Category Archives: Character Design Challenges

This week's Character Design Challenge is a bit late according to the Zodiac calendar, but nonetheless it's time for Virgo!

Yes, your challenge for this week is to design the coolest character image possible with the theme of "Virgo". You could design something reminiscent of famous virgin warriors in history like Diana or Artemis, or you might design a spacecraft named "Virgo", or you might draw inspiration from the historic origins of the name:

In classical mythology two prominent figures associated with the constellation are Erigone and Astraea. Astraea was the Roman goddess of justice and the administration of law. Sickened by the wars of men, she was the last of the celestial beings to leave the earth for the heavens and is often depicted with the wings that allowed her angelic ascension to the stars. It is said that Zeus placed her amongst the stars as the Virgo constellation along with her scales of justice to depict the constellation Libra.

Erigone was the name by which the first century astrologer Marcus Manilius referred to the constellation. As the sign of the harvest, Virgo held strong connections with the time that grapes were gathered for the production of wine and Erigone represents an aspect of this association. She was the daughter of Icarius, who received the secret of wine making from the Wine God, Dionysius, and was murdered by peasants who believed they had been poisoned by his wine. Erigone was led to discover his body by their faithful dog and hanged herself in grief. The gods were moved to pity over the tragedy and transported the family to everlasting glory in the heavens : Icarius became Boötes, Erigone became Virgo, and the dog Maera, the constellation Canis Minor.

The person with the winning entry as selected by our expert panel (i.e. me) will win their choice of a) a portrait to go in HeroMachine 3, b) an item to go in HeroMachine 3, or c) a custom black and white "Sketch of the Day" style drawing (also by me). The rules otherwise are the same as always:

• All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, whatever);
• Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
• The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest;
• Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. 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). If you see "preview" or "rotate" somewhere in the link you're probably doing it wrong.
• All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose a winner.

Good luck everyone! No more than five (5) entries per person this week, folks, so make 'em count. I think this is one of the tougher signs to do, so I look forward to seeing who can nail it. Although that's probably a poor choice of words ...

Your challenge for this week is to create the coolest character in the best illustration possible using any version of the HeroMachine that has something to do with the broad category of “Cosmic”. You could just use a name of a cosmological phenomenon like “Black Hole” or “Nebula”, or you could design a “star elf” from a fantasy role playing game, or simply a super-hero with some sort of cosmic-related powers. Classic examples would include Marvel’s “Galactus” (duh!) or “Nova,” or perhaps DC’s “Eclipso” or “Sun-Eater.”

However, “Cosmic” should not be confused with “Sci-Fi” or "Based in Space". For example, DC’s "New Gods" series featuring the likes of Darkseid and High Father is set in the vast reaches of time and space, but the characters themselves are not necessarily “cosmic”. New God "Orion" would qualify, but Darkseid would not.

I'm also excited and honored to have as our Guest Judge this week none other than "Friend of HeroMachine" Mr. John Hartwell, who in addition to being an instructor at the prestigious Portfolio Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is also the guy who introduced me to the Champions RPG. John's got impeccable design sense and a keen eye for good super hero costuming, so be sure to bring your "A" game this week.

The person with the winning entry as selected by John will win their choice of either a portrait or item to go in HeroMachine 3, or a custom black and white “Sketch of the Day” style drawing (by yours truly). The rules otherwise are the same as always:

• Be sure to check out this thread that explains how to post a link to your image!
• All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, whatever);
• Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
• The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest;
• Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. 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). If you see "preview" or "rotate" somewhere in the link you're probably doing it wrong.
• All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose a winner.

Entries are limited to three (3) per person, so pull out your red editing pen and make ‘em your best!

Your character design challenge this week is to create an awesome illustration using HeroMachine based on a deck of cards. Now, you could go with the standard playing card deck with numbers from deuce to ten, with the Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, in the four suits of Hearts, Clubs, Spades, or Diamonds. Or, you could change directions completely and go with a Tarot Card Deck, along with the various colorful figures and concepts contained therein. One famous example of the former is DC's "Royal Flush Gang", though of course you don't have to do a whole group.

The person with the winning entry as selected by our expert panel (i.e. me) will win their choice of a) a portrait to go in HeroMachine 3, b) an item to go in HeroMachine 3, or c) a custom black and white "Sketch of the Day" style drawing (also by me). The rules otherwise are the same as always:

• Be sure to check out this thread that explains how to post a link to your image!
• All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, whatever);
• Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
• The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest;
• Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. 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). If you see "preview" or "rotate" somewhere in the link you're probably doing it wrong.
• All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose a winner.

Good luck everyone! No more than ten (10) entries per person this week, folks, so make 'em count.