Check out this homemade Rune Giant mini


Rise of the Runelords

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Shadow Lodge Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

I didn't make this, my roommate did. You might know him on the boards as N'Wah.

PICTURE 1

I mentioned to him that I was going to be running Rise of the Runelords for some of our friends (since he never got the chance to run that module himself), and so he immediately went and started making minis for the game, starting with some of the important ones from Burnt Offerings, and then skipping way ahead to make this lovely piece of papercraft.

PICTURE 2

Here it is with our Curse of the Crimson Throne minis for reference, which he is DMing, and converting to 4E.


Sweet! That is awesome! :D


Nice style of drawing. Cool minis!

Dark Archive

Very very nice.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I'm glad to hear you guys like it. I spent about six hours on that mother, and look forward to having him slaughter my PC when we get to Xin-Shalast in RoTR.

Wait, no I don't! :0

Yeah, normally I do minis for the PCs and (when I'm DM) the occasional BBEG. Everyone else gets a token or somesuch. I've got a few others I'm pretty proud of, including a 2+ year-old Demogorgon at I did before I had glue, so his masking-taped frame is in serious bad shape. Plus, I think he's buried in a box in a garage many miles away. But my Arendegrost "token" (or 4-inch diameter octagon), big box o' skinwalker minis, and a couple other demon ones are pretty sweet. I'll see if Benchak feels up to some more photography and/or scanning.

Thanks again for all the kind words! Us artists usually think our work is utter crap, and we're pretty sure our friends are just being nice, so it's good to hear people like my art!

Contributor

Haha! That's awesome! And I really like your art style! Does the giant stand up and everything (hard to tell if he's leaning in those)?? Either way, hot!

Shadow Lodge Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

Yes, it stands up, and its also a little hard to tell, but its semi-3d. I'll try to get a picture at a different angle to show that off.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
Haha! That's awesome! And I really like your art style! Does the giant stand up and everything (hard to tell if he's leaning in those)?? Either way, hot!

It stands up great--it's on a circular base I made of two layers of poster board glued together and colored black (the mini and fake Thassilonian stone blocks are glued to that). The rest is mostly plate bristol, with some poster board reinforcement. I still need to put a clear matte spray on it to help prevent aging, but I'm too poor to buy some, so that'll have to wait 'til next week.

My roommate was going to post some more pictures to show off the base and construction, but his digital camera ran out of batteries. More to come, I hope! Glad you like it! I'm hoping to whip up a female one soon, when I can work up the desire to undertake another massive project like that!

Sovereign Court

Well done.

Scarab Sages

those are RAD!
great job!

Liberty's Edge

Those are stunning!!! Please keep us updated on new ones you make or just more pictures of these. WOW!

Contributor

N'wah wrote:


It stands up great--it's on a circular base I made of two layers of poster board glued together and colored black (the mini and fake Thassilonian stone blocks are glued to that)...

That's so cool. Really, with this kind of art style going... I kind of like it more than the new-fangled prepainted plastic fad. So what's the link to your new business's corporate website? I need to pick up a goblin snake. ^_~

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
That's so cool. Really, with this kind of art style going... I kind of like it more than the new-fangled prepainted plastic fad. So what's the link to your new business's corporate website? I need to pick up a goblin snake. ^_~

I could whip one up for you, no prob. The Small stuff is all flat (i.e., 2-d stand-up figurine on a round base), like the guys standing next to the rune giant in the second photo, but if they're on cardstock, they hold up pretty well. If you wanted, I could crack out a goblin snake or two, get my rommate to scan 'em, and e-mail 'em to you. Or I could make 'em myself and mail 'em over; whatever's better for you.

I had thought of making monster art for PDF sale, but wasn't sure if there was a market for it. I may have to look into starting something up. Thanks for the interest!

Liberty's Edge

N'wah wrote:
I had thought of making monster art for PDF sale, but wasn't sure if there was a market for it. I may have to look into starting something up. Thanks for the interest!

If you made a AP pack for RotRLs I would soooo purchase, if it was affordable. That is come cool artwork...

Liberty's Edge

That is remarkably cool.

Contributor

N'wah wrote:
I could whip one up for you, no prob.

Haha, awesome! Don't go out of your way. I'm sure your own game is going to keep you PLENTY busy!

The Exchange

Kerflop wrote:
N'wah wrote:
I had thought of making monster art for PDF sale, but wasn't sure if there was a market for it. I may have to look into starting something up. Thanks for the interest!
If you made a AP pack for RotRLs I would soooo purchase, if it was affordable. That is come cool artwork...

