Making and Painting Custom Miniatures with
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT: www.blackmagic...
JOIN the "FELLOWSHIP" on PATREON: bit.ly/JoinTheB...
OFFICIAL BMC MERCH: bit.ly/BMCmerch
#BlackMagicCraft #Episode174 #Sponsored
In this video I take you through my experience ordering some custom miniatures from Hero Forge. I order three material versions of the same design and paint up the cheapest option.
This video was sponsored by Hero Forge.
Try out the interface and order your own:
www.heroforge.com
DISCOUNT CODES
BlackMagicBasic - $3 OFF 1 Basic Plastic Mini
BlackMagicPremium - $5 OFF 1 Premium Plastic Mini
Expires March 1st, 2020.....seems to not be working right now, they are looking into it, check back soon.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
➳ www.blackmagicc...
➳ Facebook: goo.gl/hvNgQL
➳ Join the Tabletop Crafters Guild: goo.gl/RMMqoh
I made a mistake. The Premium Plastic is not primed, it is printed with black plastic.....oh and *"why didn't y just print the STL files yourself?"* Well, the whole purpose of this video was to show what you get when you order print on demand. The STL files don't need testing or review, your results will depend on your printer, settings, and ability, not the STL. In the future I will certainly use the STL option for personal use, it's a great option!
Try out the interface and order your own: www.heroforge.com
*DISCOUNT CODES*
BlackMagicBasic - $3 OFF 1 Basic Plastic Mini
BlackMagicPremium - $5 OFF 1 Premium Plastic Mini
Expires March 1st, 2020.....seems to not be working right now, they are looking into it, check back soon.
Black Magic Craft what kind of Gel pens do you use? I have trouble with small brushes and I like the way you painted that cloak. Have a good day! Thanks for entertaining us!
Fundude 1007 I don’t remember the brand, just something I grabbed at the office supply store. It’s good if you can test them on a pad at the store. You want ones that flow freely but don’t bleed. Some I tried let out too much “ink”.
What's an average price for a mini
Fumble Door the prices are based on material selection, your mini design doesn’t effect it. Prices are stated in the video and on their website.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial might have missed you mention it, but you can also just get an stl download to print yourself if you have a 3D printer.
I proposed to my wife with a hero forged mini of her favorite character from one of my old games. The minis have a ring bearer pose that was perfect. I cut a mini + ring sized hole in my ratty old PF players handbook. Asked her to look up a spell at the end of the last session of a campaign, boom, engaged!
If my partner did this to me I think I would die!!! This has to be the best way I've ever heard of someone proposing omg!!!!!!
Omg. So amazingly smooth. Damn you are a keeper!
You just did it for the +2 AC for a week
EPIC!
keizerbob ur a living legend dude
GEL PENS!!!! omg that is worth the price of admission! -- thank you
How do they work? Do you load the pen with the paint, or just dip the tip in the paint, or do you even use paint, instead, using the ink from the pen?
@@Drakijy My assumption would be that you just use the gel pen without touching the paint.
A similar tip is to use "Gundam Markers" which are paint pens made for detailing Gundam models. I grabbed some on a recent trip to Japan and they are pretty cool for detail work.
Fine tipped metallic sharpies work really well for myself, especially the gold ones and they are dirt cheap as well.
It's a great idea
I love hero forge. I order, paint and give my players a custom character as an anniversary of the character or holiday gift.
You, sir, are too good for this world!
How do u actually buy the custom mini you made every time I hit by address Shows me that I could buy unpainted ones and stuff but I just spent like 20 minutes making my DoorDash and now I can’t figure out how to buy him
Critical role has a series covering mini painting, and talesons episode has some tips for mitigating tremor shakes. ( if you care. )
Yeah they were really helpful. The rubber band method was really cool! It's called Mini Prime Time.
came here to say the exact same thing.
Joshua Pritchard oh yeah! Doesn’t talieson have something that causes his shakiness?
I also think they used an huge coffe cup that is narrow at the base and placed upside-down. The mini is a fixed and your hands can grasp it and use it a sturdy rest to help with tremors. Or print and custom mini holder with hand rests with your new printer.
