Character Contest 23 – Fables

The Greek Mythology contest went so well, I wanted to return to the idea of mining history once more. So your challenge for this week is to come up with the best character based on a fable. You might mine classic fables like those from Aesop (the Big Bad Wolf, Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Three Blind Mice, etc.) or Arabian fables like those from "1001 Arabian Nights" (Ali Baba and the Seven Thieves, Aladdin, Sinbad, etc.) or even American Folklore (Paul Bunyon and Babe the Big Blue Ox, Pecos Bill, John Henry, etc.).

And of course, the great comics series "Fables" is a pretty good resource, too.

The rules are the same as usual:

  1. No more than three submissions per person;
  2. All entries must be images saved to a publicly accessible web server (like ImageShack, the UGO forums, etc.);
  3. Submissions must be left as comments to this thread, containing a link to the image of the character(s).

The overall winner will receive either a portrait of themselves or any one item of their choosing for inclusion with HeroMachine 3. You've got one week, so good luck to everyone!

P.S. Don't forget, you can still vote in Round Three of Friday Night Fights, too!

P.P.S. Crap, I forgot to hit Publish! Sorry about the delay, folks. I'm an idiot.

44 Responses to Character Contest 23 – Fables

  1. dementedtheclown says:

    Cant Wait To Enter

  2. dementedtheclown says:

    Just Lil’Curious, What Separates A Fable From A Fairy Tale?

  3. Rozenstal says:

    Всем добрый день.
    http://i002.radikal.ru/0912/67/370c2ef1b746.jpg
    ВолкBig Bad Wolf
    http://s59.radikal.ru/i164/0912/fe/ed0fc8aae447.jpg
    Красная ШапочкаRed Riding Hood
    Всем спасибо.Прошу прощения за не гос. язык.

  4. Hammerknight says:

    A fable is a short tale used to teach a moral,often with animals as characters. A fairytale is a story,usually for children, about magical creatures.

  5. Denise Adams says:

    I’m going to submit the hare from “The Tortoise and the Hare.” For some reason, I can identify with an ADHD, over-active, bragging hare that runs out of energy at the end of the story.

  6. Jeff Hebert says:

    Fairy tales and fables are pretty much the same thing, for our purposes. Feel free to draw inspiration from either.

  7. Hammerknight says:

    The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. I had to save twenty times to make this one. And I usually don’t save at all.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64783&d=1260380144

  8. vampyrist says:

    2 things
    Can i do a modernization or villain based on a fable
    Also would Midas count as a Fable.

  9. Jeff Hebert says:

    Vamp, yes and yes.

  10. Tim says:

    Sorry off topic here:

    Jeff, did you get a chance to see my prize request?

    Just curious, sorry if you already did. 🙂

  11. Jeff Hebert says:

    Hi Tim! Yeah, I thought I replied via email but maybe not. Anyway, definitely on the list, thanks!

  12. TJ says:

    I thought witht he holiday coming up this woould be a good entry to submit.

    Nicholas the gift giver
    http://s742.photobucket.com/albums/xx70/celticdragon79/?action=view&current=thegiftgiver.jpg

  13. Tim says:

    Ah cool 🙂 Thanks Jeff!

  14. vampyrist says:

    Heres my first entry the crime lord with the golden touch, Midas.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64427&d=1259297555

  15. Gero says:

    I decided to go with an ancient Chinese fable of greed first. This story from the Six Dynasties era tells the tale of an Immortal who comes to eath to test mankind. When he finds a man, he turns a lump of rock to gold by pointing at it with his finger. He offers the gold to the man. The man refuses the gold, so the Immortal points at a larger rock, turning it into gold as well. Once again, the man refuses the gold. The Immortal, feeling pleased that he seemed to have found a truly selfless man, asks him, if he does not want gold, what he does want, assuring he will give it to him. The man responds, “I want your finger”. I think the moral is supposed to be along the lines of not trusting people who don’t seem evil/greedy, because they may simply be so bad you can’t comprehend it…

    http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/GeroTheKeymaster/PointingFinger.jpg

  16. haydnc95 says:

    Would it be possible to do an Alice in Wonderland creation?
    I read Snow White and Aladdin and just thought Disney.

  17. Jeff Hebert says:

    Alice in Wonderland would be great! Pretty much anything in that whole range of stories is good.

  18. Brons says:

    Here’s mine. Not terribly well known, I’ll admit… Father Frost or King Frost, a Russian character who somewhat resembles our Santa Claus.

    http://www.eldacur.com/~brons/Comics/FatherFrost.png

  19. Matt says:

    @haydnc95: I was just about to ask about that 😀

    …and I’m guessing we can also use Through the Looking Glass since it is the sequel, because it would be fun to do T
    Tweedledum and Tweedledee or the White Knight

  20. TJ says:

    My second entry, a more hard core not some innocent little red riding hood

    http://s742.photobucket.com/albums/xx70/celticdragon79/?action=view&current=lilredridinghood.jpg

  21. D says:

    My take on the Three Blind Mice: Agents of The Mousetrix

    http://www.mediafire.com/i/?gzojgokztzl

  22. Gero says:

    My second entry is the Aesop fable “The Fox and the Grapes”. It’s about a fox who sees a vine-full of grapes, and tries to eat them. When he discovers that the grapes are to high for him to reach, he decides that they’re probably sour anyway:

    http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/GeroTheKeymaster/FoxGrapes.jpg

    The moral is about cognitive dissonance, the act of deciding that if you can’t have something, then it isn’t worth having, and you don’t really want it anyway…

  23. Hammerknight says:

    Aaron bet me to Puss In Boots, but mine is a more old fashion style.
    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64833&d=1260549787

  24. Marx says:

    The overly anthropomorphized Tortoise and Hare at the starting line before the race.

