Custom Figs: Del Tascus Guard

[Hinckley]

Okay, so here is my latest series of custom figs. They are members of the Del Tascus Guard from a story I am writing for my website. I am going back and forth on which paper to use-clear or white-so let me know your opinion on the differences below, Thanks.

Here is a group shot of three of the main characters-3rd design for each of them:

Custom swords and vambraces from Brickforge.com and custom hairpieces from AreaLight

Zander:

Arburis:

Rayne:

On the left is the torso printed on white, on the right the torso is printed on clear. My main problem is that the clear decal severely muddies the colors unless you print only black or only apply the decals to a white torso:

Here are two different torsos, the one on the left is on clear decal paper and the one on the right is white decal paper. The blue would not show up on the clear paper and the lighter gray color on the clear decal is overpowered by the yellow of the torso:

I'm really interested to see what people think about the differences between the two papers. Babyjawa and I had a conversation about the differences in this thread and he said he could tell my previous torsos were on white decal paper. I'm wondering what other people think because I like the white better because the real colors come through. But I can see that the clear decals look better. I wonder if I just have to design my torsos accordingly and only use dark colors and lighter torsos...

[LuxorV]

Another wonderful work, Hinckley *y* *wub*

They are so very detailed 8-

[Batbrick]

Great work Hinckley, I love the brilliant shading on these decals, pretty much better than what the real thing would look like! The use of custom swords and hair is great too, proving that it isn't just the torso that makes the character. Great face choice too. I like Zander the best :-$

About the two different decals, I think the white paper still looks good but still a tad noticeably different. That said, while clear looks great I think both should be used when they are more appropritae, white for a better colour effect, clear for a more black/white oriented scheme and a better fit-in.

Excellent work overall though, your skill at this makes me murderous! 8-| X-D

To the Bricksignal! >:-)

[Hinckley]

Another wonderful work, Hinckley *y* *wub* ...I wish you luck in finding a solution to that problem,...

LuxorV

Thanks, buddy. I really do like the blue one too and I forgot to change the white back to a light blue before printing it on white. I think it looks much better with the light blue because it makes the gradient seem so much more natural, like the body is actually causing it. I think I'll solve the problem soon, but I'll have to take some time to do some color matching. The palette I'm using clearly doesn't match actual LEGO colors when printed on my printer. Plus, I've found that exporting from an illustrator file to a jpg slightly changes the rgb colors...I create them in CMYK but when I convert them, they are still slightly off, although I'm not sure that's enough to be picked up by the human eye. I've just received a new palette from a good friend and I have reason to believe this source will be much more accurate...Thanks for the feedback! :-)

Great work Hinckley, ...Excellent work overall though, your skill at this makes me murderous! 8-| X-D

To the Bricksignal! >:-)

Thanks buddy. I certainly like to inspire passion in people, even if it is murderous passion. 8-| Whenever I get frustrated with myself for my limited knowledge of php or when I hit a programming roadblock, I remember I can still make pretty pictures... :-/ But, I think you're right. With the designs I want to achieve, I think I'll be using the white paper more often. I hope I can find a technique and a paper that makes them look less obvious. I wasn't sure how babyjawa could tell the difference until I saw the picture of the two figs next to eachother. The pics really do pick up more detail, it's not as obvious IRL, but it's still a difference. Like I said, I will be working with setting a new palette and hopefully getting some new paper (I have the clear from the site that babyjawa recommended, unfortunately the white was backordered :'-( ) and re-printing some of my favorites once I get a good system down...

Thanks guys! :-)

[natelite]

wow! nice decals hinckley! that's really good work. i still like the clear decal.

seems like the red that printed on white paper appeared brownish when applied using clear decal to the yellow torso. maybe you can adj your printing colors to account for the base torso color.

other than that, only way i see is to just work with white torsos?

edit: just thought of another possibility. just like "priming" in painting, how about applying a white print on clear decal first to the torso then reapply the color print on clear decal to torso. it's going to be more expensive and more demanding on your skills since it's harder to place two decals that accurately.

edit: hmm, i wonder how the other customizers do it. i recall SW4J applied the BF prints to the metallic silver armor. maybe in the printing they apply different inks or maybe thicker prints?

[Lt. Col. Thok]

Nice use of the new Anakin hairpiece! How much are the bracers from Brickforge?

[Hinckley]

wow! nice decals hinckley! that's really good work. i still like the clear decal.

Thanks natelite soda!

seems like the red that printed on white paper appeared brownish when applied using clear decal to the yellow torso. maybe you can adj your printing colors to account for the base torso color.

It's actually brown, but I get your meaning. I tried to do this with the white. I offset it to be a very light grey and it doesn't work. The yellow dilutes it completely and only colors darker than that shade show up. The decal is almost completely transparent when you remove it from the paper. Which is why I wonder if I'm not using bad paper or something.

other than that, only way i see is to just work with white torsos?

I thought of this too, but I refuse to limit myself... :-$ Some of the ideas I'm most excited about include "revealed (yellow) flesh" so I just can't help myself. :-D I must figure out the best way to do this!

edit: just thought of another possibility. just like "priming" in painting, how about applying a white print on clear decal first to the torso then reapply the color print on clear decal to torso. it's going to be more expensive and more demanding on your skills since it's harder to place two decals that accurately.

I thought of this as well. I'm going to try it at least once, I just need to make a trip to the hobby shop.

edit: hmm, i wonder how the other customizers do it.

Me too! Which is precisely why I started this topic! *sweet*

Nice use of the new Anakin hairpiece! How much are the bracers from Brickforge?

Thanks and the vambraces appear to be $1 USD for a pair. Check the catalog, they have a lot of great stuff!!

