F.A.Q.

Your best bet for getting people to notice and comment on your images is to put them on the HeroMachine Creations Facebook Group or the HeroMachine Art Gallery Forum. HeroMachine has a built in “Save as JPG/PNG” function to get the image of your character or you can use your computer’s screen grab function.

No. The HeroMachine software is intended to make character images from your imagination, not to create images of copyrighted characters created by someone else. If you choose to make those kinds of illustrations, you assume any legal liability for having done so. I’ve done my best to keep any copyrighted symbols or items out of the program so you don’t accidentally fall victim to using something you didn’t know was protected. On any site I own and control, and for which I am responsible, I do not allow the posting of copyrighted characters.

You own the concept and design of whatever you create in HeroMachine. Ownership of the specific image of that concept as it exists in HeroMachine, both in aggregate and as separate pieces, belongs to me. In other words, I don’t claim to own your idea just because you drew it with my program, but you can’t claim to own that collection of items within the program in an effort to keep others from reproducing it. If someone creates an infringing image of your character in the program and then tries to claim ownership over your design, you need to go after them for it.

A license to use any image you create in HeroMachine any way you like is automatically granted for any non-commercial use, though of course some sort of link back or credit is appreciated.

If you wish to use the image or images in a commercial setting, contact me to discuss it. Typically all I ask is a credit or link back to the program.

HeroMachine 3 is the latest version of the HeroMachine online character portrait creator.

HeroMachine 3 is completely free.

The basic idea of HeroMachine 3 is much different than in HeroMachine 2. You will be able to build up your own body styles using separate items, so you can essentially create your own pose and body style. If you want a muscled Brick style character, you will be able to scale the Body to those proportions, leaving the head relatively normal. If you want a more slender character, you will be able to create that as well.

Scaling, rotating, and movement of every item; ability to control line color; layering of every item in any order regardless of what slot it belongs to; loading multiple items from the same slot, so you can have five Headgear items at once, or three Pants or two Heads, etc.; “widescreen” mode so you can see the entire character at once without the controls being present; “zoom” feature to allow you to see the head, shoulders, and upper torso much closer; manual RGB or hex value entry for truly customizable color palettes; and much more.

Not at this time.

The best location for HeroMachine 3 updates is the HeroMachine Community Blog, specifically the HeroMachine 3 category.

Yes, with a few caveats. First, because you can combine multiple items from the same slot in HM3, some previous items will be provided as separate pieces where appropriate. Second, a few of the items were so hideously ugly I couldn’t bear to include them. And third, because there are many more slots in HM3 vs HM2, some of the items might be moved around and not necessarily in the place where you might have thought. But the goal is to have all of the items in some shape or form converted over before it goes live.

Yes, you can export all of your characters as a file or files through the Save → Save Data button. You can also export the characters as static images. Finally you can get a URL for your saved character (unless it’s exceptionally complex) that can be sent to anyone and which, when clicked, will load the character up live in the app.

It depends on what you clear. A normal cache clear (“Cached images and files” only) will not touch your saved characters. However, if you clear “Cookies and other site data,” your saved characters will be deleted because browser storage is grouped under that option.

To protect your work, use Save Data to export individual characters as files, or Export All to back up every saved character as a single file you can re-import later. These files live on your computer and are safe from any browser clearing.

Note: characters created in Incognito/Private mode are automatically deleted when the browser window closes.

None in the creation of items, a big one in completing the translation from Flash to fully web-based. See this post for more detail.

UGO.com hosts version 2.5 (beta), which contains the first set of expansion items, while the Desktop Edition is version 2.0, which does not include any expansion items. Once the new features are enabled across all six possible bodies, they will be included in the download.

The HeroMachine is a browser-based application, which means that it will work on any Operating System that has a browser compatible with the latest Flash plug-in. That means you can use the HeroMachine on with Macintosh, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, and more, with Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer. Although it runs under your browser, it’s located on your hard drive so you don’t need an active internet connection, making it lightning-quick.

No! Using the HeroMachine to create a facsimile of a copyrighted character will expose you to the possibility of legal action for copyright infringement by the individual or corporation holding the rights to that character. The HeroMachine is like a box of crayons — you can draw anything you like, but if you try to rip off someone else’s intellectual property, you can be held liable for it. Such use would also be a violation of the HeroMachine license agreement you must agree to before downloading the product.

That skin works, it just doesn’t have any black outlines that show up. Choose two non-white colors and you’ll see it appear.

You probably need to upgrade your Flash plug-in version. Go to Adobe.com and get the latest version of the Flash Player. This solves most functionality problems with the HeroMachine.

Some e-mail applications insert line breaks into text blocks. When trying to load such text blocks, the HeroMachine’s behavior can be unpredictable. If this happens to you, paste your character’s parameters into a word processing program (like Notepad, SimpleText, or Word), and turn on all hidden characters. Remove any paragraph breaks, then copy and paste the result into the HeroMachine’s load box.

The HeroMachine is an online character creator. You cycle through different items to outfit and design your character. For instance, you can change hair styles and colors, eyes, noses, coats of armor, boots, weapons, and more!

You can save your character’s parameters by clicking on the Save icon (the picture of the diskette) on the left hand side of the application. Copy and paste the results into a text editor, or e-mail them to a friend so they can see your creation. You can also print your character (click on the Print button within the HeroMachine — using the Print command from the File menu of your browser will not work). The HeroMachine creates stand-alone images, there is no way to import the character into an online game.

Not all components have color choices available. Some have no colors, some have one, and some have two. There is no way at this time to tell which is which without trying it out, so warm up that mouse and get ready to click! You might also have cleared the current component, in which case there’s nothing to color. Try advancing one item using the arrow key for that component, then try your color.

In HeroMachine 2 you have to use a screen-capture utility to save your character as an image. To do this, press ALT-PrintScreen in Windows or Command+Shift+3 on a Mac to capture the entire screen image (including your character) to the clipboard. Then open a paint program (like the aptly-named Paint in Windows, which you can open by going to Start – Run and typing in MSPAINT), go to Edit-Paste, and the screen will appear. Then you can crop it and save it wherever you like. Or, you can just use HeroMachine 3, which has a built-in image exporter 🙂

You own the copyright for the idea and concept of your character, though the actual image you create with the HeroMachine belongs to AFD Studios. Use of that image for non-commercial purposes is granted automatically. If you would like to use the image on a commercial site, please contact AFD Studios. Basically you own the character concept, but AFD Studios retains the rights to each image (including the color scheme) used in that character graphic, individually and in aggregate, as it exists within the HeroMachine. In other words, I can’t claim to own your idea, and you can’t claim to own any collection of images and colors within the HeroMachine, even if someone else uses it to create an exact duplicate of your character. You’ll have to go after them for infringing your copyright, not me.

All versions of HeroMachine are free to use online at heromachine.com.