"I'm an adequate painter" literally freaking turns the miniature into a masterpiece
Jeremy, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for being so real and honest. You always keep the “this is how I do it” attitude going through your videos and not the “this is how it’s done.” I’ve seen other mini painting videos where the artist claims to just going for table ready they do three times as work and they finish by saying something like “well sorry for the crappy job but...” That can be really disheartening-the thing they think looks bad is a million times better than I could do. Why should I bother trying. You, however, are always encouraging people to put in whatever level of effort they want.
Finally a good HeroForge review, it includes almost all of the materials and a realistic method for painting.
Mini Primetime’s episode featuring Taliesin Jaffe showcases a very cool technique using a rubber band to deal with hand tremors. I recommend checking it out for anyone who may have that issue, because everyone should be able to paint if they want to.
Do be careful dropping Hero Forge minis in the basic plastic, though! I’ve seen many drop and all have broken at various heights. One of mine also cracked while in a foam lined container. Still well worth, the money, but just give them more love, because they need and deserve it.
This guy: "I'm an adequate painter with essential tremors..." then proceeds to paint a completely awesome mini.
Jeez.
Great vid! I've printed a couple of STL's from them and thought they were kinda great. Very cool to design and then bring something to life. Better than the squares and circles I usually design and print! lol
Straight up. im feeling salty about my painting lol
I've never painted a figure and seeing that he says hes average makes me doubt myself
What a strange coincidence, I recently just ordered a bunch of customized minis from Heroforge yesterday haha I ordered 2 last year and was really satisfied with the quality and print. Now I created 5 more sci-fi focused minis, and can't wait to receive them at the end of this month. The basic Plastic version is primed, which is a nice touch and I don't see the print lines at all. I think shapeways did a good job in finishing the models. Each of the model is really unique and when I hold the mini in the hand it really feels like it's your own baby. I'd highly recommend to anyone if you have the funds!
My husband got me a gift card to Hero Forge for Christmas and I ordered one of my most beloved characters (one that I've used in several campaigns now). She's PERFECT. It's definitely not something to build an army, but if you have a VERY specific look in mind for a VERY SPECIFIC mini, this is an awesome service. My dwarven cleric has never looked better!
I see HeroForge now has a kickstarter for color prints and professionally painted miniatures. Nice timing.
For your hand shakes, there is a fantastic method out there where you utilize a rubber band to stabilize it.
Found on IchibanPainting's channel, the video is titled "Preventing shaky hands when painitng" and skip to 1:15.
I hope this helps, many people swear by it!
I've been wanting to try D&D for years, at least 20 lol, but never took the leap. Recently my son asked if we could play D&D, so I had perfect excuse to indulge and the wife couldn't say no MUAHAHA. We sat down with the player's guide, he built a character and I was looking at getting his character made on hero forge for him (and mine) but wasn't sure about quality etc, so thank you for this video! I will definitely get them made now. You also made me genuinely laugh as he came up with a Tiefling Warlock lol. I'm sure most folks know this but if you have a 3D printer, you can download a couple of test files for free on hero forge so you can try printing at home.
@Pappy Tron Thanks Pappy, that's really helpful! We've been going through the 5E Essentials Kit and he seems to have the "roll" playing down but he's still getting into the swing of things with "role" playing. You know what kids are like though, he's concerned about looking "silly" or whatever :) Personally, I just enjoy sharing this with him and he gets better everytime we play. Thanks again mate!
Listening to you drop these minis SO HARD makes my skin shiver 😭
They were fine. Be less scared.
"Stress test" can have multiple meanings lol
I made my group play through the Pathfinder beginner box to make sure they understood most of the rules. As a reward for doing so, I allowed them to design their own mini through Heroforge, then I bought each one for them. The creation and ordering process was not complicated. When the models arrived, two of them were incorrect, as in my order and someone else's order got mixed up. A quick email to the support, and they reprinted and sent me the correct models and allowed me to keep the misprints. So, all in all, it is an excellent service if you want that one specific model to have a particular look. Also, @Black Magic Craft keep up the superb work on the videos, I have been enjoying them a lot.
I just got my first Hero Forge model and I'm super impressed. I got the basic plastic and the details are still fantastic.
I just discovered heroforge a couple days ago, so your review is rather timely! Being able to design and print a figure with minimal effort is a dream come true, tbh. Especially for weird combinations.
Glad you did this review! I have returned to Hero Forge at least once every year to make a character and never actually ordered any because I wasn't sure of the quality of the plastic. I'll do my annual visit, maybe this time it'll tip the odds towards actually buying :P Thanks Jeremy!
