal kingdom. That might mean a super chimpanzee, or it might mean The Battling Beaver super-hero, or it might be a space-zombie-fighting intergalactic robot horse, or it might be your take on the Beastmaster, or a fantasy ranger with his wolf companion, or or or anything else you can think of, so long as it relates in some way to an animal. The rules are the same as last time:

  • No editing in anything but HeroMachine (except for basic cropping or sticking a label on it or something);
  • Post a link to your image in the comments;
  • You must use a version of HeroMachine to create your image.

The winner will get to choose either one item or a caricature of their head to go in the HeroMachine 3 final version so they can serve as a model for countless legions of creative people the world over! The contest runs from now until next Tuesday, at which time a winner will be announced.

Good luck everyone, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

119 Responses to Character Contest 6: Animalia

  1. The Imp says:

    Ooh, I get to make one of the first entries!

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58059&d=1242009000

    Before the fall of the Soviet Union, one man policed the skies of central Asia for Mother Russia: a hero known as the Berkut. Taking his codename from the fierce golden eagles bred for wolf-hunting by the Kirghiz tribesmen, the Berkut was one of Asia’s most well-known metahumans, but was little known in the rest of the world, except by intelligence services. A staunch communist, he was dismayed when the USSR collapsed, and spent nearly a decade as a super-powered mercenary, selling his services to the highest bidder in the near-constant brush wars that raged in the former Soviet Asian republics. He converted to Islam in the late 90s, and is currently working in conjunction with the Taliban. He has been growing more and more disillusioned with the actions of the Muslim terrorists he’s found himself in bed with, and only time will tell if he can resurrect himself as the hero older Russians remember him as…

  2. Kaldath says:

    Entry #1) The Human/Tiger Hybrid Mutant and Warriors Team Member Wildcat – http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/Kaldath/WildcatHM3.png

  3. Kaldath says:

    Entry #2) The Super Powered Alien Canine Known As SPOT. http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/Kaldath/SpotHM3.png

  4. DJ says:

    This is The Hanger. A paranormal law man he hunts down people using magic and other paranormal things such as ghosts, as illegal weapons. His horse is a horse that had died do to a magical attack but was brought back to life by The Hanger. Due to him not only dying by magic but also being brought back to life by it the horse has the special ability to detect magic and the undead.

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=TheHanger2.png

  5. Eric says:

    Countless legions you say. I am intrigued…

  6. Hammerknight says:

    Here is “Bad Bunny” and evil villain that is in love with “Skunkman” and “Skunkman’s” sidekick “Poodle Boy”. stories are with the post.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58984&d=1244037342
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58985&d=1244037347
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58983&d=1244035339

  7. violodion says:

    Poodle Boy?

    .
    .
    .
    πŸ˜† 😯

  8. Hakoon1 says:

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58409&d=1242836991

    King of the Wild. A Tiger who has learned mankind’s secrets and has used them. He turned into a tyrant over the wild.

  9. DJ says:

    I call this one fighting like cats and dogs. IMAGINE if the revolutionary war had been fought like this. πŸ˜€

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=catsanddogs.png

  10. Worf says:

    Poodle Boy!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    What’s next? Platypus Girl? Giraffe Man?

    Oh Oh I know, it’s the Green LLAMA (Not the green lama, a different character as Jeff has pointed out in a previous post) HEHEHEHEHEHE

  11. Jim says:

    The Legendary Dragon Warrior

  12. Hammerknight says:

    Hey thanks Worf for the wonderful idea. Hope to see your entries soon.
    “THE LLamanator” is one of “Bad Bunny’s” evil henchmen. He’s out to stomp the stink out of “Skunkman”.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58990&d=1244047070

  13. Whit says:

    Here is Tabby, leader of the Feline Fighters:

    http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1318/tabby1.png

  14. @ Jim: That doesn’t LOOK much like a panda lol

  15. silentbilbo says:

    Here is Vixen, a thief who uses her wily ways to seduce her prey.
    http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x106/silentbilbo/V2.jpg

  16. darkvatican says:

    Meh, this theme isn’t quite my style, but here’s a pic I’ve already done, before:

    White Wolf – http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58153&d=1242237070

  17. darkvatican says:

    Another one. This a an insect-themed superhero

    The Wasp – http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58163&d=1242250347

  18. Hammerknight says:

    Jeff are you setting a limit this time.Every Hero in their dog might show up for this one. πŸ™‚

  19. darkvatican says:

    An aquatic superhero who derives his name from one of the oceans coolest lifeforms…

    Manta – http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57951&d=1241736247

    (stories/bios for these guys are all posted in my thread in the ugo forum’s heromachine archives, in case anybody’s interested and/or bored to tears)

  20. darkvatican says:

    @HK: “every hero IN their dog…” lol Nice.

