Storn Art from idea to full picture

[death tribble]

Some of you will have seen the comments in Storn's art thread about seeing the sketches as a character comes to life. Well here's the chance.

I have commissioned a new piece of art from Storn paying above his usual rate so that people can see the sketches as well.

First off people are allowed to contribute ideas BUT there is a snag.
As I am the one paying for it I have to approve it. And Storn has to be willing to draw it.

So some ground restrictions and rules.

(1) The picture has to be for Champions. It is what I play and it is in this forum that the thread is posted.

(2) No Patriots. Why ? Well Etherio just posted a whole bunch on his campaign thread and Storn just did me one of Britannia.

(3) No standard gun users. I have lots of pictures and a standard gun user has no appeal for me. No matter how "cool" you may think the idea is.

(4) No animal motifs. Again I had one done recently The Leopardess and there is another in the pipeline.

(5) No kid heroes/villains. I like the over 18 crowd and proper heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman etc. Anyone even suggesting something akin to the Power R*****S will be summarily subject to a dousing with crude oil.

(6) It must be something that I would want to use and something that would interest me. If not then no go ahead.

(7) Storn has certain restrictions of his own both because he will be putting the final product on his web site and has his own likes and dislikes. With this we will heed the former and indulge the latter.

(8) Idea can be of an agent, a normal superhero/villain or a boss/mastermind

I have some ideas which are too well formed at the moment to qualify. For example Infinity who is a female Japanese energy blaster with short bobbed hair and the infinity symbol stood vertically with an A-Bomb explosion in each loop. See ? Too detailed. Storn could easily bash this out.

Now I do have a couple of names that I cannot visualise or just plain ideas.
I want eventually someone who uses Acid. So maybe an acid gun user.
But not for the Acid Queen (name nicked from The Who) who I have a name for but no description at all.
Dr Mabuse, the infamous German mastermind. No swastikas.
The Gene Genie. Manipulater of the body's cellular structure.
Exploder or HE (High Explosive) Man
Napalm Death. Some sort of flying armour suit ?
Razzle Dazzle.
Smoke.
Spanish Inquisition. Because you weren't expecting that.
Steam.
Sulphur. I have a batch of crooks in a group called the Chemical Compound. But no pic for Sulphur yet.
Thriller.

Now those names might inspire you or you may have an idea of your own. Post it, if I like it then we'll proceed.

[ghost-angel]

Well, here's something that comes to mind, don't know if this is too detailed for what you want and can be altered at whim..

Stone, she is a native american Earth Elemental ... that's as far as I've ever gotten visualising the charater for the most part .. in play she's been an aspiring cop but only as plot device to intro into gameplay and never a part of her actual concept.

and if you don't like that to jump from ..

Smoke and Sulphur caught my attention .. why not combine a bit, a guy smoking a bit, possibly has skin that appears to be burning coals (looks 'cracked' with red/orange lines on black). Fire powers obviously.

[death tribble]

Well, here's something that comes to mind, don't know if this is too detailed for what you want and can be altered at whim..

Stone, she is a native american Earth Elemental ... that's as far as I've ever gotten visualising the charater for the most part .. in play she's been an aspiring cop but only as plot device to intro into gameplay and never a part of her actual concept.


Too much like Monolith from the Digital Hero 16. But thanks anyway.

The other idea is a possible.

[RPMiller]

Hmm.. I've been trying to think of something worthwhile. How does this sound?

Cypress, a female brick with Growth. As she grows taller her skin turns to a denser bark like material that provides additional defense.

Kama, a wisened old man that has become a spirit, but can still affect the material world through some sort of electrical effect.

(no name yet) Hydro maybe, a super that can take on different forms of water, gas, liquid, solid (No not whatsisname from the wonder twins :sick: )

Any of those sound worthy?

[ghost-angel]

Too much like Monolith from the Digital Hero 16. But thanks anyway.

The other idea is a possible.

Do'h!!

I like the other idea better anyway. :cool:

[Argus]

Now I do have a couple of names that I cannot visualise or just plain ideas.
I want eventually someone who uses Acid. So maybe an acid gun user.
But not for the Acid Queen (name nicked from The Who) who I have a name Post it, if I like it then we'll proceed.

I have a 14-yearold girl super villain named "Acid Rain" She can call down Acid within a 1 Mile Radius, Personal Immunity, that sort of thing. She’s a mass murderer since she destroyed her home town in Montana.

[Crackerjacker]

The Mighty Squid, a quirky supergenius golden age hero or villain with an inferiority complex and whose miain "power" is a superscience supermarine. A picture of him would probably have to show him in the control seat of his sub, to get the full effect.

Cosmonaut Red, a lost member of the USSR space program whose dying body was possessed by the "ghosts of space". I picture him as a sort of Silver Surfer zombie still in his comsonaut suit.

Hitoriki Hitman, Japanese gangsta rapper supervillain with a ancestral sword that raises the dead (his backup band is the Grave Voices)

and as for the names you put...

I picture Gene Genie as a dashing gentleman with the classic stage magician type appeal/look to him (curly moustache!) and some subtle means of portraying that he's a mad geneticist

[Shikarr]

How about my Antihero Vengence. He only has eyes for Viper. :) He is a powered Armor user and his main power special effect is gravity while his mainly used powers are flight, invisibility to almost everything in his grav warp bubble, and his event horizon mini black hole projector.

[Blue]

Hmm. It's hard to think of something that hasn't already been overdone. You could suggest anything and Storn would make it cool though ;)

I see you say nothing with an animal theme. I was thinking not necessarily animal, but someone Feral; Perhaps homeless-looking, crouched, head half-wrapped in bandages that cover one side of the face, as if concealing horrible scars or something. Dripping from their grinning mouth is some horrible green viscous goo. I figure the character has been genetically altered and maybe spits something hideous at opponents. (Think I just grossed myself out)

I've always liked (and not seen lately) pics of duplicators in mid-seperation. For a twist they could be a male and a female half.

Cyborg type. A man whose hands are are replaced and likely at least one eye (if not both). The fingers are hollow and look distinctly barrel-like (as if each fires a projectile or beam; perhaps an autofire attack with one shot from each finger).

For a few days I've been trying (and failing) to get my lunatic-in-a-straight-jacket right. I had this image of someone in a straight-jacket, armus untied but still obscured by the fabric, eyes alight with energy and more than a little crazy. Bare feet, hair spikey, Possibly even wearing a broken pair of glasses. Obviously this was a villain I was trying :)

[Vex]

Adrenaline - Large, well built man in his early 20's, wears a slightly padded battlesuit with jetboots and a tech helmet for his special senses. He is a low level brick, who can boost his adrenal production to sublement his strength, speed and toughness for short periods of time. Costume is constantly changing, but usually consists of Red and white body, black boots and a stylized "A" somewhere.

Rift - Able to open rifts into other dimensions by literally ripping a hole in reality. He is a member of the Dallas STF (Super-powered Task Force) and wears an official dark blue STF uniform with inlayed Kevlar body armor.

Hecabus - This one is a bit weird, Hecabus is an Ogre magi that was raised amongst elves and then turned into a vampire. He does not look like the stereotypical Ogre Magi, but what an Ogre Magi would look like if he had an elven astetic (i.e. Large sized, ripped body, smooth skin, monster features such as fangs and claws, but still very alluring with striking features). He has light green skin and blue hair and dresses in immaculate japanese influenced clothing, but no armour. Always has a katana, dagger and naganata near by. Just in case it is important, he has a gargantuan spider pet, an huge War bat familiar (wild magic transformed) and a bunch of sentient weasels and ferrets that worship him.

