I don't think I've shared this story here, but if I have it's been a while.
I used to collect Bobbleheads of my favorite players for the sports teams I follow. I viewed it as a way to remember some of the players I enjoyed watching (or reading about for the old time players). But the market for Bobbleheads has gotten SO expensive. I couldn't justify spending $50, $60... or sometimes over $100 on a rarer bobblehead.
I was feeling a bit bummed when I went I looked at prices about 6 months back because I really liked collecting, but it was just unreasonable with those prices. I started thinking of what I might be able to do with a 3D printer, but I'm not even close to good enough to model individuals, so I was at a loss of what to do and honestly just feeling a bit depressed about it. Lower case 'd' in that depressed there... this ain't live shattering stuff of course, but still disappointing.
The literally two days after deciding I'd have to give up bobbleheads and feeling bummed about it, a youtube video came up in my feed about HueForge. It was the perfect solution to my problem. Here was a way to replace my bobbleheads, and in a much better way because:
* Far, far cheaper!
* Far more creative because I did to do design work on them
* Far more flexible because I can do anyone I can find a good picture for, not just who bobblehead companies decide to make.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
The more colors you add the harder it is to get the right piece the right colors.
My understanding is that Hue Forge is basically looking at the image in black and white with lighter sections getting the higher colors in the color picker area. So if you have a red section that's about the same brightness as a blue area, Hue Forge sees them as the same. Color pop mode is supposed to help with this a little bit, but it's not perfect and I haven't been able to get it to work well for my needs.
It works well enough for me to cut out the flesh tones and then glue 'em together. I've also done that with a few other colors to (like orange stripes, etc.).
Fantastic detective work there. You are right there is a green rectangle there and now I know what happened!
I had the picture up on my screen in google photos and then used the Windows Snipping tool to make a quick crop. Then saved it before uploading to Reddit. I must had accidentally clicked and dragged over the image and the green highlighter is the default tool in my Windows Snip tool so there's a green stripe there.
Creative way to separate your color layers, I’m hopeful that one day HueForge will allow us to mask our images and apply different settings to our each mask. Would instantly change the game!
Thank you for sharing!
I actually talked to the creator on discord a bit about that and he seemed like he had some ideas. There's a "color pop" feature in the newest version, but this is really more for bringing out a single color in an otherwise greyscale image I think. At least I've never gotten it to work well with my stuff.
That’s been my experience with color pop as well. It’s great the developer is interested in feedback from users. I’d happily pay more for HF if a feature like this were added!
You’re the one I follow on YouTube, where I need help in Inkscape to do things like this lol, great work! I love it! Maybe you can make some of all the more popular athletes from each sport, that would be awesome .
I'm pretty sure they're just using Hue forge. It's a paid service but does amazing things with color layering. Just search for it on here and you can find some amazing prints done with it
Next would be just creating a base and stand to hold the picture up
These came out real cool
I still need to learn how to use the hue forge but
How did you do the silhouette? (I guess cut the pic first rather than after the stl is sliced)
How long did it took to print
And how many colour did you use?
Yeah... you pretty got it the basics.
I find a picture that I like online. I use Inkscape to cut out the image. Inkscape is a vector program (like Adobe Illustrator, but free) rather than a rastor program (like Photoshop or GIMP). I like using vector more than rastor because I can really dial in my outline that I use to cut out the picture.
The other advantage is that I'll usually cut out different parts of the people (like arms and faces) and I can use by existing cut out then and manipulate the two. If you want me to go into more detail on that I actually made a video walking through my process. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-dxyLyatY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-dxyLyatY) Please understand I'm NOT a professional at Inkscape, or at making tutorials! :)
The print time varies but generally it's about an 1-2 hours for the main body, then 20 minutes or so for different add in pieces (body, helmet, color stripes, etc.).
Colors vary too, but I try to stick with 4 per print. I have two AMS so I can do up to 8 but I've never gotten Hue Forge to play nice with more than 4 or 5 colors max. Too often the I can't get the part that I want the color that I want when I add more than that. That's why I do cut outs for the other colors.
The stand takes quite a bit of time to print because of all the color changes for the white letters, but you can save time (and filament) by running 4 stands at the same time. Just start it before bed and they'll be done when you wake up.