  21. Jeff Hebert says:

    @HK: Not yet, there have been so many good entries and so few dogs (pardon the expression) that I’m willing to roll the dice another week at least.

  22. Whit says:

    There are several items that aren’t working at all right now–at minimum, Belt, Shoulder Left and Right, and Insignia.

  23. Jeff Hebert says:

    Whit, those slots are all working fine for me using the online version. What is happening when you try to use them? Or do you mean there are individual items within those slots that are not working properly for some reason?

  24. Whit says:

    I was trying to use them on a saved file. When I went to load a file, nothing came up, so my guess is the problem is with save/load, since the slots are working fine on a new file.

  25. Whit says:

    Oh, and nothing is happening at all–click on an item, and nothing changes.

  26. Whit says:

    Just now, I tried to open a saved file, and only half the slots appeared in the image.

  27. Jeff Hebert says:

    Yeah, saving and loading are very rough. Basically it looks like sometimes an item gets “lost” as we’ve seen in other avenues, and then when you try to do anything with the set it was in you’re screwed. However, there’s also a problem with layering, so it’s possible that the items are there but buried under other items that are now on top of it that shouldn’t be. If you see the little mini toolbar in the item preview box then the item probably is there, try clicking on that toolbar (which is supposed to pick the item without adding a new one) and then move it to the top of the stack.

  28. Eric says:

    This is a remake of probably the first thing i saved in Heromachine.
    Jaguar
    http://www.majhost.com/gallery/kaka/Heromachine2/hm3jaguar.png

  29. JR says:

    i give you Judge parscario, father of baron von rieschtanvon und el castillo

  30. Haydnc95 says:

    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/Flutterlily.jpg

    god i hope a butterfly counts as part of the animal kingdom ? oO plus my computer was going mega slow, so it might look weird!

  31. MartianBlue says:

    My first entrant
    Codenamed : Death From Above
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Eagle.jpg

    I decided to give a little story as well. Sorry for the length.

    One of the last survivng races of the ancient world, such as the faun and minotaur, where man-like animal hybrids would roam the world. This race of sky warriors have an average lifespan of 1000s of years. Their weapons of choice are of the ranged variety, particularly bows and spears, made of an extremely rare metal, with visual qualities similar to gold, and physical qualities very similar to titanium. When using bows, they would paint their arrows the color of the sky, so that they would appear invisible as they soared toward there destination. They earned the nickname of “Death from Above” due not only to their ability to fly, but also because of their “Death Plunges”. Due to their wings and arms being attached, they could not sustain flight while attacking, so they developed the technique known as the “Death Plunge”, where they would soar to great heights, draw their weapons, instantly entering a dead fall at insane speeds, and moments before hitting the ground, with deadly accuracy launch their weapons instantly killing their foes, then spread their wings and retreat back into the sky for their next attack.

  32. JR says:

    http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/kronus1294/BaronVonRieschtanvanundelcastill-1.png?t=1244067349
    baron von rieschanvon und el castillo master of the dark arts, ruler of the etherworld! brother of king tar’ka-majimut, king of east pakistan(1940).

  33. Andre says:

    @Haydnc95, I absolutely love your Flutterlily.
    @MartianBlue, Death from Above is amazing. he looks like a cartoon character whose story i would love to see.

  34. Whit says:

    Tabby’s brother Torty, second-in-command of the Feline Fighters, and a bit of a scaredy cat.

    http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8889/torty1.png

  35. Whit says:

    Cobby, the Feline Fighters’ pilot, mechanic, and jack-of-all-trades. He’s a Russian Blue with attitude!

    http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2876/cobby1.png

  36. Isia says:

    @Whit. a fat-cat in a speedo, now thats funny πŸ™‚

  37. Whit says:

    Hear ye, hear ye, presenting Princess Neko, ruler of all the Planet Felix! The Feline Fighters defend her honour! (And isn’t her pet unicorn Chibi sooo cute?)

  38. Whit says:

    Oy, I meant to save this one (it’s not my night):

    http://yfrog.com/0yprincessneko1p

    She’s also the Sovereign Bearer of the Sacred Tiger-Eye, which the evil Lord Dogstar is trying to seize for himself.

  39. The Imp says:

    Another bird-themed character: Screaming Eagle!