[Enforcer84]

Well, I don't think he's interesting enough but I've always wanted to see Superion, my arrogant, phoney, superman analog. I've never been happy with any of my illustrations or designs. I only know I want a cape and a smirk. A symbol of some sort would be nice; something slick and marketable. I always came up with a variation on the "S" but it looked played out. Perhaps an arrow?

[Enforcer84]

Apparently, my suggestion was so bad, Death Tribble abandoned the project.


:angst:

[i3ullseye]

Graft

Graft is a hero who can absorb technological devices into his/her own form. Maybe with an affinity for machines, and inventing to compliment the ability.

I was thinking a variable power pool, but the limit is the objects must be absorbed into the physical form... and they have a finite lifestpan once absorbed. Over time some limbs have been replaced completely with the technological grafts.

[death tribble]

Enforcer84,

And since when do you see a Death tribble post on a weekend usually ?

Shikarr,

I have a character called Vengeance already. He kills Supers and good guys. he's one of the ones on a list for Storn to do eventually.

[Doug McCrae]

Cosmonaut Red, a lost member of the USSR space program whose dying body was possessed by the "ghosts of space". I picture him as a sort of Silver Surfer zombie still in his comsonaut suit.Cool.

[Brandi]

I think it'd be funny to see how Irving would end up being drawn but a) it's definitely an animal motif (he IS an animal, at least in shape) and b) I don't know if there would be a rights issue with the NY Public Library (their site is undergoing revision and is not up today).

Edit to add: it's back up. The lions are trademarked by the library, so it might just be a problem. :(

[Enforcer84]

Never occured to me. :o
How've you been? :whistle:

[Madstone]

Some of you will have seen the comments in Storn's art thread about seeing the sketches as a character comes to life. Well here's the chance.

I have commissioned a new piece of art from Storn paying above his usual rate so that people can see the sketches as well.

I don't think I can properly express how cool this is of you, DT. Thank you! :rockon:


Now I do have a couple of names that I cannot visualise or just plain ideas.
I want eventually someone who uses Acid. So maybe an acid gun user.
But not for the Acid Queen (name nicked from The Who) who I have a name for but no description at all.
Exploder or HE (High Explosive) Man
Napalm Death. Some sort of flying armour suit ?
Smoke.
Spanish Inquisition. Because you weren't expecting that.
Sulphur. I have a batch of crooks in a group called the Chemical Compound.


Well, I have to suggest my character, Madstone. He was inspired by a picture from the GMB, so why not reverse it again? He's an alchemist who wields a slingshot. His ammo includes acid, smoke, explosive brimstone... It may not be what you're looking for exactly, but it has certain elements. (Get it? Elements? Nevermind.) Besides, how many catapultists have you seen pictures of? Just a thought.

[Enforcer84]

Demogague, a gadgeteer that now pretty much acts he's a wizard. He has the staff, the robes, but wears a set of goggles like the 4th edition Le Sone from Eurostar. All his Magic equipment has microcircuitry....

[Enforcer84]

Heck if I ever get the cash together, I'd have Storn do my whole Lords of Justice Team

Superion - afore mentioned superman type.
Lockdown - batman analogy
Wylde Fire - pyrokinetic speedster (leaves a trail of fire behind him that he can manipulate)
Freya - Goddess of love adding Warrior Bitch to her title
Empyrean - "God" from another planet. Lord of fire and light
Helmsman - Pretty boy Model/Superhero who dresses in bucaneer era captain's uniform.
Demagogue - mentioned above
Einjerar - Powered armor hero modeled after Marvelized Norse Warrior
Glamour - light/heat projector
and finally, American Man O War (shield toting flagsuit).

now if I can just fine 500$ :whistle:

[Storn]

I tried to reply to this yesterday, but internet service in my neck of the woods was really wonky. Same reason I haven't replied to D.T. yet.... but I'll do it here.

Of all the concepts floated so far towards me, I think Acid Rain is the most dramatic, but not necessarily super-heroey... I mean the girl could just be in t-shjirt/jeans ensemble.

Also, I have a couple of commissions left before tackling this one, so I might not get to right away after D.T. picks the final concept.

blue, in the upcoming Foes of Freedom from Green Ronin (mutants and masterminds) I did a foe who is in a straitjacket. But he is awfully gothic, no glasses... long claws. The illo came out good.

I'm glad no one suggested published characters such as Marvel/DC. I would be a bit hesistant to do that for such a public forum.

I look forward to seeing what DT picks.

[death tribble]

Still looking for that oomph factor.

Also need to get a good idea on Capricorn. I have the rest of the Zodiac including a couple purloined from the Champions Zodiac book. But no Capricorn. This is the only one so far I would be prepared to break the no animal feature for.

Please bear in mind, Champs villain ideas as well as heroes.

[Lightray]

Still looking for that oomph factor.

Also need to get a good idea on Capricorn. I have the rest of the Zodiac including a couple purloined from the Champions Zodiac book. But no Capricorn. This is the only one so far I would be prepared to break the no animal feature for.

Please bear in mind, Champs villain ideas as well as heroes.
I've been toying with an idea for my campaign that would (eventually) lead to a Zodiac team. "Capricorn" would be rather like Taurus from the Zodiac Conspiracy -- he's a surviving figure from Greek myth.

It'd be Marsyas, the satyr (goat-horns, etc.) who challenged Apollo to a music contest, and got skinned alive for losing. I think his skin got made into a drum, too.

Obviously, this would be a rather Iron Age character. Plus, it would add a nice horror element.

But really, it's just the psychology of the character that appeals to me. Marsyas is 2-3,000 years old, immortal, thought he was the best musician ever, and got skinned alive because he wasn't. Angry? You bet. And the fact that no one ever remembers his story probably doesn't help his disposition.

[Argus]

I tried to reply to this yesterday, but internet service in my neck of the woods was really wonky. Same reason I haven't replied to D.T. yet.... but I'll do it here.

Of all the concepts floated so far towards me, I think Acid Rain is the most dramatic, but not necessarily super-heroey... I mean the girl could just be in t-shjirt/jeans ensemble.


Well you just described her to a tee except for the Feather Boa. (She was on her way to Holly Weird.)

A.

[Crackerjacker]

Braincheck, a mental mastermind with multiple brains he switches between, each with different knowledges and skills.

David "Cyanide" Shaw, the world's most deadly metahuman, with a expanding dome of near-translucent death-sheilds.

Vertigo, a micro-sized star in the shell of a human being, leader of cosmic-powered corporate crime

Darkhorse, shapeshifting shadow-warrior and former apprentice of Vertigo, now a defender of the Earth's peoples

Black Tabard, crusading vigilante with a background in police work, private investigation, and the legal system. Or his nemesis, his own brother, the selfstyled crimelord of frightening intellect with skills and resources gained while travelling in asia, Says Simon. Black Tabard I picture as a "serious" 70's style superhero, and not just a "black batman". His theme isn't a dark and brooding animal, but instead a modified Knights of Malta style tabard, lacking the cross and instead bearing only the color of midnight. His older brother, the villain Says Simon, doesn't really wear a coustume per se, but also has a tendency towards black clothing and has more of a martial arts and scholar theme than Black Tabard's detective/knight theme.

