Making a custom card for Mattel Ming the Merciless

[MRP]

So I am totally new to customizing anything related to toys (I have painted rpg miniatures for years) and had no idea how/where to start. I decided to start with an action figure card when I bought a loose Ming the Merciless figure at the Ohio Toy and Comic show last month, and started on the process of creating my own card (not a repro of he original line but just my own design) and mounting the action figure on it.

This was totally an experiment and I had no expectations on the quality of the results, it was just an attempt to see what I could do and if I enjoyed doing things like this enough to pursue it further.

So I decided to start with a standard comic book backing board to use for the card and proceeded to pencil a Ming picture modelled ont he animated series...



so that the figure would fit on it like so...



Next I inked the figure and colored the letering inthe logo and the spot on the card where the figure would be mounted...



I was unsure what I wanted to use to color the card-I debated Doc Martin inks, colored pencils, or markers, but soon discovered the gloss finish on the backing board presented some problems and limited my options, so I ended up using a charcoal pencil for the card background and colored Sharpies for the figure and background ship/planet, however this left me with little ability to shade/gradiate colors or blend and left me without a real viable skin tone option for Ming, the results were less than spectacular for certain, but a lot was learned in the process...





and finally mounted the figure's case on he card simply using clear double sided tape...



So in the end, I was not pleased with the outcome, but it was a worthwhile experiment. I learned some things about the process I wanted to figure out, and will likely give it another go (either a new Ming card or possibly trying something for the 2 loose Blackstar figures I picked up this weekend).

I know it's nowhere near the level of what most folks are doing here, not even remotely in the same ballpark, but you have to start somewhere and this was my first shot. We will see how things go from here-I am just looking to make the stuff I have unique for display, not looking to ever try do anything more with it, so we'll see what my second attempt yields when I try it.

-M

[sprytel]

Your original, black & white inked version reminds me a lot of a coloring book I had as a kid. Totally got a flashback of coloring in those shoulder pads!

[MRP]

One of the options I was considering is doing the pencils and inks on paper, and then scanning in to do the colors via Manga Studio, Photoshop or Illustrator (my wife has all 3 set up on her laptop for when she does art, which isn't often anymore sadly). I kept the pencils and inks sparse and simple in case I went that route but didn't (I much prefer to work on a physical medium, totally the opposite of my wife who after years of working in physical mediums has come to prefer working digitally). The big question I had was what kind of paper/cardstock couuld I use that would have been sturdy enough to use as an action figure back but flexible enough to be printed on the home printer. Not having an answer was one reason I decided to hand color it.

-M

[sprytel]

When I make custom boxes, I print on photo paper and then use adhesive to stick it onto a thick poster board.

[MRP]

When I make custom boxes, I print on photo paper and then use adhesive to stick it onto a thick poster board.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for the tip.

-M