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| [[Category:Resources]]
| | Finding this post has answered my prayres |
| [[Category:Props]]
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| [[Image:SGA logo.gif|right|Seattle Gamers Assemble!]]
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| ''[[Seattle Gamers Assemble!]] (SGA) is a loose community of role-players centered around Seattle, Washington. After several years of operations, we thought it might be nice to share a few tricks.''
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| =Zo Zayings=
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| [[Image:cardboardmini.jpg|thumb|Example of Johnzo's paper figures in action]]
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| ;[[User:Johnzo|Johnzo]] says:
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| You can also get premade paper figures from [http://www.rpgnow.com/ RPGNow] and other places. Some premade figures are rendered by computer with a lot of dark detail; these don't work so well for me. ([http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7774& Here is an example of this.])
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| If you don't want to spend on predrawn figures, or RPGNow doesn't have
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| what you need, it's pretty simple to make your own. All you need is a color printer, cardstock, glue, stick-tack, and spare change.
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| * Oh, and also, some figure images. Since I can't draw worth a damn, I get mine online. Most of my figures come from [http://www.gwindel.eu/index.html Patrick Cruciau]. Patrick offers nifty figure images for free. He is one of the righteous people. If Patrick doesn't have what I need, I go to [http://www.clipart.com/en/ clipart.com]. [http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi Google images] can also be useful here, but clipart is a better bet. Cartoony line-drawn images are the best kind of image for this, as intricate detail tends to vanish on a 1" (25 mm) figure.
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| * If the illos are side-views ([http://www.clipart.com/en/close-up?o=3968952 example]) then you're all set. If they're front-views ([http://www.clipart.com/en/close-up?o=3973443 example]) and figure facing matters to you, you'll need to create a back view of each image. I do this in a paint program by just flood-filling the entire image in black to make a silhouette of it and then flipping the image vertically. This is what the Disposable Heroes line does, and it works well.
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| * Use a word processor to create a two-row table with borders on. Scale your images to the right size (Savage is 1" = 6', or about 25mm = 2m, so I usually make figures under an inch in height.) Put your images in the top table row. Underneath each image, put the corresponding back view of the image. For a side-view figure, this will just be a vertical flip of the image. For a front-view, it'll be the back view of the image that you made in the previous step.
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| * Print this page on cardstock. Fold along the line between the two rows and glue, then cut the figures apart.
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| * Trim the figures and get rid of big splatches of unprinted cardstock. This is not necessary, of course, but I think it really improves the look of them.
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| * (Optionally) laminate the figures. You can self-serve laminate for free at Kinkos. My laminated cardboard figs are far more durable than the plastic Mage Knight / D&D figs I use.
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| * Use pennies and stick-tack for basing. Or you could buy dedicated basing material, but I've never seen the need for that.
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| =Kedamono's Korner=
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| ; [[User:Kedamono|Kedamono]] also suggests:
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| * One method is to use fonts: [http://greywolf.critter.net/fonts.htm Greywolf's character fonts] and [http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/sparks.htm Sparks Fonts]. The best font size is 42 points for these fonts, that creates a character that is about the right height. Use Notepad or TextEdit to create the characters, as you'll get a better meeting of the font glyph tops and bottoms.
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| ;
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| * There are other online sources for free paper minis: [http://www.aginsinn.com/PaperMinis.html HeroQuest paper minis], [http://www.fecundity.com/pmagnus/vector/heroes.html Vector Heros], [http://www.imagineimage.org/papergeneral.htm The Paper General] (needs signup to see final sheets), and [http://www.blackwyrm.com/extras.htm Blackwyrm's Cutout Heroes].
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| * And a great page that describes how to create your own paper miniatures: [http://home.earthlink.net/~wagc/design.htm Paper Miniature and Figure Designing]
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| =Seaman's Suggestions=
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| ;Charles Seaman adds:
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| * To make quick images, I've used [http://www.heromachine.com/ HeroMachine] (version 1.1 is free) with good results
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| * I typically print the stand-ups on glossy photo paper.
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| * On the backside, rather than just black-fill, I have experimented with charcoal rub effects and found the result to be more pleasing. This is simply a preference of course.
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| * When I print nameless combat thugs, I have done different things:
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| ** Sometimes I print the picture on front and a number on the back (1,2,3, etc to identify each NPC)
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| ** I've also just put the number on both sides. This is less dramatic, as there isn't a picture, but it is easier for players to verbally and visually identify the NPCs
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| ** I've also put the image at 50% transparency, with the number over it. On the back I make the shadow 50% transparent, with a number also.
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| * I have various lengths of 1" diameter clear plastic tubing. By standing the tubing on its end under the stand-ups, I can put things literally in the air.
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| =Anemone's Advice=
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| ; [[User:Mechante Anemone|Mechante Anemone]] says:
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| * [http://www.arion-games.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=1 Arion Games] makes paper miniatures that are sold on RPG Now, Your Games Now, e23, and Fantasy Downloads.
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| * A useful way to move formatted documents to a different printer (e.g., to go print at a copy center) without headaches is to save it as a PDF file. You can find several freeware or shareware utilities that act as PDF printer drivers; I have had good success with [http://www.pdf995.com/ PDF995].
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| * Freeware and shareware for picture editing:
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| **[http://gimp.org/ GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program] — Open source, free, available for Mac, PC, Linux, etc. Allows quite a bit of editing and drawing; '''highly recommended'''.
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| **[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pierre.g/index.html XnView] — Excellent for image viewing and editing, and format conversion.
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| **[http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs/?Easy%20Thumbnails=2800 EasyThumbnails] from Fookes Shareware (just like it says, great to create thumbnails in batches.)
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| **[http://www.photofiltre.com/ PhotoFiltre] — Mostly useful for photos, allows retouching and post-production filters.
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| * Not freeware or shareware, but darn affordable:
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| ** [http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Product_C1&cid=1155872554948&lc=en&pagename=CorelCom%2FLayout PaintShop Pro] from JASC Software/Corel (watch for the periodic [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-1695822-4038330?url=search-alias%3Dsoftware&field-keywords=paintshop+pro&Go.x=13&Go.y=11&Go=Go Amazon.com mail-in rebates])
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| ----
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| Return to [[Seattle Gamers Assemble!]]
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Finding this post has answered my prayres