[J.T.]

Hi there Death Tribble,

Storn mentioned that you were looking for ideas for super heroes to have drawn up by him so i thought I'd post a few characters I've been playing about with.

Sorry that the post is so long but I tend to get carried away with background information sometimes.

Read and enjoy

MIRROR MAN

When Charlie was two his mother and father died in a car accident and Charlie went to live with his uncle on his uncle’s farm.

His uncle was a mean spirited old man and hated having to provide for his younger brothers off spring especially one so young. Being on a remote farm the social workers tended not to visit regularly and the old man took to locking Charlie in his room for days at a time to keep him from under his feet. This practice became more and more regular as the boy started to grow until his uncle only unlocked the door to feed him and this soon only happened once a day.

Charlie’s room was cold and damp. There was one bare light and a switch in the hall, which his uncle would put on while Charlie ate in the evenings so most of the nights were spent in darkness, controlled this. There was a broken metal bed frame with a worn out old mattress on it, two blankets and a pillow. Next to the bed was a small table, which Charlie used for eating at. There was a dirty old window opposite his bed through which he sometimes watched his uncle working the fields. There were two doors into his room one to the hall the other to a small bathroom in here was a cracked sink, his only constant supply of water, a bath which only produced cold water and a mirror.

With no one to talk to Charlie soon retreated into his own mind. Making a world for himself where he could see other children the dirty mirror in the bathroom. Here he would spend hours every day just looking into the mirror wishing he could be there with them. By the age of seven he was talking to these imaginary friends and they would teach him to read and write. Although for most part he was lonely Charlie was always happy to visit one of his playmates.

Around the age of nine Charlie discovered something truly amazing about the mirror in his bathroom, if he concentrated he could push his hand through it as if it was water, and if he wished hard enough he could exit into the bathrooms of his imaginary friend’s houses and actually play with them. With practice this ability became second nature to him, all he’d have to do is think of one of his friends and step through and he was there.

By the age of thirteen Charlie had many hundreds of friends from all round the world. Other things started to happen around this time as well instead of having to think about his friends he could step through the mirror and exit into another room, he called this place mirror land as there were millions of mirrors stretching into infinity all round him. By looking into these mirrors he could see other rooms, streets houses, buildings, it suddenly started to dawn on him that these other places were as real as his own room that his mirror land was his connection to the outside world.

One evening after his uncle had passed through to him his left over evening meal Charlie went into the mirror land. He browses for a few hours until he came upon a little girl crying. She was about six years old and was hiding down between the bathtub and the sink. She was looking way from the mirror towards the bathroom door. Following her gaze Charlie saw a large man standing there shirt open to the waste belt in hand and he was shouting something at the girl. He steps to wards her and raises the belt. Charlie knew what was going to happen next having received a good hiding from his uncle on many an occasion. Not being able to bear seeing the young girl beaten or even worse Charlie surged through the mirror.

It took the brute a few seconds for his brain to tell him that yes the mirror had come alive and standing in front of him was a vaguely human shaped thirteen year old boy made out of glass. Charlie took advantage of the mans delay and went to grab his belt hand only to be stunned when out of his fingers shot a bolt of intense white light, as the brightness dimmed Charlie found himself standing over an unconscious body. Not wanting to be around when the brute woke up and not wanting to leave the girl in danger he did the only thing he could think of, he picked the sobbing girl up of the floor and leaped back into the mirror.
Back in mirror land he was able to calm down both himself and his guest. Sitting there with his arms round the little girl for comfort he soon realised she had fallen asleep. This allowed him to get his thoughts into focus and decide what to do. He couldn’t bring her to his room, his uncle would go spare. Suddenly Charlie hit on an idea. Waking the girl he asked if she had a relative she could stay with, she said her grandmother loved her but lived a long way away and since her mother had died her dad had stopped her visiting. He then asked her if her gran had a mirror, yes she had a beautiful table mirror in her bedroom that the little girl used to sit at while she had her hair brushed before bed. Charlie got her to describe it in as much detail as she could. Once he had a picture in his head he went into mirror land searching for it.
It took him three days to locate two mirrors that might have been her gran’s. Over these three days Charlie would revisit his room just before tea and wait until his uncle had left the food. He would then take it and re enter mirror land and share it with Jennie. On the third night Charlie and Jennie sat in front of the first mirror waiting for the inhabitant of the room to enter, much to the little girls disappointment the lady that entered was not her gran. Soon they were standing in front of the last mirror. Looking at them brushing her hair was an elderly lady getting ready for bed. Jennie jumped for joy it was her gran. She wanted to go to her there and then but Charlie held her back. It would be a shock for her if they were to just appear out of the mirror it would be better to do it when she was asleep.
A couple of hours later granny was asleep and holding Jennie’s hand Charlie stepped through the mirror and into the bedroom. Quietly he indicated to Jennie to go over to the bed and gently wake the old lady. Stirring from her sleep the old girl was more than a little surprised to see her granddaughter sitting next to her. She explained what had happened and introduced her to Charlie. There was at first a look of fear on the old woman’s face until Charlie realised he had taken on the appearance of glass again. With concentration Charlie reverted back to his normal appearance. He explained that Jennie’s dad had been abusing her and that he had stopped it. It was now down to the old girl to protect her granddaughter but if every they needed his help to leave a message written on the mirror and he would come running. With that Charlie stepped back through the mirror and home.

Knowing now that he could make a difference to people’s lives he decided that he would use his abilities to protect the helpless whenever he could. The only person he couldn’t seem to protect was himself. Over the next five years he stayed locked in his room, his uncle would beat him more and more and he would do nothing about it, for some reason deep down inside every time he saw his uncle he reverted to that little boy that was first locked up in that bedroom all those years ago.

By the age of eighteen Charlie had help dozens of children to escape abusive environments and had learned to control his powers. One night just after coming back from rescuing a kidnapped child he realised his uncle had not left any food out. Going into mirror land he looked through all the mirrors in the house to see where is uncle was. Finally he located him lying still on the floor of his bathroom in front of the toilet with his trousers round his ankles. Stepping through the mirror Charlie was hit by the strong smell of human waste, upon examining his uncle he realised he must have been dead all day. By the look of it he must have had a haemorrhage while on the toilet and died soon after. Finally Charlie was free, his tormentor was dead, but also Charlie cried for the old bastard now he was really all alone in the world.
That night Charlie put together a story that he had been away at collage and returned this evening to find his dear old uncle dead and that he had called the police straight away. After the police had left with the body Charlie went into mirror land and contacted Mark, a teenager that he had saved a couple of years earlier. Together they broke into one of the collages and Mark using his skills with computers doctored their records to say that Charlie had been enrolled there for the last two years.
As he was his uncle’s only next of kin Charlie inherited the farm and the land around it. Most of which he sold of for a good profit. Now he has renovated the farmhouse he lives there quietly. His neighbours say he is gentle and kind and willing to help them out when ever asked. Once behind closed doors Charlie becomes The Mirror Man protector of the innocent and abused. His house is a refuge for lost souls.

