RP: WAY more important than good fences

ladyluck-87-1950-rubber

(From "Lady Luck" number 87, 1950.)

Patterns and Open Help Thread

People still have a hard time with patterning and masking in HeroMachine 3, so I wanted to take a quick moment to show how to get custom patterns on your items. Also, if you have any questions about anything else HeroMachine related -- like how to get a particular effect, for instance -- just chime in in the comments and either I or one of the other folks here will try to lend a hand.

You can use any item in the program for a pattern, not just the ones in the default Pattern tab. First, pick the item you want to apply the pattern to (a basic male body in this case), then the pattern you want to put onto it. In the sample, I've picked the actual Patterns Standard set.

patternmenu

Next, choose the actual item you want to be the pattern, then color and scale it how you want to be sure it covers everything. Here I had to scale the leopard pattern up quite a bit to cover up to the neckline and feet. I also made the colors somewhat transparent so they'd look more like fur.

leopard1

Finally, click the pattern item to make sure it's the active one. Next click the Mask tool and then -- and this is important -- click on the item you are trying to apply the pattern to, not the pattern itself. In this case, that means I clicked on the Leopard skin pattern, then clicked Mask, then clicked on the Body.

leopard2

That's it! You can do this with flags (in the Background-Shapes set) to get a patriotic looking character, or anything else, really.

Feel free to post your "Help!" requests in the comments.

SOD.091 – Invisible Woman

091

RP: Too … many … Tiger Woods jokes …

ladyluck-87-1950-nakedgolf

(From "Lady Luck", number 87, 1950.)

The proportionate boobs of a skeleton!

Action figure company executives struggle daily with the distressing fact that girls comprise 50% of the toy-buying public, but 100% of action figures are made for boys. How then is one to sell toys to that female market?

Well, if you worked for the Landmark Entertainment Group of the early Nineties, you introduced a female member of the Living Skeleton's Skeleton Legion for the Skeleton Warriors* (did we mention skeletons?!) for the chicks, with -- and you might want to hold on to your metaphorical hat here -- boobs for the boys. On a skeleton!

shriek1

Because, you know, boobs mean girls when you're a boy. OK, or a grown up male as well, let's be honest. Also, just in case those gender stereotypes haven't sunk into their young brains yet, it's important to name the only female something shrewish, like "Shriek" because those girls just won't shut their yappers, amirightguys!?

The actual toy is even more hideous:

shriek2

I am not sure what the absolute number is of babies needing to be suckled by the undead, but I bet the over-under is somewhere around zero. Still even if you have no flesh at all on your body, it's important to make sure you still have boobies, because otherwise how will you attract the amorous attention of all those male skeletons who ... well, who don't have any actual flesh either, so that's a little moot. Still, you know, boobies!

As you can see, my generation had no choice but to use up all the natural resources of the earth and leave you, our poor children, with horrific financial and environmental messes to clean up, because our toys destroyed our minds.

* I am not making this up. The main bad guy is Baron Dark, the Living Skeleton, and his minions are the Skeleton Legion, all of whom fall under the general brand of the Skeleton Warriors line. I'm telling you, money must have been falling out of the sky for people to get paid to come up with this stuff.

SOD.090 – GL

090

Not my favorite illustration. I was going for a cartoony version. Meh. They can't all be winners.

RP: On excuses, weak

black-dwarf-rules

Caption Contest 72 Prize

Danny and I have finished his prize for winning Caption Contest 72, a Confederate cap:

rebhat2

It's live now in the HeroMachine 3 Headgear-Standard set.

SOD.089 – Supergirl

089

HM3: Destiny Helmet

I've just uploaded a new Headgear-Standard set for HeroMachine 3 that includes Matt's prize for winning Character Contest 27:

chc27-matt-drfatehelmet

The dark gray area is Color 2, so you can get a highlight effect or, if you make it match Color 1, a solid helmet. Enjoy!