Since this came up in the contest thread, I just want to point out that anyone at all is more than welcome to put together one of these. Write it up however you like and email it to me, and if it seems like something helpful I’ll post it.

If you’d rather not be that formal, I’d definitely encourage you to post them on the “Tips & Tricks” forum. That’s open to anyone who’s registered and you can do it up however you like.

Here are the people who have won a contest but who have not yet claimed either a specific prize or a “next item up” donation:

• PapaKrok – Character Contest 73 (Virgo)
• dblade – Character Contest 76 (Animalia II)
• dblade – Caption Contest 103
• PhatChick – Character Contest 83 (Lust)
• Worf – Caption Contest 105
• Loki – Caption Contest 106
• Frevoli – Caption Contest 107
• LoneWolf6155 – Caption Contest 111
• Frankie – Caption Contest 112
• 1rd2th3st – Caption Contest 115
• Bael – Caption Contest 121

I’ve got eight “next item up” requests, which according to the list would be:

• Mecha parts
• Quarian Battle Suit Pieces
• Chain Sword
• Sci-Fi armor
• Earrings
• Omni Glove
• Space Marine Armor 1
• Black Ant style wrist blasters

If you’re interested, the items after that (not currently “claimed”) are:

• Army sweater
• Nathan Drake style sweater
• Wheelchair (with blanketed legs)
• Battle Axe, Bronze
• Chinese Broadsword
• Shoe bottom for in-your-face kicks
• Battle Axe
• Battle Axe, Gimli Style
• Sci-fi pistol
• Battle Axe, Sickle-bladed
• Hazmat Helmet 2
• Ilwoon Sword
• Apollo Space Suit Pieces

If none of those really strike your fancy, we could do another round of replacement item nominations and voting to pick new ones.

Again, a perfectly valid strategy here is to pick out the nine most outstanding characters you’ve ever designed with HeroMachine and send them in as your entry. You’re not limited to new characters only, folks, so go with your best. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

And as Woody the Judge says, you don’t need crazy backgrounds or super amazing manipulations, all they are looking for is the character design itself.

Finally, remember to peruse the official rules before committing.

PS: If you sent yours in, you should have gotten an email back from me acknowledging their receipt. If you didn’t get that reply but you sent yours in, please email me (afdstudios@gmail.com) ASAP.

Again, a perfectly valid strategy here is to pick out the nine most outstanding characters you’ve ever designed with HeroMachine and send them in as your entry. You’re not limited to new characters only, folks, so go with your best. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

And please, remember to peruse the official rules before committing.

PS: If you sent yours in, you should have gotten an email back from me acknowledging their receipt. If you didn’t get that reply but you sent yours in, please email me (afdstudios@gmail.com) ASAP.

So my question is, how irritating would that be? You’d still be able to output the image in widescreen format without the ad being there, but online it would be present.

If you’ve been enjoying the “Zombocalypse Now” adventures, author Matt Youngmark‘s latest adult “Chooseomatic” adventure features super-heroes and the awesome title “Thrusts of Justice“! Today’s the release date and they’re trying to bomb the Amazon store with orders, so if you’re considering a purchase, this is the time to do it.

Here’s a quick overview of the book:

You’re just an unemployed reporter until a cryptic warning and an explosion outside your favorite bar send you down the road to becoming one of three superpowered heroes (or, potentially, villains – we’re not here to judge). Dark vigilante? Armored space ­cop? Wisecracking mutant? Whichever path you choose, ­you’d better get busy, because a mysterious plot is afoot and – like it or not – you’re the only thing standing ­between the forces of evil and ­utter annihilation.

Thrusts of Justice is an action/comedy ­reimagining of the choose-your-own-path books you grew up with. There are 90 possible endings (81 of which result in your ­humiliating death).

Humiliating death, people, what could be better?! Get out there and buy yours today!

Second, the “Sketch of the Day” category now shows you the actual images instead of just the list of headlines. It’s the same thing I did for the “Hall of Fame” category a few days ago.

1. The “Featured Character” link in the header now automatically shows a random image from the set of 30+ blurbs I’ve created over time. Now I don’t have to edit the header manually each time with the latest one, I just create it and put it in the right directory.
2. Clicking on the “Featured Character” image in the header, or choosing the “Hall of Fame” category in the right column, takes you to the newly formatted gallery page showing off some of the best contest winners from the past. The intent of this page is, of course, to honor those who have created some of the best images ever, but also to impress new visitors with the versatility of the program. Like the featured blurb, all I have to do is put a post in the “Hall of Fame” category and it will automatically show up on that page.
3. The big header image at the top now rotates randomly with every page you go to as well.

As you can see, nothing major, but it took more work than I thought it would so I wanted to trumpet it from the virtual rooftops. Yay me!

It should be working fine now.