AI generated customs

[cylonchaney]

1 hour ago, Smashmaster12 said:

Gross. GenAI blows, full stop. So disappointing to see so many people here jumping on this train. If GenAI bullshit is the future of the "community" I have zero interest in the future of the line, there's no creativity or passion in going to a machine and feeding it something created by humans and going "Make me this so I don't have to <3." It's insulting to the decades of artistry that went into the medium.

You make an interesting point Smashmaster. I have to really think about the implications before forming a solid opinion one way or the other. 

If it makes you feel any better, I did this all on free trials. So I didn't worsen the situation with financial contributions.  

I spent years learning CAD and working on my block figure design. Now someone could probably reproduce it using these tools and a few photos of my figures. The Gorn above is still an expression of my artistic vision. It took me time and effort and multiple iterations to create him. 

 

[Nervous Rex]

6 hours ago, Smashmaster12 said:

Gross. GenAI blows, full stop. So disappointing to see so many people here jumping on this train. If GenAI bullshit is the future of the "community" I have zero interest in the future of the line, there's no creativity or passion in going to a machine and feeding it something created by humans and going "Make me this so I don't have to <3." It's insulting to the decades of artistry that went into the medium.

I may get some heat for my thoughts ... but ... couldn't the same be said for Photoshop and illustrator and every other computer based design program that we all have used forever? even further back, I bet the guys that used to make their own paint and canvas were pretty pissed at the guys who could just go buy that stuff. Or guys that ran a printing press (who probably angered the scribes who hand wrote everything)

when i started customizing it was 100% hand painted stuff. and my customs looked terrible. i was able to get better results from learning newer technology. back then you couldn't even really find ways to even figure out how to make stuff , even with the internet.  i wish i had this stuff available when i started. Sometimes its not about being lazy, and not doing the work, its for people who maybe have never been able to do it and can finally see a vision pan out. I've wanted M.A.S.K. figures forever, and have spent a lot of time over the years trying to make them but always fell short. I've reached out many many times to artists, and eventually 3d modellers, but i just can't afford what they want just to get a little tiny 3d print. ive probably put thousands of hours into trying different things over the years that i just couldn't do to my satisfaction. I might finally be able to make M.A.S.K. helmets using A.I., for me that's pretty cool. unless someone want to give me $1000 to have someone design and print me a handful of helmets😉

I do recognize that A.I. is a completely new animal, and some of it honestly scares me (i question half the videos and images i see online lately) so my thoughts are really just focused on minimates (and action figures in general) 

I for one am interested in what people come up with pertaining to our little world here. there's some characters I've wanted to have for 20 years that I'll probably never get to make , but it will be awesome to see them as close to real as possible. I also think it lets folks who would never be able to make stuff to finally have a resource. 

these are my own thoughts on this, and i've never been in it to make any money. I would probably have a slightly different view if my livelihood depended on it and A.I. came in and took over.

i'd like to note... I have been phased out of a job before due to machines taking over a factory job i've had, so i do know how it feels to some extent. 

sorry gang, didn't mean to ramble on. I know it sucks for some of you guys

your pal, Nerv

[Nervous Rex]

8 hours ago, THE_CRIPPLER said:

I gave it a try to just mess around. It made an awesome Spawn Minimate, but the Savage Dragon one was not that great.

would love to see Spawn!

[cylonchaney]

56 minutes ago, Nervous Rex said:

I may get some heat for my thoughts ... but ... couldn't the same be said for Photoshop and illustrator and every other computer based design program that we all have used forever? even further back, I bet the guys that used to make their own paint and canvas were pretty pissed at the guys who could just go buy that stuff. Or guys that ran a printing press (who probably angered the scribes who hand wrote everything)

when i started customizing it was 100% hand painted stuff. and my customs looked terrible. i was able to get better results from learning newer technology. back then you couldn't even really find ways to even figure out how to make stuff , even with the internet.  i wish i had this stuff available when i started. Sometimes its not about being lazy, and not doing the work, its for people who maybe have never been able to do it and can finally see a vision pan out. I've wanted M.A.S.K. figures forever, and have spent a lot of time over the years trying to make them but always fell short. I've reached out many many times to artists, and eventually 3d modellers, but i just can't afford what they want just to get a little tiny 3d print. ive probably put thousands of hours into trying different things over the years that i just couldn't do to my satisfaction. I might finally be able to make M.A.S.K. helmets using A.I., for me that's pretty cool. unless someone want to give me $1000 to have someone design and print me a handful of helmets😉