Me too, but only if they were un-colored. I would like to be able to color them myself. Do a pack for each AP and I'd buy them all, if reasonably priced.

Worldworks games does some similar stuff but with color and they tend to do alot more scenery stuff. you could look at what they are charging and producing for an idea on pricing.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Fake Healer wrote:

Me too, but only if they were un-colored. I would like to be able to color them myself. Do a pack for each AP and I'd buy them all, if reasonably priced.

Worldworks games does some similar stuff but with color and they tend to do alot more scenery stuff. you could look at what they are charging and producing for an idea on pricing.

Oh, I only do B&W artwork. My brain doesn't "do" colors well, so I stick to B&W or (rarely) monochromatic art. I used to be able to pick up these grey-toned markers, but I haven't been able to find them recently, so I've just been sticking to good ol' line art.

And thanks for the tip/link--I wasn't sure what to charge for the artwork itself. I'd probably wait until I had a better scanner and some decent software before I put them up for official sale, but I might make some freebies with what I have for a while. I'll have my roommate link to the scans of our CoCT characters, and the ones I have done for "Burnt Offerings", when he gets a free moment. I also dug out a box I have of some of my earlier minis--I'll see if we can get some pictures up of those.

Either that, or I'll try to find some of the old pictures of one of our group's battles in Savage Tide--I built the map in 3-d out of graph paper on poster board and some generic Jenga pieces. It was a battle in a huge room with the PCs facing off against, like, fifteen skinwalkers. The mat took two hours to set up, but it was an awesome fight.

Oh, and F. Wesley Schneider, it only takes me about a half-hour to get a mini from blank page to fully glued mini, not including getting my roommate to shrink the art down on his computer. I'll get to work on it as soon as I've got time--my work schedule is brutal right now, but I'm sure my roommate would love a goblin snake as well, so it'll probably be like killing two birds with one stone!

Shadow Lodge Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

For more examples of N'Wah's art, here are our CotCT minis that he made for us.

Perrin
Lascivious elf ranger and member of the Sable Company.

Gildora
Dwarf warlock with the Fey pact, who used to make beer.

Heblin
Halfling rogue, equal parts awesome and insane.

A.C.U. 5217
Warforged Fighter. After learning how to play Knivesies, he invented his own game, called Axeies. No one has taken him up on his offer to play yet.

Lily
My PC, Tiefling Warlord, LG, and worshipper of Erastil. Note that, since N'Wah does all the art for the characters in the games he runs, I didn't have to deal with 4e's bizarre "We look like Cavemen with spikey chins" tiefling art. And I get to have goat legs. Goat legs are sweet.

I'll try and scrounge up some batteries for my camera soon.

Liberty's Edge

N'wah, they look really cool!
I would buy those as well...
Great idea to just use card-stock!
Just WOW!!!!

The Exchange

That is awesome! I would love to have these and the others as a file to download and print out.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Thank you, sir Benchak, for posting those. And I'm glad everyone likes 'em.

Assuming I get the say-so from the Paizo guys (I'm shaky on copyright law, so I want to be sure me making cut-out minis of Paizo IP is kosher). I guess I'll try to whip up some minis for people to download sometime soon, what with all the popular demand and all. :)

So I guess if they say yes, I'll get crackin' on some "Burnt Offerings" minis. We've got a few of the main NPCs right now (though I'm not as happy with how Tsuto came out, so he'll be getting a redo), but I'd been planning on making some generic monsters for a while now, so I'd probably start on goblins next.

These will be a Beta test of sorts--I still don't have the stuff I need to make what I'd call "professional" quality minis, though they'll still have the same level of art quality as the ones you've seen. And I'm toying with 3-d art for Medium and Small minis as well--if it works out, they'd definitely make an appearance. Tiny minis will have to be flat stand-ups by default--cutting out a Tiny arm, even on cardstock, and expecting it to stay on for long is an excercise in futility.

Anyway, I hope to be providing you all with minis for your game soon, or even just some artwork, if you need to show your PCs what a goblin looks like or something. Thanks to you all again for your encouragement!

Scarab Sages

Benchak the Nightstalker wrote:
Yes, it stands up, and its also a little hard to tell, but its semi-3d. I'll try to get a picture at a different angle to show that off.

Very cool, that is some artistic talent. Yes, I could notice the 3D on the arms and the rocks at the base. That must make some combats very memorable!

Contributor

Very nice. :)


Those are seriously cool.