Not long after his uncle died he found the key to his room. Stepping into mirror land he closed his eyes spun round three times and with his eyes still closed through the key away. It arced through the air and disappeared through one of the million mirrors around him, lost forever. His room is forever locked now but when he is down or needs time to think he enters it through his bathroom mirror sits on his broken old metal bed and in some small way feel safe and secure.


POWERS.
Mirror Man can enter another dimension that he has created from all his pain of childhood. This dimension allows him to view the world through any mirror he looks through in mirror land. Stepping through one of the mirror land mirrors gives him access to room where the mirror resides in the real world. Doing this quickly while in the real world makes it look like he is teleporting.
This power also works similarly for glass, in that he can walk through one piece of glass and appear through another although he cannot stay in mirror land while passing through glass. For some reason mirror land expels him quickly, as if he is attached to the real world by a piece of elastic thus his teleportation through glass is only for short distances and line of sight only. He can only enter mirror world through mirrors. But using mirrors he can move to any place in the world given the time.
If Charlie has looked through a mirror before he can locate that mirror quickly and either exit through it (teleport) or with a small mirror to look through see what is happening in front of the other mirror (ESP).
Another of Charlie’s extraordinary powers it the ability to take on the properties of the mirror. As Glass is a semi liquid in mirror form Charlie can stretch his body in all directions (elasticity), and his mirror form is more resilient to damage (protection). In addition to these powers his mirror form allows him to deflect energy attacks that he can see (deflection), reflect light (dazzle), defuse light (invisibility), store light and expel it as concentrated beams from his hands (energy blast) and probably the most unusual power is his ability to call forth his reflections from surrounding glass and mirrors to form duplicates of himself (duplication) although they tend to be less powerful than Charlie.

-----------------------------------------------------------

SPINBEARING

HISTORY:
A gentle giant of a strong man names Silus Wesley found the baby that would be named David under a tarpaulin behind a circus tent one stormy night. As the circus was a close nit family Maggie, the owner, decided that the baby should be raised by the troupe, and asked Silus to become his adoptive father. Unknown to the troupe Maggie was a mutant with the power to glimpse into the future. In one of her visions she saw the baby David grow to be a good man with the power to help people in need. She also saw another future where the baby was handed over to the authorities and by the time the boy was eighteen he was dead of a drugs overdose. So it was, David grows up strong and loved by Silus. Although the old man knew very little about raising children he learned quickly and David grow up loving him as the only father he had ever known. As the years went by Maggie decided that the troupe were getting too old for travelling the roads. Using the money she had saved over the years she bought a plot of land within the dock area of the city and turned it into a fun fare / circus.
Finally the troupe had somewhere they could call home. Through all the years of travelling David started to show an interest in performing with the troupe, Maggie also noticed he had an eye for throwing things, especially when it came to playing marbles with the other circus kids. He was so accurate that before long no one would play with him. Maggie took David aside one day and suggested an idea for an act that he could take part in. Kingston, the knife thrower, had agreed that David could take part of his act over to thrill the ordiance with his marble throwing tricks. David was over the moon and within a month they had worked out half a dozen tricks for him to perform. Not long after this preparations for the opening of their permanent circus were ready. The opening was a big affair many of the cities dignitaries were there to watch the opening nights show. David was to perform his act in the middle of the show. Just before he was to go on he noticed that Maggie was not in the big tent and that Silus was leaving by the back entrance.
David was upset that the two people he loved the most in the world were not going to see him perform. Looking at his watch he decided that he had time to go and find them before he had to go on stage. Leaving the big tent the same way as Silus, David headed for Maggie's caravan. As he moved closer he heard raised voices from within and Silus standing outside listening at the door. As the argument inside got more heated Silus stormed up the steps and into the caravan. There was a noise of fighting then a gun shot rang out. Thinking only of his friends David ran headlong throw the open door. What met his eyes nearly broke his heart, Silus was on the floor one hand on his shoulder, blood running out between his fingers with two men standing over him, guns in hand. A third man had Maggie by the arm and was slapping her across the face. David just went into over drive, literally. Within seconds all three men were unconscious having been knocked out by flying marbles. After the police had collected the criminals and Silus was in hospital Maggie told David that the men were from the local mafia family trying to get protection money from her. She also asked David if he realized what he had done and when he said that he'd just thrown the marbles she sat him down and showed him the video from her hidden CCTV camera that was installed in her trailer. The images astounded David, Where he should have been standing was a spinning cloud of dust with marbles flying out of it in all directions, hitting the gun men in multiple places before the crumpled unconscious to the ground.
Maggie warned him that he must not say anything of this to anyone not even Silus or they could all be in danger and to prove her trust in him she told him about her own powers and like her he was a mutant too. David promised but said he she would not stop him using his powers again if those men came back. Maggie also made him promise that when he was older he would use his powers not only to protect the troupe but anyone who needed help, this he did.
Over the years David had one or two more run ins with the mafia but each time he used his spinning powers to make the problem go away. In their last attempt to threaten the circus the mafia set fire to the big top while a show was going on, luckily no one died. David was so angry, even Maggie could not calm him down. Putting on one of the acrobat’s outfits and a mask David stormed the local mafia Don’s house. Having taken out his bodyguards David pined the Don to the wall by his shirtsleeves. Looking into his scared eyes David promised he would come back and finish what he had started if anymore “accidents” happened at the circus, or the surrounding district. There was a new hero in town and the dock area was his hunting ground. If he so much as smelt one of the Don’s men down there he would come after him. With that he left, and since then the dock area has been virtually crime free, what little there is usually taken care off by a whirling dervish of a man calling himself SPINBEARING.

POWERS AND TACTICS:

Spinbearing is a mutant with the ability to rotate his body at great speeds, this has no effect on him and he can still interact with the world around him. This ability allows him to see 360 degrees meaning it is very hard to surprise him. While spinning Spinbearing can spin up walls, across water and move at great speed. His other mutant ability is his deadly accuracy at throwing things, favouring marbles he is able to throw them at great speed at multiple targets. His skill with is marbles surpass the greatest knife throwers in the circus world todate.
In combat situations Spinbearing will use his ranged attacks to weaken his opponents then let other members of the team go in for the take down. Spinbearing realises he is not a close combat type of guy and tends to spin on the edge of the fight lending missile cover for his team mate.

APPEARANCE:
Spinbearing is of medium height and weight if a little on the thin side. There is not an ounce of fat on him and has the body of an athlete. His hair is long and unruly blond which he wears in a pony tail when not in superhero guise. David has piercing blue eyes and his mouth is turned up in a constant smile as if he sees the funny side of every situation or is quietly laughing at some private joke.
Spinbearings costume is a white tight body suit with blue upper chest and shoulders. The blue also spirals down his left arm and leg similar to the red and white of a barbers pole. To finish off his outfit Spinbearing wears a pair of rap round red goggles (this is a fashion statement rather than eye protection) to disguise his features and white gloves and boots.
As David he tends to wear the latest leisure fashions, loose fitting shirts and trousers with trainers or boots.

PERSONALITY:
David has a dry sense of humour and a caring if sometimes too laid back manner. He is loyal to his friends and protective of his adoptive family. He will not stand by and let others suffer without trying to help. Having spent his whole life in the circus David knows the meaning of being a team player, that you have to relay on each other to get things done.

-------------------------------------------------

LIONHEART

HISTORY
When Colin was five his mother died from cancer and Colin was sent to live with his father, Jonathan, in Kenya. His father and mother having divorced just after he was born.