I do recognize that A.I. is a completely new animal, and some of it honestly scares me (i question half the videos and images i see online lately) so my thoughts are really just focused on minimates (and action figures in general) 

I for one am interested in what people come up with pertaining to our little world here. there's some characters I've wanted to have for 20 years that I'll probably never get to make , but it will be awesome to see them as close to real as possible. I also think it lets folks who would never be able to make stuff to finally have a resource. 

these are my own thoughts on this, and i've never been in it to make any money. I would probably have a slightly different view if my livelihood depended on it and A.I. came in and took over.

i'd like to note... I have been phased out of a job before due to machines taking over a factory job i've had, so i do know how it feels to some extent. 

sorry gang, didn't mean to ramble on. I know it sucks for some of you guys

your pal, Nerv

Good post with some interesting ideas. You have nothing to apologize for, nor does Smashmaster.

One thought I have is that I was going to try to make these characters either way. The AI is just helping me do a better job of it. Also, in my case it's spurring on my desire to learn some new aspects of 3d modelling. I'd rather sculpt my own Gorn head than have AI do it for me but I'm not there yet. I enjoy having the choice. None of what I've done has taken money from an artist's pocket. I would have the same characters "mated" but the mates would just be of lower quality.

I don't like the idea that some of these AIs may have been "trained" using people's art against their desire. But human artists are trained by looking at the art of others. Picasso's art might look different if he'd never seen the Mona Lisa or some other work that may have partially inspired him. Art and culture build on what came before.

What I don't like about it is it takes all kinds of skills (not just art) out of the hands of the little guy and puts it under the control of big tech. I think that's what makes it so scary.

If everyone has the same access, it's just new kind of paint brush.

[Nervous Rex]

1 hour ago, cylonchaney said:

Good post with some interesting ideas. You have nothing to apologize for, nor does Smashmaster.

One thought I have is that I was going to try to make these characters either way. The AI is just helping me do a better job of it. Also, in my case it's spurring on my desire to learn some new aspects of 3d modelling. I'd rather sculpt my own Gorn head than have AI do it for me but I'm not there yet. I enjoy having the choice. None of what I've done has taken money from an artist's pocket. I would have the same characters "mated" but the mates would just be of lower quality.

I don't like the idea that some of these AIs may have been "trained" using people's art against their desire. But human artists are trained by looking at the art of others. Picasso's art might look different if he'd never seen the Mona Lisa or some other work that may have partially inspired him. Art and culture build on what came before.

What I don't like about it is it takes all kinds of skills (not just art) out of the hands of the little guy and puts it under the control of big tech. I think that's what makes it so scary.

If everyone has the same access, it's just new kind of paint brush.

Yeah, I'm pretty much where you are. i have schooling in 3dsmax and all the adobe stuff, but i dont have the budget or time to pay for all those and im not clever enough to get free cracked versions. i just like to make stuf that i would like in my collection, and if others have enjoyed what i make its a bonus. im definitely not taking anyone's job. i like what you said about it being a new brush to use. my uncle used to work in marketing up in NYC in a skyscraper years ago. he said at one time each guy would have a specialty, then it became one guy had 5 specialties and replaced the other 4 guys. next the whole floor was empty and tons of guys lost work. it didn't start with A.I., but it may be the final boss. 

i do feel we should be able to post any images (in good taste of course) on here, especially if it is minimates related. that's why we're here, right?

[buttheadsmate]

I shall keep my comments strictly in context of Minimates .

What I am seeing ( & what I saw ) in this thread is little short of marvellous .....I marvel at it .    

 

 

 

 

 

[Shanester]

15 hours ago, Smashmaster12 said:

Gross. GenAI blows, full stop. So disappointing to see so many people here jumping on this train. If GenAI bullshit is the future of the "community" I have zero interest in the future of the line, there's no creativity or passion in going to a machine and feeding it something created by humans and going "Make me this so I don't have to <3." It's insulting to the decades of artistry that went into the medium.

I think you are being presumptive and rude.  To insert your opinion on AI into this persons thread as some kind of well known fact, is quite gross.  It blows, full stop. Its disappointing.  Make your own thread and rant.

[THE_CRIPPLER]

8 hours ago, Nervous Rex said:

would love to see Spawn!

I can not figure out how to attach the pic. I have done it in the past, but do not see a way to do it now. Can anyone help me?

[cylonchaney]

59 minutes ago, Shanester said:

I think you are being presumptive and rude.  To insert your opinion on AI into this persons thread as some kind of well known fact, is quite gross.  It blows, full stop. Its disappointing.  Make your own thread and rant.