Jal Dorak wrote:
Benchak the Nightstalker wrote:
Yes, it stands up, and its also a little hard to tell, but its semi-3d. I'll try to get a picture at a different angle to show that off.
Very cool, that is some artistic talent. Yes, I could notice the 3D on the arms and the rocks at the base. That must make some combats very memorable!

They make combat very memorable. It's a bit frightening to think to yourself "Oh goodie. I get to run my beloved character, AGAINST THAT!?"

Then again he likes to show-off those giant minis that he makes.

The Exchange

N'wah wrote:
I had thought of making monster art for PDF sale, but wasn't sure if there was a market for it. I may have to look into starting something up. Thanks for the interest!

A few things:

#1 - There DEFINITELY is a market for cardboard heroes. Go to RPGNOW.COM or DRIVETHRURPG.COM (same business, different sites) and look up cardboard miniatures. You'll find a bazillion. And, as an artist, I honestly hope you also find a marketing outlet.

#2 - It's one of the things gaming needs. No, not the miniatures, but someone who puts their heart in their work. Its not enough to have a semi-rubber token any more - they look bland and uninteresting. Yours are beautiful and glorious.

#3 - Consider taking commissions. I think we all have half a dozen or so PCs and NPCs we'd like done. You may find a nice little bit of pocket change here.

Best of luck!

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Sorry, gang, looks like I'll have to wait on the minis. just got a reply from Vic Wertz (thread here), and they're apparently still working out their community use policy. Until then, the project is on hold. I'll try to keep you all posted on what's what (and maybe put up some pictures of some minis in action--I hope that's okay). With any luck, I will be able to post up some downloadable ones when their community use policy is finalized.

Thanks for all your support, and here's to hoping I'll be able to get this little project off the ground!

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
TigerDave wrote:
#1 - There DEFINITELY is a market for cardboard heroes. Go to RPGNOW.COM or DRIVETHRURPG.COM (same business, different sites) and look up cardboard miniatures. You'll find a bazillion. And, as an artist, I honestly hope you also find a marketing outlet.

Yeah, when/if I can make some mini packs, I'm hoping to find an outlet for them. I'm terrible with HTML and a site for just my stuff would probably recieve zero traffic until word got out.

TigerDave wrote:
#2 - It's one of the things gaming needs. No, not the miniatures, but someone who puts their heart in their work. Its not enough to have a semi-rubber token any more - they look bland and uninteresting. Yours are beautiful and glorious.

Thanks! It really is something I enjoy doing, and I'm glad that (a): it shows, and (b): people appreciate it.

TigerDave wrote:
#3 - Consider taking commissions. I think we all have half a dozen or so PCs and NPCs we'd like done. You may find a nice little bit of pocket change here.

I was thinking of doing commissioned art, actually. If there's one thing I've learned in all this, it's that players really love having a mini that represents their exact character.

In fact, if people wanted to, they can shoot me an e-mail for some commissioning right now. I'll put my e-mail address in my profile shortly. Please be specific; I get enough "my character's got some hair and I'm wearing armor" from my players. :)

Seems an oddly public place to ask, but any suggesstions on how to set up a price? How much would people pay for a customized paper mini of their character?

PS--I'll be doing a few free for now. If I get flooded with requests, I'll warn you guys that it may take some time.

Contributor

As for price, look at the other packs of paper minis you can buy from RPGnow/DriveThruRPG and see how many they're offering for $X.

And as a person who's self-published stuff, it never hurts to (1) give some freebies of your work so people can see if they like your style, (2) offer a discount on the item for the first week or month, that helps get the buzz out, (3) send free links to reviewers (especially if you can target people who reviewed the other paper minis that are currently for sale).

BTW if you have any other self-publishing questions, I'd be happy to answer them, too.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I'm currently planning on doing my first batches as freebies, which as you mention will hopefully get the word out. Since Paizo IP is currently off-limits, I'll probably start with some "generic" monsters and NPCs (requests/suggestions welcome), and as I mentioned earlier, doing some free commissioned PC minis as well.

I'm not nearly ready to "go pro" yet, unfortunately. I'd like to get my computer up and working, pick up a scanner, and get a decent Photoshop-eque program to fix up my art digitally (which will also come in handy if I get my various webcomic ideas off the ground). But once I do, you'll be first on the contact list, Sean. Thanks for the input; I'm glad I know I can get ahold of someone with experience in this!

While I've got your attention, any recommendations on scanners, publishing software, etc.? Also, what would you pay for a customized paper mini of your favorite character? I haven't really seen someone filling the market for it, so I guess this is "market research." :)

Contributor

Scanner: Well I have bought two HP All-In-One scanner-printer-copiers and was very satisfied with both (no, the first one didn't break, I bought the second as a gift). Easy to use, it scans and prints color & BW, good resolution. I think they came with image-fiddling software but as I have Photoshop I never needed to use it.