Addramyr Palinor making characters on Hero Forge is one of my favorite past times... One day! One day, I’ll have the cash to order all these miniatures I’ve created over the years!
I'd done much the same: I came back to it every few months to make characters, but I'd never actually went so far as to pay for them, until last year. As a character creator alone, it's a fantastic tool: make up a character, take a screenshot, clip and edit it in an image editor (MS Paint is fine for a simple monochrome picture), copy and paste into your character sheet, and you're good!
I finally decided to splurge on paying for some minis when I was short on ideas for Christmas gifts for gaming friends and family, and realized some of them were looking for miniatures for a new game - I can vouch for these making great gifts - I sent the gift certificates, the players loved designing their own characters, and had a blast learning to paint them! As an occasional GM without much time to game anymore, I did have a couple recurring villains I'd been tinkering with, and ordered those for myself.
I agree completely with everything said in the video: my non-technical gamers had no trouble figuring out the basic editor (fine-tuning the poses might have been a bit too technical for the 70-year-old gamer, but she figured the rest out just fine, and the default poses were just fine for her purposes); the basic plastic was just fine for ordinary tabletop use; the detail isn't super-sharp but it's good enough to work for tabletop use alongside the likes of Reaper Bones, Wizkids plastics, Warhammer and other plastic multi-part wargame mini kits, etc. (I was actually surprised just how good and professional they look in person - the editor doesn't do them justice!); the basic plastic minis are tough enough to survive the "cat test" (swat them off the game table - if they survive that, they'll probably survive normal mini wear-and-tear... they seem to me to be tougher than the lead minis I grew up with in the '80s!), cleaning and prepping is pretty easy; painting is just as easy as any other mini (maybe easier than many molded plastic minis, since the detail in hidden areas is much better and easier to distinguish when painting); and, though the basic price-point for the standard plastic is a bit steeper than most mass-produced plastic minis from the other guys, it's not bad at all for custom-made, one-off unique characters like those PCs and special villains.
The biggest downside to the standard plastic is that these Heroforge minis aren't quite as easy to customize as Reaper Bones minis or those multi-part hard plastic kits (Warhammer-style wargaming minis), since they don't seem to take well to cutting and don't quite seem to take the usual Cyanoacrylase ("Krazy") glue as well, and the higher price makes risky modification a bit discouraging, so unless you're feeling a bit adventurous, you're a bit limited to whatever customization you can get from the Heroforge editor (which is probably just fine for most normal purposes without further customization by hand!) I don't know if the "premium" plastic is any easier to cut and join, but I don't think I'd try this at premium prices. Still, I managed to make a minor modification to one of my villains in basic plastic with only little trouble, and since I don't think most gamers would need or want to do extra customization by hand, this would a small, niche complaint anyway.
The selection of weapons, gear, armor, faces, hairstyles, etc. are, as mentioned in the video, various, but limited, but I agree that most of the bases are covered, and they do add new pieces all the time (looks like every Tuesday, something new is added!), so the variety is good, and getting better.
Over all, the basic plastic minis are a win for PCs, unique villains and other stand-out recurring characters, and make fantastic gifts for gamers!
@@pietrayday9915 Great comment. Jeremy's review was excellent but it's also good to get a "paying customer's" take on things. I'm not a gamer myself but, as you and Jeremy have both said, these would make great gifts. The process of designing/posing your very own model sounds like a fun process; I might give it a try.
Bought three, wasn't disapointed with any of them. From my experience tho, they're not as durable as his tests showed. I dropped two of them and they both broke at the weakest points. Despite that, it's easily reparable and I will still buy from them for every campain.
If you're in to minis, get a Elgoo Mars or other MSLA resin printer and have at it.
I’ve painted 6 minis from the website and I have to say, they make my minis feel like I put a lot of love and care into each and every character that I’ve made. One of the minis I painted was a gift to my dad, so I hope he loves it. Even though it’s not a good idea to print minis of every NPC you’ve made, but being able to save characters and even take screenshots help represent characters in an online game, so it’s honestly been one of my favorite websites.
minmax goth warlock- niceeeeeee
i love Hero Forge. Ive used them several times. The amount of creativity while making your own custom mini is amazing. I've only ever gotten the least expensive option, but like you experienced, it's actually the best option. I'm always super pleased when I get the Mini in the mail.
i have got few .STL files and printed them myself, great value at $8 and minis always look great, would highly recommend
I love Heroforge! I've gotten 3 minis from them so far, and each one has minimal flash and was delivered earlier than the estimated delivery date. If you have a PC you love to play or a recurring BBEG, then this is a great way to go!