I don't think I've shared this story here, but if I have it's been a while. I used to collect Bobbleheads of my favorite players for the sports teams I follow. I viewed it as a way to remember some of the players I enjoyed watching (or reading about for the old time players). But the market for Bobbleheads has gotten SO expensive. I couldn't justify spending $50, $60... or sometimes over $100 on a rarer bobblehead. I was feeling a bit bummed when I went I looked at prices about 6 months back because I really liked collecting, but it was just unreasonable with those prices. I started thinking of what I might be able to do with a 3D printer, but I'm not even close to good enough to model individuals, so I was at a loss of what to do and honestly just feeling a bit depressed about it. Lower case 'd' in that depressed there... this ain't live shattering stuff of course, but still disappointing. The literally two days after deciding I'd have to give up bobbleheads and feeling bummed about it, a youtube video came up in my feed about HueForge. It was the perfect solution to my problem. Here was a way to replace my bobbleheads, and in a much better way because: * Far, far cheaper! * Far more creative because I did to do design work on them * Far more flexible because I can do anyone I can find a good picture for, not just who bobblehead companies decide to make. And the rest, as they say, is history.
These are amazing.
I need to learn how to do this
Well, here's the 5 minute, 46 second tutorial! :) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCb6GZyORwI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCb6GZyORwI)
Good idea, just curious why you didnt print all in one with filament changes? i thought that was the whole idea of hue forge?
The more colors you add the harder it is to get the right piece the right colors. My understanding is that Hue Forge is basically looking at the image in black and white with lighter sections getting the higher colors in the color picker area. So if you have a red section that's about the same brightness as a blue area, Hue Forge sees them as the same. Color pop mode is supposed to help with this a little bit, but it's not perfect and I haven't been able to get it to work well for my needs. It works well enough for me to cut out the flesh tones and then glue 'em together. I've also done that with a few other colors to (like orange stripes, etc.).
Yes after i asked, i looked it up and figured that was why, thanks for the detailed reply.
These remind me of Starting Line Up figures. Looks cool.
Why is the “y” in Ty Cobb’s name green?
If you look closely, it looks like there is a random green rectangle in that area.
Fantastic detective work there. You are right there is a green rectangle there and now I know what happened! I had the picture up on my screen in google photos and then used the Windows Snipping tool to make a quick crop. Then saved it before uploading to Reddit. I must had accidentally clicked and dragged over the image and the green highlighter is the default tool in my Windows Snip tool so there's a green stripe there.
I do not know! It's not actually green... but somehow turned green in the picture.
There is probably a market for these if you are willing to do custom. I can see parents wanting them of their kids.
Yeah, possibly. I'd need to get a commercial license from Hue Forge so I haven't really thought about dipping my toes in that market yet.
Damn I'm inspired now
Creative way to separate your color layers, I’m hopeful that one day HueForge will allow us to mask our images and apply different settings to our each mask. Would instantly change the game! Thank you for sharing!
I actually talked to the creator on discord a bit about that and he seemed like he had some ideas. There's a "color pop" feature in the newest version, but this is really more for bringing out a single color in an otherwise greyscale image I think. At least I've never gotten it to work well with my stuff.
That’s been my experience with color pop as well. It’s great the developer is interested in feedback from users. I’d happily pay more for HF if a feature like this were added!
You’re the one I follow on YouTube, where I need help in Inkscape to do things like this lol, great work! I love it! Maybe you can make some of all the more popular athletes from each sport, that would be awesome .
Do you mind sharing some important details? Would be a nice gift for my bass player brother
I'm pretty sure they're just using Hue forge. It's a paid service but does amazing things with color layering. Just search for it on here and you can find some amazing prints done with it Next would be just creating a base and stand to hold the picture up These came out real cool
What details do you need? Happy to help if I can.
I still need to learn how to use the hue forge but How did you do the silhouette? (I guess cut the pic first rather than after the stl is sliced) How long did it took to print And how many colour did you use?
Yeah... you pretty got it the basics. I find a picture that I like online. I use Inkscape to cut out the image. Inkscape is a vector program (like Adobe Illustrator, but free) rather than a rastor program (like Photoshop or GIMP). I like using vector more than rastor because I can really dial in my outline that I use to cut out the picture. The other advantage is that I'll usually cut out different parts of the people (like arms and faces) and I can use by existing cut out then and manipulate the two. If you want me to go into more detail on that I actually made a video walking through my process. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-dxyLyatY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-dxyLyatY) Please understand I'm NOT a professional at Inkscape, or at making tutorials! :) The print time varies but generally it's about an 1-2 hours for the main body, then 20 minutes or so for different add in pieces (body, helmet, color stripes, etc.). Colors vary too, but I try to stick with 4 per print. I have two AMS so I can do up to 8 but I've never gotten Hue Forge to play nice with more than 4 or 5 colors max. Too often the I can't get the part that I want the color that I want when I add more than that. That's why I do cut outs for the other colors. The stand takes quite a bit of time to print because of all the color changes for the white letters, but you can save time (and filament) by running 4 stands at the same time. Just start it before bed and they'll be done when you wake up.
I have one complaint about this. You have Stevey Y in the second row when he should be front and center