Category Archives: HeroMachine 3

I've just updated the HeroMachine 3 Alpha with a new "Standard" set for the "Hair" slot, replacing the former "HairMaleStandard". All of the items that used to be in the old one are in the new one too, starting on preview page three, I think it is.

The new set has a total of 71 different hair styles and pieces, hopefully giving you everything you need to customize your character to the tee. Here's a set of twelve to whet your appetite, but by all means check out the live set available now:

Let me know in the comments if there are any styles you were really hoping for that didn't make it, or if there are any changes you'd like to see made. Thanks for all of your earlier suggestions, they were very helpful in putting the group together!

I've just uploaded the first set of Background items, "Shapes", to the HeroMachine 3 Alpha. I've included 21 different backgrounds for you in this set, which is a lot more than the first 2.x Background-Standard group, including your basic rectangles, circles, triangles, Union Jack, concentric target circles, a yin yang symbol, etc.

In addition, the basic program now has six more "Pattern" options, to allow you to apply basic dark-to-light gradients from either the top, bottom, left, or right, as well as one goes from the center out and one that's in a circle. They're not perfect, but they do let you do some things you couldn't before.

You might also play around with using this big giant Background Shapes to create some funky uniform elements, as well. Just move the Background item to the front using the "To Top Layer" button in the Transform tab. Hit the Mask button, and click on the basic Body. This works particularly well with the Background Shapes that have gradients built in, especially if you set both of its colors to 0% Alpha -- it removes the colors so the underlying Body can show through, but leaves the gradient, so you get a cool effect.

Enjoy!

I've just uploaded "BladesTwo" to the HeroMachine 3 Alpha. This should do it for the blades, let me know if I missed anything big. I do still plan on the naginata (the samurai blade at the end of a pole), but in polearms.

What would you like me to work on next? I'm thinking either Hair or Insignia but holler if you think something else ought to have priority.

Just a quick note to let you know that LegwearMaleSpandex has been updated with items to match those in TopsMaleSpandex. They're the four at the end. Enjoy!

I forgot to mention it last night, but I added two shark items to the Heads-Animals set, a hammerhead and a Great White.

I just uploaded three new sets of pupil-less eyes to Eyes-Standard as well, to allow you to have solid color fills inside eyes, by request from the comments. That seemed to be a popular item so now you can go to town with it.

I'm about to start working on Legwear-Spandex to add the missing items from 2.x and to make sure they line up properly with the Tops, also by request. Once that's done, I'll start working on weapons, starting with swords. The plan there is to do them like I did the Tops, where you'll have four separate items that comprise the completed sword. You'll have the blade, the hilt, the handle/pommel, and finally the whole item with the three parts pre-assembled for ease of use. That'll let you essentially make your own swords and daggers. Should be neat.

Thanks for all the feedback you've been giving, as you can see I'm reading it all and taking it in, even if I don't respond to a specific request. Not everything can go into this first round of items, and not all of what's left out will be in later updates, but an awful lot will. You're directly affecting how HeroMachine 3 works, which I think is awesome. Go you!

I've updated Head-Animals, having dutifully removed the eyes from the poor critters contained therein. Shame on you people!

I couldn't bear to take the eyes out of the two Eagles, the Owl, and the Tiger. They were just too good. I'll bow to pressure if I must, but I defy you for now! ::shakes fist at the heavens::

It actually works pretty well. In a few cases, like the first Wolf, the eyes were the only color2, so I was able to reapply that somewhere else.

Tomorrow or the next day I'll add in some animalistic Eyes, like cats and serpents and such.

I added a few new Ears to the Standard set, including several intended to help make your own Headgears look right. Here's a sample character created with the new items added today:

The mask consists of one of the Standard Heads, colored green; four eyes, two of which act as the mask's eye holes (colored flesh tones), the other two of which are normal eyes layered on top; the circle Insignia, masked onto the Head and scaled horizontally to make it an arc and then colored flesh tones to make it look like the mask's mouth opening; two of the new ears, colored to look like regular ears covered in cloth; two Eyebrows, with the right one moved behind the eye openings so the second color gets clipped off rather than intruding over the mask's cutouts like the left one; and the rest of the normal facial features.

It's more cumbersome to do it this way, but man, you can get some really nice effects. I could use that same basic setup and swap out a triangle Insignia to serve as the mouth opening instead. Or use the Square Insignia masked to the Head to make it look like the mask cuts off at the forehead. Or or or ...

Yeah. Lots of possibilities. Have fun, holler if there's something not working right!

Oh, I did notice that using the Insignia for a mask mouth opening kind of screws you for using a nose ... I haven't thought through what to do about that.

I've just updated the "Standard" set of "Eyes" with four or five new entries meant to serve as eye holes for masks, either the ones in "Headgear Standard" or if you're using one of the basic Head shapes as a full-face mask. I've only played around with it a bit but you can get some really nice effects. Let me know if it's working for you, and if there are other shapes you would want to see.