Heroforge has come a really long way since this video. I absolutely love getting custom minis of my characters, even if they are just for display. They constantly update the site and have added hundreds of new options since this video, with more to come, such as Kitbashing. They do a deal for the STL files every so often, like during black Friday, I print them from someone on Marketplace for a fraction of the cost and with amazing results still. I've painted minis for a friend who got them straight from Hero Forge, I'd still recommend them, the quality is really good.
Cheers for the tip on painting for people with an essential tremor. Will definitely be passing that one onto a friend and fellow mini printer/painter
Great video, I got injured while serving my country, and get the shakes while painting I have a Games Workshop Imperial Guard over 5500 soldiers and a lot of military Vehicles, also I love converting them from Blood and Skull industries and Victoria Miniatures from Adelaide Australia. I live out of a wheelchair nowadays, I'm lucky I'm alive, but I stay at home and 28mm models have saved my life, I suffer from PTSD and other mental health issues and I'm 85% disabled and disfigured. I love what I do it takes me 4 weeks to do 50 figures and bases, I have got over 3500 metal figures to go. Thanks for your great videos, Regards from Downunder Bob.
One tip I have for Hero Forge. Buy the stl and print it on Shapeways, cheaper and better quality if you get their super detailed plastic which has the added benefit of being transparent for extra effects. It's even cheaper if you go for lower detail which is comparable to Hero Forge. Another added benefit is having the stl allows you to modify the mini in ways you can't on Hero Forge. Want it bigger or smaller, easy without even touching an editor, you can do that on Shapeways. Want an item hero forge doesn't have? Find a model and add it in Blender (free, but comes with a learning curve).
I love using Hero Forge for STLs to make character players, BBEG's and important NPCs, and players love seeing their characters accurately represented on the table. Definitely a nice touch to be able to drop a mini that a player can instantly recognize as their own. The print on demand is expensive enough that if you plan to order 8 or more minis, you probably ought to consider a basic $150 resin printer instead, but if you already have or plan to get a 3D printer, I highly recommend their STL service. Of course, designing is pretty fun, and I definitely have more saved mini designs than I will ever actually print.
Seeing you do drop tests have me heart palpitations.
1:15 I got to say this is a perfect part of the script, shares a little about himself and at the same time brings up issues/feelings that people watching the video may have so they continue watching.
7:32 - the cat test! (Come on, you other cat owners know you're cats are itching for the chance to do that! :) )
yes!
have ordered a few printed minis from heroforge and the quality is always great. They paint up nicely and I have never had a problem. I use their STL service almost exclusively now and have printed over 100 minis and painted a few dozen of them. It's a game changer and I hope they come out with a subscription based STL service so I can get even more for my games like multiple poses for characters or the same character with different outfits.
I ordered my first mini through Hero Forge. After almost a year and a half, I just updated her to age her for our campaign. I absolutely love Hero Forge. My group uses them for all of our PCs. My partner gifted all of us a mini last year for Christmas, too.
im on my 4th miniature from them, and every year they come out with more design options. happy with every purchase!
What do you have to say about the premium plastic vs the regular.
Thank you in advance 😃
I'm a HUGE fan of Hero Forge, not so much for the minis in and of themselves but because it's an invaluable tool for character visualization. Right now, I think that I have something like 50 minis designed for all sorts of characters and NPCs. The customization is extremely useful if you're like me and often have a hard time just visualizing what characters look like.
Additionally, I really, really love the fact that new content is added extremely regularly - every Tuesday, like clockwork. Sometimes it's something small like a new object a character can hold, sometimes it's big like a whole new race, but there's always something new. I've gotten into the habit of checking in every Tuesday just to see what's been added.
It's good to see Hero Forge continuously upgrading their materials. I ordered one about 5 years ago in their "high detail" material and I couldn't get through the paint job without it breaking multiple times.
I am a DM and bought my group hero forge for Christmas. They each designed their character and I ordered them. I was impressed with both the quickness and the quality. I bought the basic and it was more than enough. It's a bit pricey but worth it.
