OPEN CRITIQUE DAY #37…

Hello!

Today I attempt to bring back a segment that I always looked forward to on Friday's......  OPEN CRITIQUE DAY!!!

How this goes:  You post a work of yours, finished or WIP, and then I (ams) will give you suggestions or tips on your work.  Just make sure that you only post pictures that are your own design and not any that are copyrighted or based off of copyrighted characters.

Now, bear with me and I will do my best to make this run as smooth as possible.

So let's begin....

MASKING TOOL

Just rediscovered this great tutorial by Jeff on masking.  Let's revisit shall we....

How to use the Mask feature in HeroMachine3

CDC #457 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 14

The premise of this contest is that over the next number of weeks we will build a team of superheroes and a team of villains. Each week I will supply you with a role, name, or list of powers of one of the team members and you will use HM3 to create the character.

The winner each week will win a version of their character created on HM by yours truly.

This week we move onto the final villain of the group - Phaedra.

Real Name: Doral Em’Lan

Age:unkown

Planet of origin: Aelurus

Powers: Doral domes from the planet Aelurus; a planet of cat like humanoids. She has night vision, is highly athletic, is famous for her hunting ability, and is a ruthless killer. She was famous on her home planet long before meeting Invidia, and does not take well to being told what to do.

Enter as often as you like!

Rules for posts, contests, and challenges: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. Please keep all submissions PG13: full or partial nudity is prohibited. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warning. Only post characters that have been created solely using Hero Machine, and that you know for certain have never been entered in a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.

All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like the HeroMachine :,ImageShack, Deviant Art or whatever);Do not use Photobucket.

  • Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
  • No copyrighted characters please – they will be deleted.
  • Please name your filesas [your name]-[character name].[file extension] before you upload it. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his “Bayou Belle” character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.

Please make the link go directly to the image (like this) and not to a hosting jump page (like this).

This contest will close at 6pm Eastern on Monday, April 6th.

CDC #456 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 13 – Results

Great job again folks. This week the win goes to...

AMS! Beautiful job man. The light effects are pure magic.

Your prize will be posted to the blog later this week, and as a costume guy, i may do a slightly less lit version, so the outfit is more visible.

Thanks to everyone that entered.

 

POSERS by HOSERS…

Let's look at posing with the program.

When we all started using HM, we all start with the basic pose.

This is the easiest to accessorize with all the costume pieces and items.  Let's skip on how the final pic will look and play with changing sizes and angles on the body items. We all have different views on what shape people should be.  Reading comics for years has shown me that there are many different takes and styles that artists use to depict their characters.  So why not experiment using the versatility of the program.  In the example below, I have not changed any items used for the body shape above, but have changed sizes and position.

Not a huge change, but a little more dynamic for a posing superhero or medieval knight.  When I first started, this opened my eyes to how I wanted MY heroes/villains to look.  I started looking for references pics and use them to create some dynamic poses.  I call it "Bending the program".  Soon I started to progress with knowledge of the pieces and how they would "bend" to what I wanted them to look like.

I encourage you to play with this exercise to create better foundations to making some awesome pics!

Cheers, 'machiners!

NEW BLOGGER!!!

Hello!

What a crazy world we live in!  COVID-19 has touched everyone (I suspect) and our lives have been changed.  People are out of work, students have been sent home for their safety and we are all trying to "self isolate" to get a handle on this thing to stop the spread.  My family and I have been home for almost 2 weeks from work/school not knowing what is to happen next, but will do our best to contribute to help combat this disease by following the new standards put forth by our respected governments.  Which means we have some time on our hands...

So I have decided to test my hand at the "blog" thing and start posting some Tips & Tricks.  I will do what I can to help with any questions/suggestions for posing or highlighting to help bring your creations to where you want them.  If I cannot help you, there is a vast collection of artistic minds that may have a tip or two that could be shared.

Please let me know what you would want to see from me in the comments below and let's support each other with the creation of some new awesome character designs.

Cheers!

CDC #455 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 12 – Prize for Tartan Panda

Tartan Panda's original...

My version of his design...

Continue reading

CDC #456 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 13

The premise of this contest is that over the next number of weeks we will build a team of superheroes and a team of villains. Each week I will supply you with a role, name, or list of powers of one of the team members and you will use HM3 to create the character.

The winner each week will win a version of their character created on HM by yours truly.

This week we move onto the hero that is the master of light and dark - Awe.

Real Name: Rick Mitchell

Age:34 – admits to 28

Planet of origin: Earth

Powers: Rick originally teamed up with his twin brother while in his early twenties. Together they formed the crime fighting duo Shock and Awe. Rick has the ability to absorb light from any natural or manmade source – everything from a table lamp to the sun itself – and harness it into blinding and destructive light displays that can level a building. He also has the ability to not only bend light, but to absorb and emit all sources of light, turning day into night and night into day. He has an intense ego – often referring to himself as “Fan Fave”. His fellow heroes tolerate him.

Enter as often as you like!

Rules for posts, contests, and challenges: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. Please keep all submissions PG13: full or partial nudity is prohibited. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warning. Only post characters that have been created solely using Hero Machine, and that you know for certain have never been entered in a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.

All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like the HeroMachine :,ImageShack, Deviant Art or whatever);Do not use Photobucket.

  • Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
  • No copyrighted characters please – they will be deleted.
  • Please name your filesas [your name]-[character name].[file extension] before you upload it. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his “Bayou Belle” character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.

Please make the link go directly to the image (like this) and not to a hosting jump page (like this).

This contest will close at 6pm Eastern on Monday, March 30th.

CDC #455 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 12 – Results

Great job again this week guys. Some very creative takes on the character, in both the art and those who expanded on the backstory.

Honourable mention this week goes to Kellkin.

Great light effects, although the costume itself is a tad predictable. Just my opinion.

Runner up is Forgiven Monster

Great pose and use of items, and the non costume as costume I really appreciate.

And the win this week goes to...

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CDC #454 – Team Building – Volume 3 – Part 11 – Prize for Tartan Panda

Tartan Panda's Halo...

My version based on Tartan Panda's design...

Continue reading