Portrait creator

[Andrew Beasley]

I’ve just come across https://www.heromachine.com and it’s ability to make drawings for different characters.

Playing around on my iPad I created this is about 10 minutes without reading instructions or the help text!

A bit rough (teeth should be above the beard, needs more hair) and I got my screen shot crop slightly wrong (no jpg / png output) but I’m impressed.

Points to note:

• The site is ad-supported but I cannot find a way of supporting the creator. The Facebook link leads to his personal page so I’m sending him a note via the site.
• HM3 does not work
• Though my example is for my Palaeo games I saw ancient to modern equipment and clothing but did not explore.
• It looks and acts a bit old, downloading the ‘complete set’ worked but did not actually download everything at once.
• Colour and option picking is a pain for tablets – mice recommended.
• Saving things is horrible – you basically get a long strip of text to save in something (email, text file etc). I’ve not tried this functionality.
• No print or image download – screen shots only. I know iPads / Macs / Debian can save these to a file but unsure how Windows would handle this.
• It is a flash based site. Adobe killed Flash (mainly as it was insecure amongst many technical reasons) but this site uses Ruffle emulation to help reduce the security risks BUT please make sure you are happy with any risks inherent in this technology. A basic overview of Ruffle can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffle_(software). I am happy to use this BUT that’s my risk (and I’m on a sandboxed browser and have good backups).

Feel free to add any forum acceptable portraits (🤭) to this thread – no idea what you can create.

Not sure if this should be in RPG or World Building (new one on me) – Mike feel free to shuffle if you feel it belongs elsewhere.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Buy the local art student a beer and you’ll get a better sketch.

 

Even a journeyman artist will appreciate an opportunity to hone techniques for just a beer.  Let AI do it and humans go thirsty, and I doubt you’ll have much luck getting AI to join your games and bring any snacks.  AI certainly won’t buy your game when it’s published but it may well rob you of your IP.

Mick Hayman
Margate and New Orleans

[Mike]

I am not sure that it is AI.
Looks like a butt tonne of images drawn by hand and then uploaded to a process that allows you to overlap various images to create the final image.

My suspicion’s of it not likely to be AI started with the fact it uses flash…

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Argument still applies, the software isn’t very good at compositing and the time spent on it would be better spent buying a beer for an art student with access to Adobe Illustrator or a pen and paper.

 

My guess the drawings were clip art generated by outline filters and what not.  the difference between AI and a filter alteration is just in the compositing of the total image.  Corel Draw had many and i used that program 35 years ago. Clip art is like mildew…really hard to get rid off once it appears, ugly to look at, and looks just like mildew everywhere, even if Elvis occasionally shows up in profile.

Mick Hayman
Margate and New Orleans

[Mike]

Andrew Beasley wrote:

The site is ad-supported but I cannot find a way of supporting the creator. The Facebook link leads to his personal page so I’m sending him a note via the site.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063432237193

 

 

[Andrew Beasley]

Aethelflaeda was framed wrote:

Buy the local art student a beer and you’ll get a better sketch…

Would hope so though art(?) is only good in the eye of the beholder – please remember it’s your choice if you use it or not hence the sample in my notice.

TBH – I’ve found most art students charge way more than a beer. We buy a fair number of art pieces to support students over the years – both at home and (I’m still chuffed to say in my previous life) commercially. Even Fiverr is more than beer – some way into the good wine prices (see here and here for sketches though lower cost ones do exist as these were a random first page hit).

The first posts on the Hero Machine site I can find date back to November 2007 (also gives a bit of detail on how its done here – by hand on a Wacom tablet) so AI was a pipe dream and given it’s tech base (something I’m reasonably comfortable to comment on) it has aged well. Spent way too much of my work life chasing ‘the new’ to worry if there is something else – a tool that does a job well is good enough for MY HOBBY – heck we still use a spade and they’ve been good for a few years.

So for me it is a great match as I’m just shuffling blocks of resin and metal (some even look like ‘cavemen’) around the table enjoying myself and this goes nicely with classical RPG character sheets and documents I like to create. Remember I am not writing a masterpiece reference book to shape history or last centuries (I leave that to my daughter 🤯) – just to have fun. One of the wonders of the Internet is to be able to find quirky things for this weird hobby of ours and sharing it with folk – even if one person gains from it I think that’s a win and worth the electrons. If my posts do not suit then feel free to block me or just ignore them.

Personally I love the old fashioned cartoony style and will use it for my Imagi-nation and Palaeo games – AI can churn out more life-like pictures (even if it still gives some odd results – some fixes here) but for me (and maybe another – who knows) it’s a sweet fit for my fake worlds.

Mike wrote:

…

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063432237193

Thanks for that – though I’m back on Facebook I am still avoiding the majority of it (inc the messages section – I expect to be down to three / four groups by the end of the week the way its going – see #6 here.) like the plague but will fall back to FB if I hear nothing.

Anyway – enough of this negativity – let’s stay positive here so please feel free to use it or not – your choice.

[Mike]

Andrew Beasley wrote:

let’s stay positive here so

For real, I am now going to hunt you down on FB  😛

[John D Salt]

My anti-virus software (free, but German) reports malware on that link.

All the best,

John.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

not trying to rain on your parade but just giving some practical advice. If you were using an old wornout paint brush or a dull frisked knife you wouldn’t object would you?

As for subjectivity in standards: Don’t try to defy the consensus on the fundamental rules of good design unless you are already worked hard at mastering of them.even Picasso could draw— quite well.

I just feel you might settling for less because I know you are quite capable of doing (or finding) better if you had up to date tools or worked a bit harder at it (everyone can draw well if they work at it.) You don’t have to settle for teeth under the moustache, of that I am quite positive.

too, think of all the fun you aren’t having socializing with an artist at the pub. That is good social interactional therapy for someone who has mentioned the need to address mental issues, even if it costs you two beers. Here, I just scrawled you a quicky. Next time we are at the pub buy me a beer.!

crude yes but it took all of five minutes. I can refine it and ink it for you but that will cost you a whiskey.

Mick Hayman
Margate and New Orleans

[Andrew Beasley]

I’m going to ask Mike to lock this – it’s aim was to introduce a tool not to create a target.

Sorry folks.

 

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