Outstanding! I didn't even know this "service" existed. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great review! Seriously, it was incredibly informative. Ironically I ordered a mini two days before this upload. I had no idea the premium was so close in quality to the regular, that is good to know. I will say to those that are interested in getting a HeroForge mini... I placed my order back on January 7th and the model is still considered to be "In Production" as of February 6th. Something to consider when ordering, do not expect the model to be prompt.
J Dog you are a fine painter! You are too hard on yourself. That shipwreck golem you painted and detail last years was simply amazing!
I ordered my first Hero Forge mini. A friend 3d printed it for me (6 of them actually) I started painting my first one today. I need a lot more practice but I’m happy so far. The model is a tribute to my dog who recently died unexpectedly. I love all the options. I made a dog man holding a bone in one hand and a squirrel in his other. A squirrel and acorns are at his feet. :D
Thank you for sharing. This is filled with great tips from @heroforge to how to manage the shakes. My idea to take advantage of this - painting on canvas - trees! They look amazing with a little shake!
I've bought two minis from Hero Forge, two years apart. They're great, I've never had any issues. They're beautiful and so detailed.
Jeremy try to use your pinkie fingure on your painting hand to contact your painting hand or knob. It will stabilize the shakes and you won't over apply paints or washes when control matters.I also slow my breathing down. Kinda like when I go shooting. Remeber control and acurracy of the paints and washer is crucial. I have a RUclips channel but I only posted up my sister battle armies on paraid board. I think I might show a few of my models I won 3rd place on and show how to do some other painting skills to new people in the hobby. Don't know yet.. But yeah use your pinkie finger as kinda as a 3 points of contact. Works for me.
I DM for my two 10 year old nephews. For their birthday I got them custom minis of their characters from Hero Forge and painted them up. They absolutely love them and think it's so cool that they have a figure that no one else in the world has.
I have been playing around with Hero Forge for a while, but have never pulled the trigger on a purchase. What I have been using it for, is to create visual references for my own custom sculpts. I wanted a special unit for my Warmachines army, that doesn't exist. So, I am designing my own, and teaching myself to sculpt. I recently saw an ad on RUclips, for another custom mini service, but I can't remember the name of it. Love the Channel. Love the Content. And, most especially, Having some SERIOUS bench/table envy. Keep it coming....
I found this sometime back when you had mentioned it, so I had been playing around with it myself, and NOW I will be ordering my Own Mini that I would be if I was into table top gaming. But where I live, "friends" they dont have an imagination like I do for this type of things! I build FAIRY houses too, so.. well ENOUGH said right! THANKS BMC!!! Love all your works of ART! Be safe!!
Oh boy... pausing the video and spending 2 hours on heroforge, lol.
Hey.....don’t forget to come back
That's always how it turns out.
My one tip, change the pose before you start working on it. That default pose makes everything look like garbage imo.
And now they are doing color for their miniatures. I think it’s a kicker starter thing!
It is. It starts next week. Looks really cool. I backed their original one. Got a brass one out of it. It's a cool display piece. I'm looking forward to seeing what the color print can do.
I do like Hero Forge a lot! After a recent purchase of a resin printer found myself indulging the long urge to buy a few custom minis, my Death mini has become a welcome addition to the table when dealing with death saves, or moments when it is do or die, especially when gaming at the local club with some of the special needs kids, as I usually make glue, Kit-bash/ up-cycle cheap kids toys as monsters, but being able to give them access to a mini of their own has been great in making them feel and be more included.
I've printed Hero Forges .stl files a couple of times on my Ender 5. They looked really great, and was definitely the most affordable option for me. With the right settings, even FDM printers can make great models.
You paint about a thousand times better than I do, even if you say it's a pretty basic paint job. I usually leave mine as bare plastic.
Great video , as always!
I knew that you had a hand tremor but never put too much thought into it. It was really nice being able to see it while you work. makes me think back to the shipwreck dude that you did a while ago and blows my mind how good of a job your able to achieve with such a limitation. keep up the good work!
I purchased a Hero Forge of my current character. I got the premium black and have no regrets. I love the customization. I was able to add details that made it stand out as my character, not just a 'close-enough'. Shipping was fast and the figure arrived well protected for shipping. I recommend Hero Forge.
I have used Hero Forge for a few years now... I've never had a problem with them. It's a fantastic service.
Hows the scale of the minis?