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59011&d=1244079828

  40. JR says:

    Presenting King Tar’Ka-Majimut!brother of baron von rieschtanvon. cousin to president mohammad hillstrom of the usa.
    http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/kronus1294/KingTarka-majimut.png?t=1244080970
    will be back in a while.

  41. firecracker says:

    Animals … you want animals???? OK
    Centasus – the only known combination of a centaur and a pegasus, the Centasus has the best and worst of both races. Having the ability to attack with either weapons (preferring the bow & arrow, bolo, club and/or sling) or with normal horse attack (hooves) or with wings.
    The Centasus also has a great knowledge of astronomy and astrology, as well as divination. There is also a great distrust of humans and dwarves, and especially ogres, trolls and the like. They will tolerate elves and halflings. They are shunned by other centaurs and the like.
    They have a great love for horses and similar creatures. There are no known communities of centasus and no known matings.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51748&d=1212450482
    The Zhuan-Ti are an ancient race of cave-dwelling man-snakes. They are fierce warriors who can bite and constrict as well as fight with weapons. They are not very bright though and are easily distracted. About 20% of the population of Zhuan-Ti are of a poisonous variety.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=53997&d=1219933005
    Maybe a mutant version of the Centasus??
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59012&d=1244085016
    This one I got nothin’. Blame Hammerknight!
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59013&d=1244085024

  42. Whit says:

    I’m having a heck of a time making Lord Dogstar. The long rabbit/dog ears are not layering right, and they only let you have multiples half the time.

  43. Whit says:

    I also wish I knew how to get my UGO account fixed so I could see all these great creations!

  44. Andre says:

    me too Whit, its telling me i dont have access or some other such nonsense when i try to login

  45. Whit says:

    It doesn’t recognise my username (IndigoEagle) at all, but it does recognise the name Whittier (I don’t remember opening another account or changing the name for it), but says I don’t have permission to access the boards.

  46. Whit says:

    The evil Lord Dogstar and his sniveling henchman Sneezer constantly plot to steal the Sacred Tiger Eye from Princess Neko, but the Feline Fighters stand in their way!

    http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/5749/hm3beta4.png

  47. Xavier Kain says:

    figured I’d throw my hat into this one also. Once i get more organized with my non-contest stuff i will probably make a gallery of more of my stuff in the forums.
    this dude is a TigerMan type character.

    http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2954/tigerman.png

  48. MartianBlue says:

    @Andre thanks, the only problem I have with it is the feet, I probably could have done them better if I had made them myself, but I got lazy(my best trait, lol).

    @ Tiger Entrants
    The Tiger people make awsome entries from what I’ve seen. I know what my next entry will be. I’m going for five entries max.

  49. MartianBlue says:

    My second entrant
    Codenamed : Ground Runner
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Cats.jpg

    I will say up front, that I prefer the look of everyone else’s cat/tiger people over these. With that being said, Another little story.

    The Kat-Ji of the african savanna are as fearce as they are beautiful. With their gleaming bronze like skin coloring, mezmorizing emerald green eyes, and majestic physics, they are very pleasing to the eye. The perfect blend of speed and grace, makes them one of the fastest and most revered races of the ancient world. Favored weapons include bows and spears, but in a Kat-Ji’s opinion nothing is as satisfying as achieving a kill using their own claws(not going into detail here). Although they are extremely loving amongst their own packs, the Kat-ji are a hateful and bloodthirsty race, thriving on war, always in the ultimate battle for ultimate supremacy. Especially violent towards oposing tribes of their own kind, due to the fact that the Kat-Ji consider they have no equal. Beatufiul, Fearce, Graceful, Bloodthirsty, and most of all Arrogant, These are what it means to be a Kat-Ji

    Other Entrants
    First Entrant
    Codenamed : Death From Above @ Post 40

  50. DJ says:

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=BirdKing.png

    The Bird King. The ruler of all that flies in the world of Eli’Narook he is one of the most feared creatures in the world.

  51. JR says:

    President Mohammad Hillstrom of the USA! cousin of King tar’ka-majimut.half brother of the evil el notorizza!

  52. JR says:

    oops, mr ppes and his lepoliger!
    http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/kronus1294/Prsidenthilstrom.png?t=1244143768
    this is character two of probably5 or 6. check ’em out! πŸ˜€

  53. DJ says:

    http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv67/FamilyPhotoBucket1_2009/?action=view&current=WTFCHIMP.png

    Story behind this WTF animal. I want to make a certain animal. Which one is a secret because I still may be able to pull it off. I got bored cause I couldn’t get the body right so I screwed around and came up with that. The WTF Chimp says what I think.

