I am too poor to buy hero forge and icons of the realms miniatures. I saw that you can make paper miniatures. How do you make them? Do you need photoshop or a similar program?
If you have photoshop or GIMP, you can make better ones. The cheapest way that I know of uses a spreadsheet (like Xcel or Kingsoft). I'll start with the spreadsheet and work up to fancy.
Make the cells in your spreasheet 1 inch by 3/4 inch... or similar. A little taller isn't a problem.
Find an image you like online and save it to your computer. Bring it in to your spreadsheet and shrink it to fill one cell. Copy, paste, and reflect it in the cell underneath.
When you print it, you can fold it in half (to give it both sides) tape it with mailing tape for rigidity and shine.
Go to Amazon and get figure stands. They're like 100 for $5. Put them in the stand.
If you want a little less work for $10 to $15, you can use transparencies, which will save you on ink since you don't need to double it up.
MEANWHILE WITH PHOTOSHOP
The software is free for Hero Forge, and you can screenshot the mini. Bring that into photoshop and use the smart lasso to delete the background and print that out.
If you don't want to get the stands you can use pennies or nickles (these are best for PC's and not monsters. Monsters will take up too much space with a permanent stand).
Anyway, hot glue the paper token to the coin, but don't JUST hot glue the token. Spread the glue all over the top and pour sand or dirt on it. The glue will hold onto the sand and give your mini some texture. Paint is gray or green and your mini will instantly look a bit more dynamic.
If you don't want to get the stands you can use pennies or nickles (these are best for PC's and not monsters. Monsters will take up too much space with a permanent stand).
Anyway, hot glue the paper token to the coin, but don't JUST hot glue the token. Spread the glue all over the top and pour sand or dirt on it. The glue will hold onto the sand and give your mini some texture. Paint is gray or green and your mini will instantly look a bit more dynamic.
I make my own paper minis, but I also sunk a lot of time, effort, and money into doing that.
For player characters, if I don't find art that matches the character, I create them in Heroforge and take a screenshot (PRO allows a capture with transparent background, which makes it a lot easier).
I then use GIMP to touch up contrast and color brightness for the print, and add a black border around the edges. Then I import the character picture into my Cricut software and add a base, mirror the figure to have front and back. Then I print-and-cut on the Cricut and glue the mini together (gluestick is much better than 'wet' glue).
If you already have access to a cutting machine, this is really nice and the minis come out beautifully.
Alternately, tokens are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to make a good representation of monsters and PCs. I just use Word to size and print out the art, and a 1-inch paper punch gets the cut perfect every time. If you want to upscale your token, you can use 1-inch domed epoxy stickers, that are usually used to make bottlecap jewelry. It's simple and effective, and even looks good on the map. (works best if everyone is using tokens, if someone uses 3D minis, they look a bit 'flat' in comparison ;)
For player characters, if I don't find art that matches the character, I create them in Heroforge and take a screenshot (PRO allows a capture with transparent background, which makes it a lot easier).
//
Alternately, tokens are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to make a good representation of monsters and PCs. I just use Word to size and print out the art, and a 1-inch paper punch gets the cut perfect every time. If you want to upscale your token, you can use 1-inch domed epoxy stickers, that are usually used to make bottlecap jewelry. It's simple and effective, and even looks good on the map. (works best if everyone is using tokens, if someone uses 3D minis, they look a bit 'flat' in comparison ;)
1) I think they took away that feature like a week ago. I went to do that and they were all like, "Use our live service" or something. I was heartbroken.
For player characters, if I don't find art that matches the character, I create them in Heroforge and take a screenshot (PRO allows a capture with transparent background, which makes it a lot easier).
//
Alternately, tokens are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to make a good representation of monsters and PCs. I just use Word to size and print out the art, and a 1-inch paper punch gets the cut perfect every time. If you want to upscale your token, you can use 1-inch domed epoxy stickers, that are usually used to make bottlecap jewelry. It's simple and effective, and even looks good on the map. (works best if everyone is using tokens, if someone uses 3D minis, they look a bit 'flat' in comparison ;)
1) I think they took away that feature like a week ago. I went to do that and they were all like, "Use our live service" or something. I was heartbroken.