@@neolancer005 Perfect, they match my other minis (e.g. Ral Partha, etc).
@@DonovanCYoung I'm planning on making oni giants and i found out theres a scale feature in the hero maker. 50mm is biggest scale.
@@neolancer005 there is also a hidden double size mini option, if you click "+more" under the Hero Forge materials menu!
I have purchased two custom minis from HF. Both (dwarf-cleric and dragonborn-paladin) arrived as expected, with amazing detail and true to my vision for both characters. I had never painted minis before, so a few YT channels (nod to BMC) made the attempt quite successful. It is extremely satisfying to play a tabletop campaign with a fully realized mini that came from your brainpan and creativity. Try Hero Forge; great experience.
We have used Hero Forge a few times and will also use them again as my wife plays several campaigns in each year, We have always been pleased with their product and struggled i with the painting of them...skill levels remain at amateur levels. To get them here in Australia they arrive about three weeks after ordering - pretty good considering distances - they are extremely well packaged and protected, reliable and about AU$50- delivered.
This video is a God send. Your explanation of how to paint, how to overcome the shakes and even your 'lean back in the chair' painting position are welcome lessons/
Thank you.
Looking forward to and hoping your have a great successful and fun 2020
My wife for christmas ordered one of my favorite characters from hero forge unbeknownst to me. It has become probably my favorite and prized possession of my dnd collection. She did base model plastic and from my experience painting minis, worked absolutely amazing. Awesome video dude. Your one of my favorite RUclipsrs!!
HOW DID YOU KNOW?!?!?!?! Just yesterday I was literally searching for a Black Magic craft Hero Forge review, I didn't find it so I watched some others just thinking, "Black Magic Craft would be better" THANK YOU!!!!
I've been addicted to Hero Forge for a few months, I purchased 4 files during black Friday sales and got 2 of them printed by a friend who recently got a resin printer. I gave them to my two best friends for their birthdays and I have absolutely no complaints about the quality, my friends love them and for those minis in particular the available options were perfect. But I haven't been so lucky with other characters, I've struggled with finding just the right hair style or set of clothes for every other mini I've designed, and I think the price may be a little high for just a file. But they are constantly adding new incredible content such as the advanced horn placement this week and I'm sure that improvements such as that is what my money is going towards. Their suggestion survey is quick and easy to answer, and I would highly recommend making a suggestion for any item or feature you want for a character because they seem to be listening, though it can take some time to implement. If you aren't sure if your mini is perfect maybe wait a while and see if they release something just right. In it's current state I don't think I can give Hero Forge a 10/10, but the rate of improvement is like 11/10. I can see myself using it exclusively for all my PCs and major NPCs when I'm able to play more regularly and justify the cost.
I make all my own models from scratch on my channel.. but the hero forge options are amazing.. I just find it more fun to test my skills and try making new creations and models for 3D printing!
Thanks for the tips about the tremors. I've always avoided the idea of painting my own minis because of it and arthritis, but you having similar issues and still doing as well as you do, think I'll give it a go. The gel pen idea is also really helpful, always was my biggest concern!
I have been toying with buying a Heroforge character and I've done several designs from characters current and past. I actually wound up buying a Chibi character from one of their sister websites. I only had acrylics to work with and while I'm not super satisfied with my own work, I am still happy to have a figure that represents "me" on the playing field. I, too, have a bit of a shaky hand but it doesn't usually get in the way. I also used silver and gold metalic pens to add some detailing to the figure.
I really appreciate how honest this review was. 10/10.
Playing DND with this guy most be the most epic thing ever. Awesome miniatures, epic dioramas and detailed enemies. Wow
I got a hero forge mini of my half orc but they can only have so many options, so two braids down her back was a bit much to expect. luckily I had no problem getting greenstuff to stick and set up, and I just reprimed the entire thing. worked great, no issues!
I bought eight of these as a gift to my friends, all made to look like their real selves and not their characters. We use these for Christmas game one shot in which they actually play themselves in the real world dealing with an incursion of monsters and Horrors using the 5e rules. I was as pleased as I could be, I purchased using the basic plastic and found it to be fantastic. I would warn, as an aside, that I don't think that they are as durable to the drop test as you'd think on some models, I had to reorder a broken one after a slight fall from a 3-foot desk.
