Any ideas for the SPF Character Sheet?

[Thought]

There is one thing that should always be perfectly clear with just a glance at a character sheet: what game is it for?

Your character sheet is serviceable, Onix, but to me, it feels like it could fit with any system. For a character sheet, it lacks character. The easiest way to give it character is to add a system graphic somewhere. For example, add the D&D logo to a character sheet, and most people will be able to recognize it on sight as being for a D&D game (even if they don't take the time to read the logo itself). Personally, some of my favorite character sheets go far beyond that. I really like the one from "Keeton Must Die! Teddy Bear Blood Sport." It actually doesn't have many more specifics than yours does, but it has the lovely stitch quasi-venn diagram. I've never played the game, but I am fairly sure that if I saw the sheet by itself, I'd be able to identify the game it belongs to.

The Victorian era had distinct artistic styles: perhaps to add character to your character sheet, you should consider mimicking some of those elements in the character sheet.

[Onix]

My Victorian art-fu is weak, but yes I agree. Does anyone know any tutorials on making designs look Victorian? Is there a guiding principle other than gilding? I'm working on a new sheet that's focused on art for the background. I'm making really slow progress on it. I'll post it when it's mostly there.

[Thought]

Well it depends on what you want to go for. I was thinking more along the lines of lowbrow victorian art, not the fancy-to-do curlicues (or filigree, if one wants to be technical).

Or, in other words, something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Cul ... 0813922461

Rather than something like this: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... FzgV_QgReh

Alas, I am no art historian, but to my untrained eye, the key seems to be a kind of grey atmosphere that is created through a lot of little lines and dots, as well as a grand, almost out of place, scale of things.

[Onix]

Okay, I'm in for that, I'll try to incorporate that into what I'm working on.

[Rob Lang]

Let's be seeing the crazy! Have you got an early cut?

[Onix]

I'm working on the background graphics right now (and they're not very good yet), without the text overlay, it won't make any sense as to why the graphics are what they are.

[Onix]

Here's what I've been working on. It needs to have the sizes of the various elements adjusted to match their importance. It could probably also use some gearwork in the skill box just so it doesn't get lonely. This isn't the final art, Just to give a flavor. I realize that a color character sheet is a little unusual, I'll have to test for black and white printing.

Again, It doesn't quite fit in the forum here. If you open the image in a new window it's complete.

[Rob Lang]

YAY! That's more like it!

[Thought]

I like it. The placement of stats over particular parts of the background machine is lovely.

[BubbaBrown]

What software are you using to design the character sheet at the moment?

You may want to check out using either a desktop publishing program or a vector art program...

Open source desktop publishing: http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus
Open source vector art: http://inkscape.org/

I've used these tools and they do well. I've been lucky to have a few friends in the graphic design industry, so I snagged the good Adobe suites. But I started out my character sheet initially on Microsoft Publisher.

You can use image editors to make character sheets, but the overhead for changes and updates can get a bit much if not done right. (Layers are your friend.) If you are not using either a layout editor or vector art editor, I'd suggest taking some time to get familiar with them. They make minor updates and tweaks far easier.

I like the steam engine concept. One suggestion is to use a 50% (with some tweaking) transparent white box behind the text areas. This keeps background elements in the background so what a player writes stays legible and creates some contrast between the text areas and the rest of the sheet. Also, it allows you the ability to bold up the steam engine and detail it more without the details creating too much noise that classes with text and player scribbles.