Colin's father was a vet and warden for one of the big game reserves that specialised in the breeding of lions. Colin's life was idyllic; his father’s servant and friend Matthew Ombodoo mainly managed not being close to any schools his education.
The two men and a young Colin spent many weeks away from the compound living off the land and learning about the habits of the wild lions, tracking and tagging them with specially adapted bow and arrows, a weapon that Colin had become expert with.
While on one of these trips Colin's father got a report over the radio that one of the lions in the area had turned man-eater and killed two local village children. The three decided that they should help track down this predator before the locals shot every lion in the district. They picked up the killer's trail on the fourth day and by evening had located its den, though upon inspection they found the lion had not yet returned. Matthew and Jonathan assessed the situation and felt it would be best to set up watch down wind of the den and wait for the lions return.
Unbeknownst to any of them the lion had been tracking them since early that morning and it wasn’t alone, it’s mate was with it. In the early hours the two huge cats attacked. First they went for the smallest of the three as they instinctively saw it as the weakest of the group. Attacking with speed and ferocity Colin was quickly brought down and badly mauled.
The two men seeing what was unfolding before their eyes rushed from their hiding places and let loss two arrows that felled the great beast standing over the boy. The second lion changed direction in mid leap and was on Jonathan before Matthew could reload. Colin, in great pain and on the verge of passing out from loss of blood saw the lion go for his father's throat. Anger welled up inside the thirteen year old, first he had lost his mother and now he had to watch his father die too. Collecting all the strength he had left to him he stood and raised his bow but in its place was a burning flame white energy bow, working on pure instinct he pulled back his hand and a flaming arrow also appeared, releasing it, the fury shaft pierced the lions throat and lifted it into the air when it hit the ground again it was a blackened smoking corpse, then everything went black.
Jonathan amazed and scared at what had just happened ran to the prone body of his son, Matthew not far behind him. Quickly taking his son's pulse he knew he would be dead before they reached any type of medical facility. Seeing the loss in his friends eye Matthew took him to one side and said he could help his son, there were ways that his grandfather had taught him that could bring a person back from the edge, old ways, dangerous ways. In his grieve, and to save his son Jonathan agreed to give it a try. Kneeling once again over the boy Matthew starts to chant; at first nothing happened then a blue haze appeared across the clearing it materialized into the ghostly form of a lion it slowly walked over to the young boy and sniffs. It lifted its head to look directly at Matthew blinked twice and slowly melted back into smoke. This smoke then started to swirl round Collins body before disappearing into the boys open wounds. Many minutes passed until before their astonished eyes Colin’s wounds started to heal. Slowly the boys breathing became more regular and he opened his eyes. Overjoyed that his son was alive he thanked Matthew from the bottom of his heart. They called the compound and six hours later Colin was safely in his bed asleep.

When he was strong enough the three of them started to take trips into the bush again but this time it was not to track lions, now they went to test this strange power Colin had developed. Years earlier Jonathan had read a medical article about the growing number of mutants appearing in the world and that one thing they all seemed to have in common was that their powers manifested themselves at puberty and usually under great stress. Jonathan surmised that Colin was one such mutant.
Over the next couple of years Colin experimented with his powers and became, what his dad believed was the greatest archer in the world. Something else happened to Colin in this period, once while out camping with his father and Matthew, Colin took ill and that night his body metamorphed into a humanoid lion. Matthew surmised this was due to the lion heart ghost he had summoned to heal Colin leaving a part of its life force within the boy’s spirit. This was a good omen Matthew said, the lion heart was looking over his son protecting him for he had been chosen for a great destiny. His new appearance, which he could change into at will, gave him added abilities to enhance his mutant ones, he developed claws on the end of his fingers capable of tear through steel. His natural athletic ability improved as well he was able to jump long distances and his sense of smell increased, he was able to see in the dark and heal rapidly but the weirdest thing of all was his ability to read the minds of the lions around him.
Fearing that soon the suppositious locals would shun his son he was sent back to the States to live with an old friend of his, Duncan Summers, who ran a private school in freedom city. Colin soon realised the school was more than it seemed and Summers soon had him training with the members of the teen superhero team Next-Gen. Colin became close friends with Bowman while at the school but by the time he was 20 he felt restricted and decided to leave and go it alone.

Now at the age of 32 Colin is the head of a thriving detective agency C. Bull associates. They help track down criminals and protect the local population from protection racketeers. In reality Bull Associates has a staff of one all business is conducted from Colin’s house at the edge of the city. All jobs are resolved over the Internet or by phone, nobody has ever met or seen C. Bull all his clients know is that he has a superhero working for him called Lion Heart a Lion skinned human with a flaming bow.

-----------------------------------------------------
BLUE BOTTLE

BRIEF HISTORY:

Jonathan Miller was a mild mannered student of mechanics and electronics but his passion was robotics. He got a summer placement at the Rhinewood institute for electrical robotics as a research assistant to his idle Dr. Theodore Rhinewood himself. Over the course of his placement the old man and young student became close friends, this friendship leading Rhinewood to confide in Jonathan that in the 40s he had been the Amazing Blue Bottle - a superhero that fought in the Second World War. He showed the young man his old battle suit and made a deal with Jonathan that if he would take over the title and legacy of the Blue Bottle he could help him build a bigger and better suit to fight evil in the world. Jonathan jumped at the chance firstly to be able to work on a private project with Rhinewood and secondly he wanted to be able to help the innocent. As the suit was nearing completion Rhinewood, who had been feeling unwell for a couple of months, was told he had an incurable brain tumour. He knew his time was short and worked night and day to complete the suit before his mind failed him - he died soon after. Now Jonathan holds true to his promise to his old mentor and goes fourth into the night to do battle with evil in the name of THE BLUE BOTTLE and the memory of his old friend.

-----------------------------------------------
RESCUE


HISTORY
John Brooks was always different; from an early age things seemed to go missing around him or when down in one place would appear few minutes later.
Unbeknownst to his parents John was born a mutant it was later thought this was due to his mother’s job as a specialist in radiology, that in the first few months of pregnancy John had be exposed to high levels of X-rays that triggered his mutant gene before birth. John was raised in a loving environment, his parents taught him good values and morals that would be the backbone to his believes in later live.

It was around his tenth birthday that his parents noticed his powers for the first time and put two and two together. They were in the garden one sunny afternoon when they heard John shouting for their pet cat to come down from a tree at the bottom of the garden, John’s father went to see if he could help only to watch in amazement as John pointed his finger at the cat and, pop it disappeared only to reappear in John’s hands seconds later. John was quickly ushered into the house where his mum gave him a check up. After a long talk and the realisation that John was a mutant his parents persuaded him not to use his powers in front of anyone except them, but they felt that as this power was part of their son he should learn to use it so while at home, with just the three of them about he was allowed to practice.

In School john excelled in the sciences and upon leaving he went to Cambridge to study medicine. Leaving after seven years with is doctorate and masters in biology and chemistry.

He worked for five years in a hospital near his parents but became frustrated with the bureaucracy of the profession, it was at this time he was approached by Mr. Whyte, the head of a new government department dealing with the problem of terrorists, both normal and super powered. He had been told that John was an excellent doctor and that there was a place in the department for him as the head of a medical back up team, their job would be to go in after a raid and stabilize any wounded team members or civilians. John saw this as a great opportunity to help people on the front line rather than patching up the drunks and wackos in A&E and accepted the offer.