4 of my 5 players have used Hero Forge, and the last one actually just bought a 3d printer and is printing me a custom villain mini. And the stl came from Hero Forge during their black friday sale. Highly recommend them. 3 of the minis have been in use for almost 3 years now.
That's a pretty neat trick with the gel pens. I may have to try that. I've done something similar with Micron pens for pupils, tattoos and text.
I'd have been interested to see how printing via the STL went for you, too.
I was kinda hoping for that especially considering he just got that fancy 3D printer.
When you print it you can fuss with your printer settings to alter quality a *lot*, so it's likely he could have gotten a better *and* worse print with enough fiddling.
I ordered a mini for my brother in law and really liked the quality of the basic option. I played D&D for the first time this past Christmas and absolutely loved it! I have a huge list of saved hero’s on the hero forge website. Soon I will order my own and get back into some gaming! Thank you hero forge for being!
Oh my, someone else that uses pens to paint!! I like to use oil base pens, then finish with a flat matte spray to keep it from smudging.
Do you know the brand names of those oil based ink pens you like to use? Asking for a friend ;-).
@@JPGotrokkits Metallic Paint Pens for Rock Painting by Niutop on Amazon
@@Daves3DProjects thanks!
I thought that the way for the shaking hands is to get to a level where they shake together, then it is as if they are stable. That's the real skill no one wants to admit
Using an ink pen for the fine details is a great idea, I've also found paint markers, both the kind from the Wal-Mart craft section and the Gundam markers work well . But I digress, many hobbyists have found micron pens useful for details also, especially for eyes. Our club's president defacto used a blue ink pen to do the wode/tatoos on his Celts who are also Gauls depending on the week, haha! Ink pens, another great hobby hack!
A fellow essential tremor sufferer! I've been dealing with mine since early childhood and finally had DBS surgery after all medicines stopped working for me. I was the youngest DBS patient my surgeon had ever operated on (27 at the time). After well over a decade with the DBS stimulators and one additional surgery to replace the battery packs, I can confidently say it was the best decision of my life.
People without ET just don't understand the frustration of not controlling your own movements. I'm absolutely amazed that you do what you do with uncontrolled ET. Talk to your doctor. There are some simple medicines you can try if you're currently just toughing it out, and the advances they've made in DBS (including a non-surgical option!) since I had mine are amazing.
Thankfully mine isn’t very severe. It really only causes issue when doing small hobby stuff and when eating....but when eating it doesn’t impede my ability to do anything, it’s just that while holding utensils it can be visibly noticeable and causes self consciousness around people I’m not close with, especially when it turns into “are you ok?” questions.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial The "are you okay?" questions do get old. I'd ask your doctor about propranolol. It's a really safe drug unless you have low blood pressure and works wonders for people with mild ET.
I got these for my whole group this past Christmas. 5 premium plastic figs. I was very impressed with the level of detail. The web site was easy to use and allowed me to recreate their characters pretty accurately, even though they have some strange magic item combinations. No cleanup needed that I could tell, but I don’t do the painting. I wish I would have bought some .stls when they were on sale for the holidays.
I use HeroForge to make quick concepts for characters in my campaigns and stories. Even if I don't print them, the website gives me an easy tool to visualize what my characters could look like.
That said, I have purchased a character once, for my first DnD campaign. I purchased the STL and printed it on my Ender 3, and I'm really happy with the results. Just one detail for those with 3D printers: as far as I've seen, the limbs tend to be pretty thin for models in that website, so be careful when removing supports and try not to drop them if you're using PLA filament. Poor Kari has lost her ankle twice now.
I currently have two (2) Heroforge minis - both premium plastic. One for my wood-elf grave cleric, and one for my warforged swashbuckler rogue. The details are fantastic and I was able to get as close as possible to their designs using the character generator. Super happy with them and I'm looking forward to getting some paint on them!
Hero Forge has been a godsend for me. I run a completely custom game, top to bottom, made by me. And its setting (not to mention much of the races), just aren't available in Minis. For years we used dice to represent the characters. Now I actually have minis, which is really cool.`
You call that "Adequate Tabletop Standard". I call that "Several steps up from adequate"! That's a paint job I'd be proud to put on the table and say I did.
Nice to know they keep your file even if you haven't purchased it yet. I made one just before Christmas but held off buying anything yet. It would have been my first mini as it is I got some and a paint set as gifts. I too loved how easy it was to navigate the site and the huge amount of options available to create your own unique character. Great tips will be using your advice as I paint my first mini!