[natelite]

maybe you can email kaminoan and find out how he does it? his decals appear great on light or black surface. as can be seen from SW4J's attempt below.

http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...ndpost&p=211045

[Hinckley]

maybe you can email kaminoan and find out how he does it? his decals appear great on light or black surface. as can be seen from SW4J's attempt below.

http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...ndpost&p=211045

Hmm...maybe kaminoan doesn't want me to know his secrets... 8-|

However, if he is printing like that on clear decals, I would love to know how he does it... X-O

[natelite]

Hmm...maybe kaminoan doesn't want me to know his secrets... 8-|

However, if he is printing like that on clear decals, I would love to know how he does it... X-O

oh sorry...didn't know you've asked. :-P sorry for stating the obvious then. :-D

[Hinckley]

oh sorry...didn't know you've asked. :-P sorry for stating the obvious then. :-D

No, not at all... :-D :-D :-D Sorry, I wasn't clear. I have not asked him, but I am assuming he wouldn't divulge the information. I should, however, see if Armothe has any insight to the issue...

Thanks for all of the advice Natelite soda!

[Hinckley]

oh oh oh!!! I haven't been sealing the decal! I missed that step entirely. You're supposed to seal it before you soak it in the water so the pigment doesn't fade. *sweet* *sweet* *sweet* *sweet* I need to go buy some spray sealer and then get to work on trying this out. *wacko* duh....

[natelite]

well, i did a little search and he mentioned using a special printer for dark surface. you might want to ask him about that "special printer". i think the printer might be using florescent ink.

http://www.fineclonier.com/Decal_Design.pdf

oh just thought of another solution. would the ink run if you reprint on the same patch? if not, how about printing a white layer on the waterslide. wait for it to dry. then reprint with color on the same patch. that should have the same effect as priming but would be more accurate since you only need to apply the decal once, instead of twice.

[Hinckley]

well, i did a little search and he mentioned using a special printer for dark surface. you might want to ask him about that "special printer". i think the printer might be using florescent ink.

http://www.fineclonier.com/Decal_Design.pdf

oh just thought of another solution. would the ink run if you reprint on the same patch? if not, how about printing a white layer on the waterslide. wait for it to dry. then reprint with color on the same patch. that should have the same effect as priming but would be more accurate since you only need to apply the decal once, instead of twice.

I think the manual feed isn't specific enough to print in the same spot, but I had thought of that and will try it. I re-read that article and like I posted above (I believe we cross posted) I haven't been sealing the decal before putting it into the water and I haven't been letting the ink dry! *wacko* *wacko* *wacko* *wacko* I use a laser printer and I didn't think it was necessary, but the Kaminoan article and the decal instructions say to let the ink dry for several hours before handling it. So, it's clear to me that it's operator error over here :-D :-D :-D ugh, back to the drawing board...

Thanks again for all of your advice and now research too! *sweet* Kaminoan does mention a "special printer" but outside of those two words, doesn't get into specifics. I wonder what it is... 8-|

[natelite]

Thanks again for all of your advice and now research too! *sweet* Kaminoan does mention a "special printer" but outside of those two words, doesn't get into specifics. I wonder what it is... 8-|

advice? nah...just ideas. it's not like i had any experience in decals! :-D

special = florescent, i think. because normal ink is just like normal marker pen: overshadowed by dark paper (or dark brick). only florescent ink/pen can show on dark background. i maybe oversimplifying since the hue will be different from the normal lego color. :-D :-D oh well, let's see how well you do on my crazy ideas...lol X-D

[babyjawa]

I'm sorry I wasn't here to say anything about this before, but in the other topic where I told you about the paper, I'm pretty sure I told you about Kam's special printer.

He uses an ALPS printer, which can print metallic colors and white, which is why his turn out much better than most. It also prints in several layers, so the colors show up better. I'm am almost certain I said something about it to you before... :|

[Hinckley]

I'm sorry I wasn't here to say anything about this before, but in the other topic where I told you about the paper, I'm pretty sure I told you about Kam's special printer.

He uses an ALPS printer, which can print metallic colors and white, which is why his turn out much better than most. It also prints in several layers, so the colors show up better. I'm am almost certain I said something about it to you before... :|

No worries. I hadn't looked over the paper topic yet as I wanted to wait until I got those papers in that you suggested. I have the paper but haven't had the opportunity to use it yet. Thanks for the printer info (twice :-$ ) and I'll let you know how it goes with the paper...

[babyjawa]

No problem. I'm glad you found out the problem. I never saw blue turn to a brownish color before. Sealing it before you apply is a big step. If you haven't gotten it yet, I've tried both Krylon Crystal Clear Coat (glossy kind), and Testors Glossy Cote and both work well. Thought I'd tell you if you haven't gotten it yet, as its better than experimenting with stuff that might not work. :-)

[Hinckley]

No problem. I'm glad you found out the problem. I never saw blue turn to a brownish color before. Sealing it before you apply is a big step. If you haven't gotten it yet, I've tried both Krylon Crystal Clear Coat (glossy kind), and Testors Glossy Cote and both work well. Thought I'd tell you if you haven't gotten it yet, as its better than experimenting with stuff that might not work. :-)

Well, blue didn't turn to brown, read the descriptions... ;-)

[babyjawa]

Oh, two different torsos. I thought you were comparing the same one like the picture above. Sorry for skimming. ;-)

But anyways, these figures are great, whether they are different than you wanted or not. I actually like the colors that came with the clear paper, than the white paper. The colors on the white look sort of faded. The actual design is great. The umm...man boobs, came out well. :-P And I like the robe design. Looks like it could fit well with Ninja.

[WarnIcarus]

I love the forearm guards on this guy:

[Hinckley]

I love the forearm guards on this guy:

You can find them at Brickforge.com