Making custom character portraits!

[Maulium]

I want to make customized character portraits for the NPC's (and maybe the PC'S) in my campaign. I'm not an artist myself, so I turn to you, oh my wise friends, to guide me.

Any clue where/how I can get this done?

[Oladon]

I've used HeroMachine to create some decent portraits -- nothing with the finesse of a hand-drawn one, but you can do a lot with it. Version 2.5 is worth looking at, too, as it's easier to use than 3.

[Laithoron]

Visit DeviantArt and search around for artists who will do a commission of your 'original character'. Some artists find it helpful if you have photo references and detailed descriptions, others will just take a short description and go from there.

Generally, you can get what you're looking for under $100. In some cases, artists with a more cartoony style will even do your portraits for far less. Here's an example of a commission I had done for a mere $30, along with the write-up I submitted to the artist:

Art order: http://wiki.worldsunknown.com/wiki/Avionetca
Artwork: http://avionetca.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4z2qg2
Artist: http://avionetca.deviantart.com/

Here are a few other artists I've bookmarked that you might also try:

• Archie the Red Cat
  
• Bokuman
  
• Dark Ira
  
• Eddy Swan
  
• Faynt Commissions
  
• Ganassa
  
• Harpy Queen
  
• Kenshjn Park
  
• Laverinne
  
• Kimir Ra
  
• Ninidu
  
• Noir Tess
  
• Pastel Aurora
  
• Wuduo
  
• Zefiar

[Lilith]

*cough*

[ImmortaliseMe]

G'day,
My name is Ben Morton. I'm starting a new business as an illustrator and designer, and one of my business' features will be the ability to offer low cost custom character portraits for RPG players to put on their character profile sheets rather than use something they grabbed from a Google image search. Please let me know if I can be of service.

I have a collection of my previous art for various clients and various purposes including some character portraits available to view on fb
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.328211026904.156845.328200516904& amp;type=1&notif_t=like

[sadepocok]

www.epicgenerator.net -- possible solution :)

[Tinkergoth]

I don't have the link handy, and can't get to my blog from work, but if you jump onto The Grassy Gnoll and check out some of The Unusual Suspects updates (specifically the ones for Varian Blackthorne and The Samurai), you'll see a couple of examples of the work that the guy I normally use does. There's also a link to his fiverr page at the bottom of each of those updates.

I've never paid more than $10 for a portrait from him, and they've all been good(okay, I paid $20 once, but the additional $10 was to get it done in 3 days instead of a few weeks). $5 gets you sketch (coloured) with a basic background, an extra $5 gets you a more detailed background (see the bar scene in the Varian Blackthorne background).

[Laithoron]

What sinister necromancy is this?!

In addition to the links I posted a year and a half ago, I've started keeping a favorites folder comprised of DA artists I like who take character commissions. Happy hunting to any who are interested...

DeviantArt: Commish Artists

[Tinkergoth]

Huh, just noticed the age of the original post. Ah well.