"Free, Instant, Custom Paper Minis" Topic

Yes, I know it's cool to hate AI, it's going to take all our jobs and kill us all but not before ripping off all the artists. Go ahead and get it out of your system.

But when we're done breaking looms Google Image FX will make paper minis for you. My 3D printer broke down before a convention and I needed goblin pirates with specific unusal weapons. I tried the google image generator and wow, I could not have asked for better art.

The URL is:

labs.google/fx/tools/image-fx

I used prompts like this:

I need a very small color drawing on a white background, front and back views, of a goblin pirate wielding a wood axe. He should have a scared expression.

The software will give you four results, pick the best or fine tune your prompt and try again. The front and back view idea is what really made it work for me.

Download it, scale it, print it. I put packing tape over it for protection and a penny in the base for weight. Boom. Not as good as miniatures, but instant and free.

It got me out of a jam, I expect other people will have fun with the idea.

That's amazing.

I tried what I thought would be a more difficult variation:

I need a very small color drawing on a white background, front and back views, of a succubus wielding a dagger. She should have a seductive expression.

Worked, the only difficulty was that the tail on the front and back images obviously did not match. Additional tries with specific instructions about a tail only confused the AI.

Yeah, it's got a funny little brain. The word "pirate" almost always gives you an eyepatch, which gets a little old. I found the front and back usually match, and when they don't they're quite often good enough for the table top. And since you can just regenerate over and over until you get something you like I don't mind if three quarters of the art is unusable.

I just tried it and you're right, the tails come out all over the place. Funny. But at least one time out of each four it's right.

I have also used this for interface art for web apps: buttons and backgrounds and so forth. I definitely have to repeat the prompt two or three times before I get what I want, but it's so neat to get what you want so quickly and easily!

There are several free software packages that will start with an image and give you an STL file for 3D printing. At the moment they are a chore to use and the results are not something I would bother to print and paint. But a year from now that will likely be different.