Life was thrilling for John after that, he travelled the world with his team and became friends with some of the toughest super powered people in the department. All this time though he kept his own power secret, who would want to know about his weak little power to move objects when the supers in the team could rip steel apart with their bare hands.

Everything changed one particular rescue mission; a group of terrorists had captured the British embassy in a little South American country and were threatening to kill the hostages unless their leader was released from prison (he had been captured months earlier in a bomb attack in a shopping centre). The four man rescue team went in but were unprepared for the fact that the terrorists had hired themselves some super powered mercenaries and with in minutes one was injured, one dead and the other two were pined down. Viewing the carnage on the remote cameras all John could think about was his friends and the hostages, grabbing his medical equipment he ran into the building. Once inside he located the team and attempted to reach them. As he ran across a room to get to them one of the terrorists opened up with a machine gun, at first everyone there thought he had been hit but something unbelievable happened, as the bullets got within an inch of John they winked out of sight, seconds later the man who had shot at him screamed and fell to the ground with six bullets in his chest.

Having no time to think about what had just happened John reached his friends. Assessing the situation he knew the only way his injured teammate would survive was an immediate evac, but being under heavy fire this seemed impossible. John took a few deep breaths to calm himself knowing exactly what he had to do, radioing the medical team outside he ordered them to clear an area to the north of the building in view of the window he was looking out of. That he had one serious case with multiple laser wounds and to be ready to receive him. With that he pointed his finger at his patient and, pop he vanished seconds later he got an astonished call from his medical team that “The patient has appeared and is stable.” Smiling he turned to the others and said it was time to go and with that popped each of them in turn to safety, lastly he bent and closed the eyes of his dead team mate feeling angry that he hadn’t been fast enough to save him, he pointed his finger and sent him home. Now on his own he realised that the hostages were still in the building so he went to find them, what actually happened in the following half an hour no one knows except John but when the shooting and shouting was over and the backup team stormed the building John was sitting on the stairs in the hall with the hostages by his side and dead gun men and unconscious super villains all around.

After John’s debriefing he was confessed to being a mutant and the department sent him to be tested to see what the limits to his powers were. They learned that John was a teleporter but not like any they had seen before, he was unable to teleport himself but could use his power on others as long as they were in line of site. He was able to teleport items out of peoples hands (like guns) and teleport his target very fast on the same spot thereby disorientating them and if done long enough led to unconsciousness.
If this wasn’t enough the most amazing side effect of his power his ability to surround himself with energy field that teleported way anything that touched it. Thus someone hitting him would disappear to reappear somewhere else, but the most disturbing use of this power was that he could teleport a missile attack back onto his attacker (this seems to happen automatically) as in the incident with the gunman at the embassy.
Testing also showed that this power had its limitations and sometimes damage got through, thus it was decided to provide John with lightweight body armour. This allowed him to see in the dark and have its own air supply in case of gas attacks, the suit also had jets in the boots to give him the ability to leap great distances, as his powers didn’t work on himself it was felt he would need some means of getting in and out of the fire zone quickly.

A year of intensive training later the Anti-terrorist squad got its doctor back but this time he went in with them on missions, knowing that wasted time was wasted lives. The department heads wanted to call him Transporter but his team felt he deserved something more fitting to what he had done and it wasn’t long before his code name was changed to RESCUE.

As RESCUE John also helps out local authorities with accidents and has also been lent to other superhero teams that may need medical backup for dangerous adventures. In his spare time John works for a charity hospital, which he part owns and runs with his mother and her colleagues.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
John is 5’11” and of athletic build. His hair brown and cut short and his skin is tanned, the one thing that everyone remembers about him when asked is his piercing grey green eyes that seem to look right into your soul, but which also reflects the compassion in his heart.

PERSONALITY
John has a caring manner and a comforting word for everyone he treats. He has seen and been touched by violence in his life and knows that to stop this force sometimes needs to be used. It is not in Johns nature to go out of his way to hurt someone but he believes a terrorist makes his chose in live by picking up a gun or setting off a bomb and if they are hurt as a result of their actions then be it on their own heads.
As Rescue John will assess the situation before him deal with the wounded and let the rest of the team do the dirty work relying on his energy field to remove any possible threat from his immediate area.

---------------------------------------

Regards,

J.T.

[death tribble]

Braincheck, a mental mastermind with multiple brains he switches between, each with different knowledges and skills.

David "Cyanide" Shaw, the world's most deadly metahuman, with a expanding dome of near-translucent death-sheilds.

Vertigo, a micro-sized star in the shell of a human being, leader of cosmic-powered corporate crime

Darkhorse, shapeshifting shadow-warrior and former apprentice of Vertigo, now a defender of the Earth's peoples

Black Tabard, crusading vigilante with a background in police work, private investigation, and the legal system. Or his nemesis, his own brother, the selfstyled crimelord of frightening intellect with skills and resources gained while travelling in asia, Says Simon. Black Tabard I picture as a "serious" 70's style superhero, and not just a "black batman". His theme isn't a dark and brooding animal, but instead a modified Knights of Malta style tabard, lacking the cross and instead bearing only the color of midnight. His older brother, the villain Says Simon, doesn't really wear a coustume per se, but also has a tendency towards black clothing and has more of a martial arts and scholar theme than Black Tabard's detective/knight theme.

The first three are just vague enough to allow several interpretations. I like the first one.
The J.T. ones I will have to read later.

[Storn]

JT, thanks for posting your characters. Because it allows me to state something about commissions in a public forum. Those briefs? Too much information.

I don't OFTEN need childhood traumas, long backgrounds and secret origins in order to do a pciture. Sometimes it helps, but rarely. I know folks have passion for their creations... but I'm trying to add to that creation, throwing a lot of info at me obscures the forest thru the trees.
'
Let's take Mirror Man. All you really need to tell me is that Charlie was abused by his uncle and that he uses his dimensional powers to rescue other abused kids (great story and motivation, btw). THAT is important, especially if I can draw the all or part of the face (sometimes, supers have full masks, so this becomes a non-issue). But it is really the only part of the backstory I need to know.

In fact, I got a GM's understanding of Mirror Man and NO description of what the character looks like in action... or costume. It is fine if folks have no idea what the costume should look like...but I need to know when I have this carte blanche room to operate. From what I've gleaned from charlie, he could wear anything from plaid to leather bomber jacket to 3 piece Saville Row suit to spandex... I didn't get a description of his gear. Is Mirror Man part of a super team? Or is he a loner? Does he fight crime? Does he have a radio comm to communicate with his team? Is he a PC or supporting cast NPC (that can have a visual difference)?

Just for funsies, I will describe MM to y'all, what I gleaned from the description.

MM is a thin, withdrawn, blond haired, blue eyed young man who always seems to be looking to the far horizon. Assumption: He IS part of a superteam and does wear spandex. His body suit is fairly plain, black and silver. Has the team logo on a shoulder, his logo over the heart, maybe belt buckle. Because he is secretly afraid that one day he will enter the mirror dimension and get stuck for a while, he wears a vest like a combat reporters. It is filled with nutrition bars, pen flashlight, med kit and other survival gear. He does not wear a mask. That is what I would draw left to my own devices.

[Avatar]

Dang Storn, I read MM, then your idea of how he would look to you. And let me tell ya, now I can't think of him any other way. It just seems right....