  54. Whit says:

    DJ–it looks like a Pushme-Pullyou.

  55. MartianBlue says:

    My third entrant
    Codenamed : Evolution
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Fishandbowl.jpg

    I wrote a story(little long), with 4 pictures just for fun. My only entrant of the four is the one above. Enjoy!
    Firstly let me start off by saying, “Yes I do have a point to this!” Ok now that that’s settled, let’s get started.

    Man and the Evolution of Water Breathing
    Meet Man. http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Man.jpg
    Every since the dawn of time, Man has been looking for that next step in evolution(not the we came from monkeys malarkey, but true evolution). “How do we make ourselves better, stronger, faster?”, “Wouldn’t it be cool, if we could fly, breathe underwater, or travel the unknown vastness that is woman?” Well obviously some things will always remain a mystery, *cough* a woman’s logic *cough*. So man decided, “Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up!” Seeing as how water is under sky, he decided to start with trying to figure out how man might breathe water.
    So he grabbed a boat, a fishing rod, a fish bowl, and a glistening bottle of the sparkley stuff(not water) and he set off, in the name of science. Upon arriving at the lake he began casting his line, hours went by and he caught nothing, just about to give up, he got a bite. After the 2.3 seconds it took him to reel in his line, he layed the smoking fishing rod to the side. With fish in bowl http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Fishandbowl.jpg
    he popped the top of the sparkley stuff(again, not water) and added a few drips into the bowl, one thing lead to another, badda badda bing, badda badda bang, and well… you know how the story goes(oh yeah, that old chestnut).
    This was the resulting product. http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/FishMan.jpg
    Needless to say, the experiment was less than successful. But as all scientist do, when something doesn’t work the first time, try try again until it does. So man did just that he tried again, and again, and again, each and every time resulting in the same outcome (go figure). Seeing the direct route wasn’t working, he decided to go the in-direct route, after governing a new rule, “Don’t play with your food!”, and so finally gene splicing was invented.
    Seeing the outcome http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/Mer-Man.jpg
    man was satisfied and had thereby conqured the evolution of breathing water, but unfortunatley having spent his whole life researching in exsclusion in a boat in the middle of the ocean, when man died shortly after he took his secret with him, and since his offspring couldn’t leave the water, the secret has been lost to our world.

  56. Whit says:

    Make that Pushmi-pullyu.

  57. Haydnc95 says:

    my internet keeps closing down every time im working on my character πŸ™
    ill post my last character later, and some mihgt recoginse them πŸ˜‰

  58. berserker says:

    here is my character
    http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1012/berserker.png
    he is a viking berserker-
    http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/berserke.shtml
    loads of info on berserkers^^^^^^^^

  59. Haydnc95 says:

    Ok, his face is REAL crap, but that becos it is going seriously slow for some reason ¬¬ so it looks weird! and i also couldnt add a tail πŸ™ but here

    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/TheRumTumTugger.jpg

  60. Hammerknight says:

    My entries have all been in fun and I hope that no one was offended my them. I am here to have fun and hope I can help others have fun as well.

  61. marx says:

    As I’ve mentioned before, I like to experiment with different poses. When Jeff announced that this week’s contest was animal themed, I decided to to try and make a pouncing or leaping character. After a bit of experimentation, I settled on a classic werewolf, leaping out of the shadows to pounce on his prey. The tricky part was the perspective, making the grasping claws and slavering jaws seem closer to you than the feet.

    I’m not sure I really captured the airborne effect I was going for. To me, he looks like he’s charging rather than jumping. But that’s almost as effective. So here’s my entry: “Leaping Lupine.”

    http://www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~mshute/werewolf.png

  62. Jeff, I have respected you and admired you for a while now, and the job you’ve given me is fun and rewarding, but please, whatever you do, don’t fire me for this, ok?

    http://sites.google.com/site/damienstadler/Home/random-creations/hero-machine-3-contest

    I mean, I guess the begging kinda sets a bad tone, but you have the right to know going in. It’s natural to admit anything in order to retain what is yours. So I beg you Jeff…please don’t fire me if you wet yourself laughing at my entry.

  63. Jeff Hebert says:

    Very funny Damien!

  64. Marx, I do hate to say it, but your Lupine just isn’t as awesome as your elf chick. Honestly, I took one look at her and said to my wife, “Well, honey, I think I just lost.” But still, a good entry with a powerful knack for perspective.

  65. Jeff, I swear, every time I get to the bottom, I can hear the OLD school Power Rangers in my head.

  66. DJ says:

    Whit- I was trying to make a giraffe but couldn’t get the body right so instead I messed around.