Publishing Software: Since you're just dealing with single pages rather than multipage books, your choice is easy. If you're using Photoshop to manage your images, just save the final document as a PDF and you're good to go. Otherwise, it depends on whether you're using a Mac or a PC. Macs can natively save/print to PDF, and last I heard PCs require some third-party software to do that (I have a Mac at home and here at the office, so I never had to research the PC end of things).

Custom paper mini pricing: hmm, well, I know some well-known artists charge $100 for a full-page character sketch, but really you should charge what you think your time is worth. If it takes you an hour to draw the mini, charge what you think is fair for your time, otherwise you're better off being a wage slave. It's all well and good to do art for art's sake, but if you're going to try to make money on it, charge an amount that actually allows you to MAKE money on it. :)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Thanks for the ideas! I'll try to get a price set; mostly, I need to figure out exactly how long a mini takes me from initial sketch to finalized mini. Hopefully, it'll be something worth it to the average gamer.

Currently, I'm using a PC--it's what I've always had access to. Though I have been meaning to swap to a Mac. They're supposed to have a lot more art/self-publishing support. And yeah, you do have to get a 3rd-party program to save files as PDFs with PC, but I bet there's something out there--I think Adobe has an online file conversion program or something. I'll have to do some research.

I'll let you know if I've got any more questions!

Shadow Lodge Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

N'Wah wrote:
...Currently, I'm using a PC--it's what I've always had access to...

I had no idea I was a PC! At least not in the Personal Computer sense. Are you really swapping me out for a Mac?

The Scanner I use to scan N'Wahs minis, which I do, by myself, because its my scanner and my laptop he 'uses', is an HP PSC 1510 All-In-One printer/scanner/copier. It works pretty well for what I use it for, I just haven't bothered learning how to finesse the controls all fancy like.

As for image management, I have Micrografx Picture Publisher 10, because I got it for free. I'd rather be using Photoshop, I just don't have a copy at the moment. Maybe if someone promises not to treat me like an inanimate object, I'll hunt it down for me/them to use.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

The internet ate my last post. Curses!

As I said in the eaten post, I meant zero offense, sir. I merely wished to lift the burden of all that scanning off your shoulders. But if you were interested in attempting to make the jump to semi-pro with me (with all its attendant risk of failure), I'd be happy to have you on board.

And besides, I could never replace you with a Mac. It wouldn't pay me a third of the rent. ;)


Making paper minis is fast and easy.

1. Go to the wizards website and look for the mini picture you want (or any other website, for that matter).
2. Save the picture, then open it in MS Paint.
3. Go to the Image > Atributes menu and check on the image size.
4. Go to the Image > Stretch/Skew menu and make it fit to the proper size in inches (medium =1, large = 2, etc.). It's best to stretch/skew only once.
5. Print the mini. You're done.

If you want to get fancy, you can do the following:

1. Print two copies of the mini.
2. Glue or tape the pictures on each side of a piece of cardboard so it's a little more solid.
3. Go to Michaels and buy a bunch of their small, flat wooden disks.
4. Get some clear glide clips.
5. Hot glue gun the glide clips to the wooden disks with the open part of the clip facing up.
6. Put the mini in the clip and you have a standing mini.

I'll try to post a picture when I have time.

Shadow Lodge Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8

N'wah wrote:

The internet ate my last post. Curses!

As I said in the eaten post, I meant zero offense, sir. I merely wished to lift the burden of all that scanning off your shoulders. But if you were interested in attempting to make the jump to semi-pro with me (with all its attendant risk of failure), I'd be happy to have you on board.

And besides, I could never replace you with a Mac. It wouldn't pay me a third of the rent. ;)

I know you didn't mean anything by it, I was just flipping you some s*@t. Really, scanning isn't that much of a burden, and if the scanner wasn't in my room you wouldn't even have to rely on me to do it. I don't mind handling that stuff one bit.

And you know I'm always willing to ride your coattai-I mean, help you out with your new business venture. Heh. Heh. Seriously though, I'm happy to provide assisstance in any way I can, as a friend, but don't go making me(or anyone else) a business partner unless you actually think I(they) have something valuable to bring to the table. You're going to be having a hard enough time starting out without having to pay some guy to eat cheetohs while you do all that hard, talent-requiring drawing work.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Benchak the Nightstalker wrote:

I didn't make this, my roommate did.