That is real talent, very cool.

[J.T.]

Hi Storn,

You hit him pretty much on the mark with your description. Yes he does have combat webbing for when he rescues kids he nearly always carries neutrition bars with him as they tend to half starved not because he's scared of getting stuck in the mirror world as it is of his own creation.

The logo over his heart would be of a square framed mirror with spidery cracks radiating from its centre ( as if its just been smashed). the only other thing that you didn't pick up from the story is that when he passes through a mirror his skin takes on the appearance of glass.

Appear from the above you're spot on.

Regards,

J.T.

[Nuadha]

Having seen Storn do some really amazing female characters lately, I'd like to see more:

"Dawn"- Dawn is a female telekinetic who can only use her telekinesis at touch range. She uses her powers in several ways. For flight, she lifts herself her mind. She can shield herself with a telekinetic forceshield. She can lift weights far beyond her muscles would allow. She can throw things that she is touching at great speed turning almost anything into a weapon. She has mentally trained enough that she can multi-task her powers extremely well. (In other words, these aren't multipower slots.)

Dawn is a young woman with short blonde hair. She is a a generally happy and pleasant person, who takes crime-fighting very seriously. When going into a battle, she can look very serious, but you can still tell she enjoys her work.

Dawn wears a skin tight white outfit made from an experimental material that does not tear and is fire resuistant. (Costume also provides some ED) The back of the outfit has a hundreds of white ribbons attached that serve two functions. First, she uses her telekinesis to shape the ribbons into large white wings. These white ribbons, when shaped by her mind, look a lot like the winds of an angel. The ribbons move differently depending on her mood. When she is agitated, they tend to twitch a lot. When she is angry they take a more angular shape. These wings serve no purpose but appearance. Her flight does not require the wings. Dawn's entire costume seems to be built to add to the angelic effect, especially with the shimmering effect of the cloth. She may have chose this affect for the psychological effect it could have on people.

The second use for the ribbons is in combat. The material made to use the costume is very flexible and stretchable. She also keeps some of the longer ribbons hidden in her wings most of the time. When she wills it, the ribbons can be brought out and used to entangle or grab things at a distance (up to the length of the ribbon) as her telekinetic power travels through and controls the ribbon. (Power-wise, I'm not sure what the best way to build her would be, since he has TK no range, but has range with ribbons. Also, I've never built an entangler, so I'm not sure how to build the power saying that she has to stay connected to the "entanglee.")

I haven't decided if she should or would carry a weapon. I think a sword or spear would be fitting with the angel theme, but I'm thinking she should not have weapons as it does not fit the personality I'm picturing.

For a picture, I would think she could be shown shovering over the ground with her ribbon-wings behind her but with 10-20 ribbons arcing up from the lower tips and moving in front of her, ready to strike. She would have a confidant smile.

As an alternative- Dawn's idea and appearance could be altered to make her a villian. The outfit would be black instead. Leather-like, I'd think. She'd certainly have a weapon.

[death tribble]

The problem with J.T.'s suggestions is as Storn pointed out too much information. The ideas are nice but there is not that certain something to hook me.

I have seen the Mirror man from the 4th Edition Viper book and could think of nothing else.

As for Bluebottle, being British I think of the Goons (Radio show) but also of the character I have posted in Superhero Images called Bluebottle.
He watched too many Cronenburg movies and created the Bluebottle suit accordingly.

What I want is something you don't usually see like Orientals or non-Caucasians. That automatically grabs my interest. Or something that I have not seen as usual in the comics.

Crackerjack's three suggestions really have my attention. Either Braincheck, Cyanide or Vertigo.

Does Braincheck have the brains orbiting him ? Is he mechanical with the brains in a persplex container ?
What colour are the shields that Cyanide sends out and what does the rest of him look like ?
With Vertigo do you see the star as it pulses beneath a featureless human body ?

From these sort of questions can we build a drawing.

[Storn]

Yeah, it would be nice to do oriental supers who's skill/power set had NOTHING to do with martial arts. I like Nuadha's Dawn idea, but if I made her, say chinese american, or British Indian... the ribbons would be hard to do in a "psychic manifestation" way and keep far away from Wushu babe. But it would be fun to try. Actually, I have ways of doing that.

Cjacks ideas sound fun to do too.

[ghost-angel]

Two caught my attention here ... Dawn, but in a radically different manner than presented visually and Cyanide.

Cyanide first, What if his dome-shield weren't all center directly on him, some a little to the left, or right .. so you have overlapping power fields and dome poking through each other? Maybe they move about in some strange orbit so has he walks they shift around bringing different effects into different areas.... The possibilities of messing with light and shadow here are just way to cool to imagine.

Dawn, I like telekinetics so they always get my attention. I think Storn's idea of making her Chinese, or possibly another asian race, is cool. But I'd ditch some of the "traditional" chinese vestments in favor of something with a little more flair (I have no idea what)... use something unique as a weapon to telekinetically toss as people, maybe various flowers made of stones (ever get a 2lb stone daisy tossed at you at 80MPH?.....)

just some more ideas expanding on ones already out there.

[Blue]

Most every idea I have, drawing-wise, is an accident. I just take a basic picture and doodle. So it's hard for me to come up with something from mid air.

I was working on (and abandoned) a gargoyle type character. I didn't want a standard gargoyle look, so I've been trying to think of something clever. The powers were STR based, and he was extremely heavy, but he has flight that's always on, only in contact with surfaces, which allows him to seem weightless, so he can purch on things. Imagine coming into the room and a 1 ton gargoyle is purched in a crouch position on the back of your wooden dining room chair. But like I say... I don't have a distinctive look for him yet that doesn't just scream "rip-off of the gargoyles cartoon series".

I also had a comedic idea that I'm unable to pull off. I wanted to make a robotic character who, after a bad accident, scavenged all his parts from available sources. If you look carefully you can see appliances, car parts, etc. I figured he deserved a name like Scrap-heap. He's still trying to fulfill his original programming to bring justice.

[RDU Neil]

I had a very similar creation to you Scrap-heap. I called him "Piecemeal" as he was an advanced AI who was designed to rebuild himself with whatever was available. Never could get a "good" drawing of him, though. (Even more fun was the fact that he was a mapped human consciousness, created by Dr. D, to constantly hunt down Mechanon wherever he might appear. Piecemeal was never powerful enough to tackle Mechanon on his own, but tended to be the NPC support/Mcguffin that got the PCs involved in a Mechanon storyline. I played up Piecemeal as a semi-depressed robot who couldn't stop battling Mechanon, being destroyed, putting himself back together... but also knew that he had very little chance of ever stopping Mech permanently. Definitely a fun NPC.)

[arkham618]

Ichor: Wiry male, late-20s; yellow-green eyes; jaundiced skin; limp blonde hair tinted green, as if bleached with chlorine. Wears black breeches and slippers; his upper body is normally kept bare. On either hip is a scabbarded dagger. Ichor's blood is a potent acid, to which he is naturally immune. By cutting himself (the daggers are specially treated to resist corrosion), he can splatter or smear opponents with burning gore, or coat his weapons (or limbs, if disarmed) to enhance their lethality. His tissues constantly regenerate to contain the acid in his body, much like the mucus lining of the stomach, so he does not show scars from his frequent self-mutilation. He is weakened by the blood loss, however, and can go into shock if bled too heavily. Ichor can be a tragic hero, whose every deed is an act of painful sacrifice; or a gruesome villain, consumed with bloodlust.