Awesome video! Thank you. I have been looking at them for a long time, but wasn’t sure if it was worth it. You have me re-thinking that.
OMG! That trick with gel pen was amazing! Thank you!
If you have something to rest the brush on between your hand and the mini, it can help keep it stable, and create a hinge where your movements become finer.
I have 3 HeroForge minis, though only 1 was printed by them. It was purchased back when only 1 plastic type was available. It looks great, very clean and well detailed. Sadly, he fell and snapped at the ankles. It was a pose where both feet are together. A friend had one where the pose was jumping back with only 1 foot on the ground, it also fell and snapped at the ankle.
My hands shake pretty badly too. This works for me, but it might not for everyone.
Cup your left hand. Now set the heel of your right into the palm of the cupped left. This lets one hand absorb the shake of the other and acts to stabilize both. Having the miniature on a "holder" of some kind helps take away some of the awkwardness of the grip in this position. I use a bit of cork glued to the base.
Hope that helps.
I have a bunch of Hero Forge models - some were purchased in premium plastic and some were purchased in digital and printed on my resin printer. I've been really happy with the results from both. The .stl files are a great deal for a custom miniature. My only complaint is that the cloth (cloaks especially) are a little thick and lack the detail found in molded miniatures. But, they work great for our D&D group where we only need a tabletop standard and a miniature that can stand up to a lot of handling. Enjoyed the video. Thanks!
I ordered from Hero Forge last year as well getting two minis in the basic plastic and I was honestly expecting like layer lines and support scars but both of them came absolutely perfectly. I was honestly completely surprised! One of them is my current D&D character and the other was for a friend and they were just as impressed as I was. Great value for the money especially on the basic option!
Thanks for sharing the tips for those of us who have tremors (raises hand). I stopped painting a long time ago because of them, but I just might start again. You have given me some confidence. Thanks so much.
Personally love hero forge! Bought minis of the whole party I run and Hero Forge sent me another set since the first had a few imperfections! Great customer service and great minis
Great video! I love the gelpen trick and love how honest you are about the shakes! You did a great paintjob!
I’ve gotten 2 models and 4 digital prints from heroforge! Love them so much. They keep adding new options regularly and it’s great quality!
I used Hero Forge a few months back and I can honestly say that it turned out really cool, Still haven't gotten around to painting it yet, but even unpainted it looks amazing
Really solid, informative video. Can't believe it took Hero Forge this long to reach out to you about making one. Also, that gel pen idea is brilliant. A very simple solution to something that can often feel quite daunting.
Just got my first one from HERO Forge and love it, also they will be offering COLORED minis by the end of the month...that's revolutionary printing technology and I'm excited to see it.
Thanks Black Magic Craft....I like the Gel Pen trick.
True test of durability for me would be "The Three Year Old Manhandling". He's laid waste to nearly all of my Blackstone Fortress minis (UR-025 being the most damaged), and I've had to do several repairs. He loves your channel, along with my seven year old daughter, and will ask me to put on "Jeremy". If your video on the Dollar Store Dragon was VHS it would be worn out!
So the texture on the still option comes from cleaning and prepping the steel itself. I work in a steel yard on a “blaster” that cleans sheets of steel and steel parts with metal shot and that’s how it looks when it comes out. Just a little fun fact. Great video!
Thanks for reviewing all three of those options. I’ve been sitting on my hands which a modeled character on their website for over a year and I think I’ll finally pull the trigger.
Also as far as the shakes go I am a tattoo artist and my hands would shake unless I had a lot of anchor points. I will typically have my elbows on my knees as well as my forearms on something else and most likely the heels of my hands on the client to make sure that I’m pulling straight lines.
Tip for shaky hands take a rubber band and place it on your wrist in your paint hand. Then twist it once and then place it over your last 3 fingers. It helps with my tremors.
I just ordered my first hero forge miniature for my new rogue character. Glad that I ordered the basic plastic one as it is for table top gaming. I never painted one so I'll have someone else do it for me but I can't wait to bring it to the game with everyone esle having "generic" miniatures! After watching your video, I'm convinced that I've made the right choice! Thanks a lot!
I love Hero Forge! It's also a great way to visualize a character before you even build their stat sheet. It helps me a lot to see and get to know a character before trying to build stats around them.