Category Archives: Challenges

We're going to do something a bit different for this week's Character Design Contest. In the past I've done a few different Sketches of the Day that involved combining two different archetypes into one. For instance, there was Redneck Wizard, Ninja Cowboy, and Cyborg Pirate. I thought it would be fun to throw that same challenge at you to see what you'd come up with.

Thus, your challenge this week is to design one or more characters by combining two words from the following list:

• Cyborg
• Ninja
• Cowboy
• Cheerleader
• Robot
• Dinosaur
• Teen
• Werewolf
• Spirit
• Ghost
• Samurai
• Alien
• Kid
• Doctor
• Shogun
• Zombie
• Sorcerer
• Wizard
• Redneck

So for example, you could do a "Cyborg Cheerleader" or an "Samurai Alien" or "Dinosaur Doctor".

Otherwise the rules are the same:

1. Use only a HeroMachine applet (no PhotoShopping except for basic cropping) to create a PNG or JPG of your entry, named as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his "Bayou Belle" character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.
2. Post the image to a publicly accessible website (ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, etc.).
3. Enter the name of your entry and a link directly to the image in a comment to this post. The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest.
4. The link to your image should 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.
5. I'll choose a winner next Monday, who will receive his or her choice of any item or a portrait to be included in the final HeroMachine 3 program, or a "Sketch of the Week" style black and white illustration (you pick the subject and I draw it up however I like).

No limit on entries this week, so give it your best shot!

Your challenge this week is to design the coolest looking Cyborg character you can. Note that I'll be looking for entries that not only pass the "Does it look awesome" test, but that are actually combinations of organic and technological parts to make up the whole. Pure robots or pure androids, in other words, wouldn't really qualify.

Otherwise the rules are the same:

1. Use only a HeroMachine applet (no PhotoShopping except for basic cropping) to create a PNG or JPG of your entry, named as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his "Bayou Belle" character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.
2. Post the image to a publicly accessible website (ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, etc.).
3. Enter the name of your entry and a link directly to the image in a comment to this post. The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest.
4. The link to your image should 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.
5. I'll choose a winner next Monday, who will receive his or her choice of any item or a portrait to be included in the final HeroMachine 3 program, or a "Sketch of the Week" style black and white illustration (you pick the subject and I draw it up however I like).

No limit on entries this week, so give it your best shot!