  67. Solander says:

    My only entry for the contest. Nothing fancy, since I’m all out of ideas here and just thought I should try something ordinary for a change:

    The Vet

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59073&d=1244250467

  68. The Imp says:

    I’m blow away by some of these entries (coughMarxcough), but here’s another two entries anyway:

    Great White: Scourge of the Seas!

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59078&d=1244262267

    Now this one below may be disqualified because of the text boxes, but meh, I had fun making it anyway:

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59015&d=1244098542

  69. Blue Blazer says:

    The Scarab is a resurrected Egyptian pharaoh with a drive for global domination and a staff once carried by the god Osiris, which gives him the power of flight and the ability to create an army of thousands of scarab beetles from the ground.

    http://forums-ugo-com/attachment-php?attachmentid=59089&d=1244299196

  70. Whit says:

    Haydnc95: CATS! Brilliant!

  71. MartianBlue says:

    My fourth entrant
    Codenamed : The Trickster
    http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m189/acebase_2006/Hero%20Forum/TheCoyote.jpg

    No story. (Woohoo) I can hear the cheers now. Anyways, here is Coyote The Trickster(Above)

    Other Entrants
    `First Entrant
    Codenamed : Death From Above @ Post 40
    `Second Entrant
    Codenamed : Ground Runner @ Post 64
    `Third Entrant
    Codenamed : Evolution @ Post 75

    *Note to Jeff*
    Could you erase my prior post(exact same as this just missing my other entrants) Thanks

  72. marx says:

    @Damien – Now you know who elf chick was stalking. Also, Ninja Squirrel! I love it! There’s a lot of personality crammed into that little pic. And clever the way you made the furry chest on Forest Fox.

    @Hammerknight – Love the Sumo Walrus. Simple but effective. Challenege: Can you pose him in a Sumo stance? ex http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/5822154/2/istockphoto_5822154-sumo-wrestler-in-a-fighting-stance.jpg
    Betcha can!

    @DJ – I’m always blown away by the ambition of your pics.

    @The Imp – I like the text boxes. Keep ’em.

    @Jeff – Those clawed zombie hands are popular. Any chance we can get a wider variety of claws?

  73. @ MartianBlue: I got it for ya.
    @ Marx: thank you! My wife was saying the same thing about Ninja Squirrel. I almost didn’t include him, but she insisted. As for the furry chest…dude, just some strategically-placed beards. But it is the little things that make a piece, isn’t it? I think I’ll cover that in my next art blog. Speaking of which, there’s a Mechanics blog post coming tomorrow (I’m up to two a week so far! An art piece and a how-to-in-HM3). So stay tuned!

  74. Haydnc95 says:

    ok, last one now!

    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/Quaxo.jpg

    Quaxo, alter ego of Mr.Mistoffelees, i think thats how you spell it oO

  75. Whit says:

    Nice jazz hands! Love your Cats, Haydnc95!

  76. marx says:

    @Hammerknight – Knew you could do it. Not bad with Sumo Hippo, but I really like your centaur. Clever use of limbs to create the pose. My hat’s off to you.

  77. Matt says:

    I Promised myself that I wouldn’t enter in this contest because all my animal ideas look gay (no offence to anyone who is gay, I just ment it as a figure of speech), but then I got bored making random stuff so I decided that I would Post one of the most random gay (once again, no offence) looking character I did, so introducing…

    Crab-Man!
    http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9715/crabman.png

    Cristopher Mansoo was once an office clerk on the coast of Florida, but one day, whist he was running on the beach, he got nipped by radioactive crab and lost his legs and his arm to a shark. When he awoke in hosptial he found that his lost arm had slowly started growing back and was transforming into a crab claw. He then created some crab-like legs to side-walk around with and changed his identity to Crab-Man, he then dedicated his life to destroying the evil shark-men and eradicating the evil king of the sharks.

    … Btw I am really sorry about how bad Crab-Man’s story is, I’m just really tired because it’s 1am here in England.

  78. Haydnc95 says:

    arwwww, thanks Whit πŸ™‚
    you can tell it one of my fav musicals πŸ˜€

  79. Whit says:

    I like Crab-Man, Matt. πŸ™‚

  80. Ky2030 says:

    My Personal Opinion

    Its gonna be a duke out between

    King of Beasts and Woodland Rangers

    This is my personal opinion based solely on my tastes

  81. Matt says:

    Thanks Whit, I like your Tabby creation πŸ˜€ @Damion: Ninja Squirell lol