2) Oh THAT IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA! I love it.
1) the feature still exists in the 'booth', but it's a 'PRO' feature and only available with subscription. You can still take a screenshot without transparency, but then you have to crop the image manually in GIMP. A bit more effort, but saves money.
I am too poor to buy hero forge and icons of the realms miniatures. I saw that you can make paper miniatures. How do you make them? Do you need photoshop or a similar program?
Check out my Homebrew.
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Backgrounds, Feats, Races, and Subclasses
There's a couple good ways.
If you have photoshop or GIMP, you can make better ones. The cheapest way that I know of uses a spreadsheet (like Xcel or Kingsoft). I'll start with the spreadsheet and work up to fancy.
Make the cells in your spreasheet 1 inch by 3/4 inch... or similar. A little taller isn't a problem.
Find an image you like online and save it to your computer. Bring it in to your spreadsheet and shrink it to fill one cell. Copy, paste, and reflect it in the cell underneath.
When you print it, you can fold it in half (to give it both sides) tape it with mailing tape for rigidity and shine.
Go to Amazon and get figure stands. They're like 100 for $5. Put them in the stand.
If you want a little less work for $10 to $15, you can use transparencies, which will save you on ink since you don't need to double it up.
MEANWHILE WITH PHOTOSHOP
The software is free for Hero Forge, and you can screenshot the mini. Bring that into photoshop and use the smart lasso to delete the background and print that out.
Oh, one cool trick I saw a while back:
If you don't want to get the stands you can use pennies or nickles (these are best for PC's and not monsters. Monsters will take up too much space with a permanent stand).
Anyway, hot glue the paper token to the coin, but don't JUST hot glue the token. Spread the glue all over the top and pour sand or dirt on it. The glue will hold onto the sand and give your mini some texture. Paint is gray or green and your mini will instantly look a bit more dynamic.
Oh, one cool trick I saw a while back:
If you don't want to get the stands you can use pennies or nickles (these are best for PC's and not monsters. Monsters will take up too much space with a permanent stand).
Anyway, hot glue the paper token to the coin, but don't JUST hot glue the token. Spread the glue all over the top and pour sand or dirt on it. The glue will hold onto the sand and give your mini some texture. Paint is gray or green and your mini will instantly look a bit more dynamic.
Thank you! I might just draw my characters and put them in the spreadsheet. I am pretty proud of my half orc barbarian drawing.
Check out my Homebrew.
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Backgrounds, Feats, Races, and Subclasses
That'll make you love your mini's all the better! More power to you, and happy crafting.
I make my own paper minis, but I also sunk a lot of time, effort, and money into doing that.
For player characters, if I don't find art that matches the character, I create them in Heroforge and take a screenshot (PRO allows a capture with transparent background, which makes it a lot easier).
I then use GIMP to touch up contrast and color brightness for the print, and add a black border around the edges. Then I import the character picture into my Cricut software and add a base, mirror the figure to have front and back. Then I print-and-cut on the Cricut and glue the mini together (gluestick is much better than 'wet' glue).
If you already have access to a cutting machine, this is really nice and the minis come out beautifully.
Alternately, tokens are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to make a good representation of monsters and PCs. I just use Word to size and print out the art, and a 1-inch paper punch gets the cut perfect every time. If you want to upscale your token, you can use 1-inch domed epoxy stickers, that are usually used to make bottlecap jewelry. It's simple and effective, and even looks good on the map. (works best if everyone is using tokens, if someone uses 3D minis, they look a bit 'flat' in comparison ;)
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
Thank you! I will probably use art, while I am trying to get more plastic figures.
Check out my Homebrew.
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Backgrounds, Feats, Races, and Subclasses
Here is an example of how the design looks:
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
1) I think they took away that feature like a week ago. I went to do that and they were all like, "Use our live service" or something. I was heartbroken.
2) Oh THAT IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA! I love it.
1) the feature still exists in the 'booth', but it's a 'PRO' feature and only available with subscription. You can still take a screenshot without transparency, but then you have to crop the image manually in GIMP. A bit more effort, but saves money.
2) thank you 😊
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
https://printableheroes.com/minis