To generate some activity and provide helpful information for artists of the NG community, I decided I’d put up a spotlight every so often on game sites that are useful for creators in various ways.
For this first one, while most character creators are mainly for generating screenshots, and don’t generally let you use the art for anything beyond referencing for character designs, there are some sites that actually let you buy a physical or digital product based on what you’ve created!
Storior.com - Not only does the site sell products such as t-shirts and mugs with your character creator output on them, it allows you to buy a commercial license for the artwork you’ve generated! (See this page for price, rules of use, etc.) This means that, provided you buy that license and follow the rules, you can put it in products, advertising, and more!
(Just to make it absolutely clear for NG users: I’m 99% sure that even if you have a license of either type, posting the work to the Art Portal would still constitute a breach of the portal guidelines, as it is “made with a public file” - i.e. character creator output.)
Charat.me - This Japanese-based site will likely require Google Translate to navigate (it used to have an English version, but that’s mysteriously disappeared). However, it uniquely offers the ability to convert your creation into a Vtuber avatar! Currently this is only offered for one of their female-oriented avatar creators (Charat Genesis), but they try to be accommodating nonetheless with a “masculinization” option that changes the body shape in the chest through hips area. There are also other add-ons and different pricing plans that allow for further customization! The resulting Live2D data can be used for all the commercial applications associated with being a Vtuber!
Hero Forge - Some people here are already familiar with this site as the character creator designed for tabletop minis, but 3D printed minis are not the only thing you can buy from the site! With the addition of color to the site’s options, you can purchase your character in full color as a 3D model for virtual tabletops, beyond the original option for models to 3D print on your own (and your minis can be ordered pre-painted too!). Hero Forge also sells packs of premade NPC characters as 3D models, high-resolution character portraits (a feature of a Pro subscription), and dice. This site just keeps getting better with new updates and items on a regular basis, so if you’re not able to create the character you want now, chances are future updates will allow you to realize your vision!
I hope this has been informative. Tune in next time for more spotlights!