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

  25. the creator says:

    In Belgian folklore, a water spirit which roams the Flemish country side. This creature, called Kludde, hides in the twilight of dawn and sunset and attacks innocent travelers. Warned travelers listen for the only sound which betrays that Kludde is in the vicinity: the rattling of the chains with which the spirit is covered.

    Kludde usually appears in the shape of a monstrous black dog that walks on his hind legs. The faster one walks, the faster this monster follows, often swinging through the trees like a giant snake. No one can ever hope to outrun or escape this creature. The dog is not the only shape in which it can be seen. It can also assume the shape of a huge, hairy, black cat or a horrible black bird.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64841&d=1260575797

  26. Danny Beaty says:

    Here they are! My first entry is a variation on the tale of Paul Bunyon and Babe the giant blue ox.

    P.A.U.L. (Prototype Autonomous Universal Lumberjack)
    B.A.B.E. (Bio-engineered Animal Bovine Entity)
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=186175&l=21129c132a&id=1815191475

    My second entry is John Henry.
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=185594&l=d6b5263863&id=1815191475

    My third and last entry is my take on the tale of Androcles and the Lion.
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=185592&l=82bf31c56f&id=1815191475

  27. Asherian says:

    Curious, are we allowed to edit outside of hero machine, currently assuming not. Also what do I have to do to get forum access? I tried signing up, but still get an error message if I try to view the linked images.

  28. Jeff Hebert says:

    Correct, other than basic cropping, no editing outside of the HM. The UGO Forums are an ongoing problem, I spoke to the new VP at UGO about it but I don’t know what is going to happen (if anything) to fix them any time soon.

    I’ve been tinkering with a BBForums solution to be hosted right here on HeroMachine.com but haven’t put it all together yet.

  29. Asherian says:

    So cropping issues are allowed. Great, I was having some problems with my pose/height. That sounds fantastic, it sucks to hear there are so many issues for the current forums, but the idea of being able to actually read them makes me happier.

  30. haydnc95 says:

    Alice returns to Wonderland
    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/AliceInMyWonderland.png

    Hopefully gunna do a Mad Hatter if I have time 😛

  31. Gene says:

    Olay, here are mine.

    First up: ‘Little’ Red, Werewolf Hunter.
    “She heard the wolves coming down the trail, howling and furious at her for having slain their pack mates. She carefully planted enough arrows into the ground for easy reach, then waited for the wolves to come to slaughter.”

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ki9-2HZkkKHgll3P8HcsWw?feat=directlink

    Next up:
    William Gruff and his brothers were the most feared Troll slayers in the land. No Troll to big, no bridge to far, William led his brothers into battle after battle.”

    William was the youngest, but most skilled fighter of the brothers. His siblings called him….

    Wait for it, the timing bust be right….

    Billy the Kid.
    *rim shot*

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jHqTbwvpg5Kijxhcp9F2cw?feat=directlink

    (Sorry for the baaad humor I’m in a mooood)

  32. vampyrist says:

    Here is my take on the folk hero John Henry. John Henry was a railroad worker who bet he could beat a machine hammer. He beat it but soon died of exhaustion.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64909&d=1260751883

  33. Gero says:

    My final entry is another Aesop, the story of the Honest Woodsman. A woodsman lost his axe in a lake, and begged the gods to return it to him. The Greek gods, being busy (and also just plain jerks), were angered that a mere man would bother them over such a trivial matter. They decided to test the man, and asked him to choose between his axe and a solid gold one. The gods had decided that if the man chose the gold axe, as they were sure he would, they would kill him for his greed. But the woodsman refused the gift, and simply asked for his old axe back from the lake. The gods were so impressed with the honest man that they both gave him back his axe and let him keep the new axe as well…

    http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/GeroTheKeymaster/Woodcutter.jpg

    The moral is that honesty always pays off

  34. Alexander says:

    My take on “The Crow & The Pitcher,” one of Aesop’s, which I remember vividly from childhood.

    Enjoy: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180166&id=784408641&saved#/photo.php?pid=4473978&id=784408641

  35. haydnc95 says:

    Ok Alice in Wnderland Version 2 🙂
    http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww20/haydnc95/AliceInMyWonderland2.png

    Also Jeff can I suggest a backgroud?
    Possibly a Hill with a caste in the distance like this http://iconvsicon.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/alice_in_wonderland_depp1.jpg
    And Mushrooms kinda like this http://iconvsicon.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Alice_In_Wonderland_Poster.jpg
    Thanks 🙂

  36. drummergirl4 says:

    Few know that Mr Carabas would be nothing without his personal assistant Puss. For, under the alias of Mark Carabas, it was Puss who made the money in online trading and made large donations to several prominent charities. It was also Puss who manipulated the real estate market so that he could aquire the Ogre building. What’s in it for him? Tuna steaks and high-priced footwear.

    http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=64968&d=1260916041