I'd like to thank everyone who shared their RPG characters with us in the last Character Contest. All of the entries were fun and interesting, so if you get the chance it's definitely worth the time to click through to the actual images.
As usual, after the jump I'd like to present some of the entries I thought were particularly worthy of an Honorable Mention for one reason or another, and then the overall winner.
First up are a few example of creative posing used to make the character in question look very unique and dynamic, starting with Imp's "Jack McCarthy":
I really like the simple but very effective way the arrow looks like it's being drawn for use. It's not complicated, but it delivers a very strong effect. Plus the character looks bad-ass.
Iago Valentine's "Antares" image conveys a real sense of shyness and character that I wasn't sure the program was capable of. You definitely get a feel for who this character is as a person, which is the whole point of all the fancy maneuvering it took to get here:
On a slightly lighter note, Melis used subtle turning of the head and facial features to give us another character rich with ... well, I was going to say "emotion" but maybe "lunch" would be more appropriate:
Finally, PyrateHyena turned in what I think is one of the nicest halfling types of character images I've seen yet, combined with creative use of several round items to let his little guy juggle:
And now I wanted to give you the three characters that I thought made for the best overall images, culminating in the actual winner of this week's contest. We'll start with Damien's "Mikal Scott", which uses a lot of the techniques he gave us in one of his recent postings about making the character appear to be at a three quarter view angle. But putting all the trickery and behind-the-scenes stuff behind, this guy just looks really cool. The color scheme is tight and well suited to the overall mood, the patterning is subtle, and the overall design hits exactly the right note.
Paul's post-Apocalyptic wastelander also nails his genre, with a lot of the same attributes as Damien's. In some ways this is a very basic design, but it all works really well together, and the overall impact is very strong. Nice job Paul!
And now, your winner, Darkvatican's "Bren Stoneanvil"!
The combination of the cape, the cocked eyebrow, the weapon on the shoulder, and the blue blade of the foreground knife-sword all combine to give this composition a dynamic, living feel. I like the color selection, and all of the items "fit" him really well. The custom knife-swords are also cool, and add to his sense of menace. Overall a very pleasing design, and a deserving winner in a very tough week.
Thanks again to everyone who entered, and especially to Darkvatican for coming up with the winner. He gets to choose either any one item or a caricature of his head to appear in the final HeroMachine 3 product, there to live in immortal infamy! Or famy! Why is that not a word?
Now get back out there and keep gaming!
Jeff, did you honestly have to post my picture in full freaking size? Couldn’t maybe have shrunk it down to a fifth and added the Embiggen thing? Now I’ll have more comments about the size of my ego…
I usually only shrink them if they’re more than 525 pixels wide, they just look better at their default size. And the only reason I shrink those down is because otherwise it breaks the page layout.
Kick-ass job, DV! I like the way that guy’s arms look – just a little bit bigger than normal; really makes ’em stand out. And the facial expression is great.
@Damien: I dunno, I’d look at it as a compliment to have your pic full size. 😀
I’d do yours full size too Imp, if they were small enough horizontally! They always look better big.
Wait …
Oh Jeff, I don’t think we’re at that stage in our relationship yet… 😀
Aww, sweet! 😀 Thanks, you guys! I’m glad you liked my Bren pic. It was a labor of love, as one might say. ^_^ Hmmm, Jeff, I’ll have to get back to you on a prize item. (There’s no way I would inflict even a caricature of my mug on anyone else)
@Damien: Where’s the love, man? ;-D
I really like bren’s face. It doesn’t have any classic tough guy features, and yet it conveys exactly what it needs to convey. Pretty unique stuff, DV.
That’s a Vin-Dieselish grin I see there, on second thought.
Way to go Dark.
Man, I thought I’d at least get Honorable Mention! I can never win.
whoo im so awesome… well the character-concept itself is awesome, but it was my idea so, im SO AWESOME! welll lets get down and be honest: im damn proud of my picture showing in line with all these great other winning pics.
exactly what i needed after a f*cked up weekend (sry for the f-word, but my english is damn poor of ‘nice’ expressions to cover things like that. im getting my vocabulary from movies and the internet, which seems to be the reason for that or im just watching the wrong movies dunno…)
perhaps its also that good, because i really enjoy creating and forming this little guy. i mean i actually wrote a background story and im still developing the actual character-traits and behaviors.
nuff said… well i think it was a great contest with great concepts and characters apart from the winners too
have a nice day america (dont know what time it is at yours… well dont really care)
thankful, pretty happy and hoping for a lazy afternoon
PyHy
why the hell did i write so much?
Wow,
To be listed in the same ranking as Damien! It’s an honor. I think that is better than winning the contest.
lol@Paul
But you did deserve to win DV
I love the swords.
lol @Paul I think i must’ve missed the post declaring Damien a saint. All of the finalists were very good and a big congrats to DV for the win. Very nice character. 😉
Yes,
Everyone did an great job. Frankly I am surprised mine got considered. As Jeff said it was very basic but that is what I envisioned my character as…plus he lives in the wasteland. Rags are the rage!
All seriousness I think what Damien does with Masking is amazing.
I’m gonna start blushing if y’all don’quit it, ya know. ^_^
Good job to everyone! Especially to Darkvatican. Dude, seriously, your character looks like a medieval Clone Trooper! It’s awesome!
I would really like to know how Damien got the pecs/abs armor to work out the way he did. I’m trying to recreate his character and for the love of God I cannot figure out how he did it. I know which pieces he used and I can sort of figure out the placement, but other than that I’m stumped. Damien, if you read this, please help me out, or anyone else who knows the steps.
Also, congratulations to DV for the win. Maybe one day I’ll post one of my creations as an entry.
Nevermind, after visiting his site, I think I know how he did it: you used some form of editing software, did you not Damien?