I've been meaning to take these pictures and post my Skinsaw Man. Here's another view.

Apologies for the lack of focus.


N'wah: Ruffly how much would one have to offer you to produce me five medium creatures as a commission. I would be more than willing to pull together up to £10/about $20 for unique character tokens for my group.

I'd need a punch dagger using gypsy rogue(female), a bill sikes like thug with a crowbar or club(male), a gangly former street urchin (female) and a mad homeless half orc(male) and his big shaggy dog.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Zombieneighbours wrote:

N'wah: Ruffly how much would one have to offer you to produce me five medium creatures as a commission. I would be more than willing to pull together up to £10/about $20 for unique character tokens for my group.

I'd need a punch dagger using gypsy rogue(female), a bill sikes like thug with a crowbar or club(male), a gangly former street urchin (female) and a mad homeless half orc(male) and his big shaggy dog.

That sounds doable--I'll keep in contact with you via e-mail to get further details. I haven't yet looked into a Paypal donation setup yet, but I'll get on that tonight after work.

Thanks for the interest, and I hope to get you some minis whipped up ASAP!

Contributor

BTW I can walk you through creating a PayPal webstore, I've done it for Willow's soaps and for my friend Stan!, it's not hard but the instructions how on the PayPal site are sorta buried. :p


Sean K Reynolds wrote:
BTW I can walk you through creating a PayPal webstore, I've done it for Willow's soaps and for my friend Stan!, it's not hard but the instructions how on the PayPal site are sorta buried. :p

Thank you for reminding me...must check to see how much willows soaps are, and what the postage is like. Money is all good and fun to have again.

Contributor

Well, Willow's touring Asia with her new show, so she's not in a position to make any soaps right now. However, another Paizo staffer's Significant Other has stepped in to fill the void with d20 soaps, so I suggest you check them out instead. They're available at the Paizo store. :)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
BTW I can walk you through creating a PayPal webstore, I've done it for Willow's soaps and for my friend Stan!, it's not hard but the instructions how on the PayPal site are sorta buried. :p

That'd be great--I've just started up a Paypal account, and I wasn't sure how it should all be done. Shoot me off an e-mail or something--my e-mail address is in my Paizo profile. Thanks!

Silver Crusade

Those are really nice.

Love the mock up shot of the giant & the PCs, really shows the size of the mini.

With the rate the actual Pf minis are coming out, having anther option for minis is a great idea. I know I'd buy a pdf if it was ever made.

again, awesome work on those (love the elf pc)

RM

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Glad you like them! Yeah, Perrin (the elf) turned out pretty well. His first mini was a bit... effeminate, but that's me not paying attention during the inking process.

Unfortunately, I can't make "official" Paizo IP minis. Yet. I'm hoping to find out the steps necessary to maybe make something, but aside from F. Wesley Schneider's interest in a goblin snake, I don't think I'm really on the Paizo radar. (By the by, Wesley, I'd still love to do that for you if it's kosher!)

For right now, it looks like commissioned PC minis and maybe some "generic" stuff down the line. Y'know, orcs and guards and stuff. We'll see what the Harrow holds for the future, though!

The Exchange

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber
Dan Davis wrote:

If you want to get fancy, you can do the following:

...
4. Get some clear glide clips.
...

I checked out the wooden disks from Michael's, and they're effing *perfect*. Unfortunately, I'm getting stuck on this step here :)

Do you recall where you found some clear glide clips? I've scoured Office Depot, the supply cabinet at work, the office supply catalog at work, and done some unsuccessful Googling.

I did come across a line of plastic bases for Steve Jackson's Cardboard Heroes, but they seem to be discontinued.

Also, there's bases available for Disposable Heroes, but I can't actually find a picture of what they look like. The teeny-tiny pic on the box art seems to imply that they're similar to the Steve Jackson bases, but I'd like to know if anyone here has ever used/seen them to confirm that.

Or, any other suggestions for a place to look would be greatly appreciated!

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I found some things called glide clips that sound like what you're looking for in a google search- unfortunately, they're all multi-colored so far that I've seen.

For me, glue on a cardstock base (or a regular plastic mini base) works just fine. All the glide clip does is act as the fastener for mini-to-base goodness.

The Concordance RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

I could have sworn someone created a rune giant paper mini and posted it on the message boards. Unfortunately I can't find it. Can someone assure me that I am losing the few marbles i have left and point out where it is.

Or alternately, prove me insane by saying it never happened.

(I suppose both could be possible, being insane and there is a run giant paper mini somewhere.... but that's not the point of this post.)

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