Thanks Shane. It's all good. I'm not bothered personally and happy if the thread sparks some discussion of the ethics as well. Happy for Smashmaster to continue the discussion if they can cool down a little.   We all get a little hot sometimes. 

[buttheadsmate]

Most of us (who are left) here are passionate & more than a little frustrated that our hobby has recently been crushed by the reality of a real-world bankruptcy . I hate the 'Diamond Bankruptcy thread' because it introduces the 'real-world' back into my escapist forum , I really have to restrain myself (seriously )  in that thread especially.

'cylonchaney' mentions ethics ,specifically the ethics involved with AI .......

17 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I shall keep my comments strictly in context of Minimates .

What I am seeing ( & what I saw ) in this thread is little short of marvellous .....I marvel at it .   

If I were to stray away from my strict context of Minimates & post about my overall opinion of AI ...... what I am seeing (& what I have seen) regarding AI ethics would get me banned from this forum .   

Smashmaster ,please accept Shane's offer & we can rant away 

[cylonchaney]

I want this soooooo bad!

 

[Shanester]

Now that is awesome!

[Liney]

I've been doodling a Klingon hairpiece which would work similar - hair and brows, but haven't worked out how to make one yet.

The torso tampo looks amazing - though the bulging eyes are a little freaky

[cylonchaney]

15 minutes ago, Liney said:

though the bulging eyes are a little freaky

So true to the character though. I specifically asked for Gowron. I LOLed so hard when I saw the eyes!

[buttheadsmate]

Stunning ...although I can't help thinking that this looks like a kubrick .   

[cylonchaney]

46 minutes ago, buttheadsmate said:

Stunning ...although I can't help thinking that this looks like a kubrick .   

The head is not very Mate-ish. I would print the brow ridges on a cylindrical head if I was making him. Like my custom Worf but just much much better.  I might steal one of these AI faces for a sticker and take another stab at him. But I'd buy this guy in a second if he was for sale. 

[Liney]

To get the most out of the piece, if you don't want individual ridges for characters, could be adding the brows to the hairpiece similar to the original grey Hulk: Minimate Database: Grey Hulk

[Padrino]

did you just tell the AI to "produce a minimate" or did you have to add parameters or upload a sample? 

[cylonchaney]

1 hour ago, Padrino said:

did you just tell the AI to "produce a minimate" or did you have to add parameters or upload a sample? 

Google Gemini is the only one I've found that seems to inherently know what Minimates look like. I think I just put "Gowron from Star Trek as a Minimate block figure." Sometimes I have to add "no nose". If you get something close, you can refine. I'll literally just sit there and edit the "Character from Property" bit and submit over and over again. I've had stretches where the same thing wouldn't work for crap so who knows. But that's how simple most of what I've done has been. or sometimes I might add "in his iconic warrior costume" or something to get the clothing. When I'm happy, I might add, "show the figure from 3 different angles suitable for generating a 3d model". Personally, I'm after hair and helmets, and maybe some face art. Most other stuff I prefer to make myself.

[Dave]

On 4/5/2026 at 5:06 PM, buttheadsmate said:

I'm sorry Dave...

What happened?

 

[cylonchaney]

34 minutes ago, Dave said:

What happened?

 

I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid he can't tell you that.

[buttheadsmate]

1 hour ago, Dave said:

What happened?

 

 

I think you know the problem is just as well as I do. 

 

[Dave]

50 minutes ago, buttheadsmate said:

 

I think you know the problem is just as well as I do. 

 

I understand that reference

[Dave]

On 4/5/2026 at 5:39 AM, cylonchaney said:

Out of this, I've got two faces I can use.

And, it's a bit clunky. But I'm figuring out the basics of a workflow to create hairpieces. I'm getting that Andorian hair! 

Basically, I'm letting it create the full model and then removing everything but the hair. This is awesome for my 3d printing future.

There was a big pause here. I thought I posted the above. In the meantime, I've completed my first proof of concept.

I guess an Andorian custom is now in my future.

 

What software/app do you use to turn your rendering into models?

[cylonchaney]

46 minutes ago, Dave said:

What software/app do you use to turn your rendering into models?

More AI free trials. I've used one called Rodin and another called meshi. I think in both cases, you can only use the previous version for free. So the model is not as nice as what you can preview and pay for. It's crazy the quality of model you can get from a single photo now. I got it to render that Romulan and then chopped out the hairpiece. That was a fairly easy workfow actually. It will be really easy the next time I want to do similar.

I've been collecting the good renders I get. I may at some point sign up for a paid image to 3d service for a month and crank them all out in 3d.