Capricorn: Slight Asian male, mid-50s; black onyx eyes; white fringe of hair, whispy chin tuft. Wears brown jerkin and pantaloons (also brown) tied at the waste with a cord, and sandals. Capricorn is a taciturn figure, preturnaturally calm and quiet. He is virtually immovable, however: once planted in a position, it is almost impossible to shift him unless he wills it. He is equally unstoppable once in motion, able to crash through concrete walls and derail freight trains in head-on collisions. This may be due to unnatural body density, or the chanelling of mystical chi energy. Capricorn will not say.

Tomas: Brooding male of indeterminate age; wavy black hair, brown eyes; dark, Mediterranean aspect. Wears a black cassock with a gilded crucifix hung from a chain at the waist. The crucifix holds a disguised stiletto. Tomas is also never without his black, leather-bound Bible. A Catholic priest who was defrocked due to his unnerving (telepathic) ability to unmask scandal in the Curia, Tomas is obsessed with sin and redemption, and seethes with a bitter hatred for heretics, apostates, and heathens, who he believes have corrupted the Church and persecuted him for his zeal. Possessed of an almost supernatural charisma, Tomas can whip the faithful into a righteous fury or strike terror into the hearts of unbelievers. He believes firmly in purification through pain and is a skilled torturer.

[Resartus]

Shard: A bald man of mixed heritage in is mid twenties that was very heavy into body building. He signed up for a experimental muscle mass treatment so that he could win a state competition and became Shard. On command his sweat forms a crystalline armor around his body, this effect also gives him claws at the ends of his fingers and a series of spines down is forearms. The spines can be broken off for throwing or used as a weapon and regenerate quickly. The crystal armor destroys his clothing when it forms around him and is translucent so you can still make out his skin color and musculature underneath. The armor forms a shield in front of his face that not only protects him but obscures his features to protect his identity. It only takes him a few seconds to change into Shard so he usually has enough time to shed his clothes but in an emergency he'll just rip through them.

If Shard's abilities are difficult to control it would be easy to picture him as a frustrated young man that believes the world owes him for his new misfortune. So he uses his powers to commit larger and larger crimes to get what he wants.

If Shard's abilities are easy to control it's easy to picture him being ecstatic with he new gifts and willing to use them to help out his neighbor hood that is being overrun by local gangs.

[death tribble]

I'm still going with Braincheck, Cyanide and Vertigo

[RPMiller]

Shard: A bald man of mixed heritage in is mid twenties that was very heavy into body building. He signed up for a experimental muscle mass treatment so that he could win a state competition and became Shard. On command his sweat forms a crystalline armor around his body, this effect also gives him claws at the ends of his fingers and a series of spines down is forearms. The spines can be broken off for throwing or used as a weapon and regenerate quickly. So does this crystalline stuff, melt over time? Does it smell like sweat when it does? Eww... Interesting idea, but a little gross...

[Vex]

Inertia/Accelerator

Origin
Kate Sanoma is a woman in her late 20's of Polynesian descent (Hawaiian actually). She was an accomplished FBI Liaso for an LA based super hero team. Kate is a master of combat and espionage with various contacts in law enforcement as well as criminal circles. She was on a mission to save her team from the clutches of Catalyst, a mutant gang leader whose main power is a bolt of pure bio-energy that supercharges the victim causing their body to burn out and self combust in a matter of seconds. While she was successful in freeing her team, she was shot by Catalyst which unlocked her latent abilities.

Powers
Inertia is the super hero version of this character. Her powers involve adding or subtracting inertia from objects or people. She can fly at great speeds (combat and non combat acceleration), mass level teleport (she stops her movement in relation to the planet), steal the power of one person's attacks and focus them on someone else, accelerate or deccelerate objects and people moving them or stopping them, usually in very damaging ways (say 0 to 60 mph straight into a wall). Inertia prefers to stay out of close combat to help reinforce her other identity.

Accelerator is Kate in her undercover villain identity. In this quise, she usually uses her speed to run on the ground and use her ability to accelerate objects to increase her punching damage and her inertia stopping power (force field) to protect herself from damage.

Kate uses this identity to feed her former team information on the mercenary and mutant gang organizations, while taking care of smaller plots as Inertia.

Appearance:
Undecided and up in the air (i.e. completely up to Storn if it gets picked).

[death tribble]

Yeah but you really need to convince the person who has paid for the art.
ie me

[ghost-angel]

I'm still going with Braincheck, Cyanide and Vertigo

FWIW my votes currently on Cyanide.

[Haerandir]

I'm still going with Braincheck, Cyanide and Vertigo

I'm intrigued by Braincheck. Can't get enough of brains, myself.

[RDU Neil]

One thing that really intrigues me about Braincheck (a concept sort of touched on by the charcter Locke in my supers campaign) is the idea that the different brains might have different personalities... even be different people.

Hard as heck to illustrate, but the idea that the character's face or body or whatever, changes as they switch brains... that could be really neat.

Maybe something as simple as having an emotion tied with each brain/power set. The Angry brain... the sad brain... the devilish brain... etc. This might require Storn to draw multiple faces on a single character (put movement of turning head into the image, so facing right is angry, facing forward is sad, facing left is devilish... but not have to draw multiple figures... as the body remains the same.)

I dunno... just a visual image that popped into my head thinking about Braincheck.

[Resartus]

So does this crystalline stuff, melt over time? Does it smell like sweat when it does? Eww... Interesting idea, but a little gross...

The crystal is very hard but a bit on the fragile side. I'd intended to build the armor as ablative. I'd even considered making it always on, Shard would have to carry a solid steel bar to shatter the armor when he needed to eat. It would grow back in place within a few minutes.

I hadn't thought about the smell actually, might make for a decent disadvantage. I'd also considered giving him a dependency on mineral supplements and water to keep his powers active.

[death tribble]

I am leaning toward asking Storn for a basic sketch of Cyanide and Braincheck if he's agreeable. If not I'll pick one and go from there.

[Storn]

I am leaning toward asking Storn for a basic sketch of Cyanide and Braincheck if he's agreeable. If not I'll pick one and go from there.

Sure. Can we re-state the descriptions and any visual additions, so I can have the distilled and updated visions? I expect DT, you, to throw in your 2 cents... after all, you are paying for the gig.

[Crackerjacker]

Braincheck, a mental mastermind with multiple brains he switches between, each with different knowledges and skills.

David "Cyanide" Shaw, the world's most deadly metahuman, with a expanding dome of near-translucent death-sheilds.


Does Braincheck have the brains orbiting him ? Is he mechanical with the brains in a persplex container ?
What colour are the shields that Cyanide sends out and what does the rest of him look like ?
With Vertigo do you see the star as it pulses beneath a featureless human body ?

Cyanide first, What if his dome-shield weren't all center directly on him, some a little to the left, or right .. so you have overlapping power fields and dome poking through each other? Maybe they move about in some strange orbit so has he walks they shift around bringing different effects into different areas.... The possibilities of messing with light and shadow here are just way to cool to imagine.



-----------
Just a friendly recap of the thoughts that people have put on Braincheck and Cyanide, and my original little descriptions of them.

[Crackerjacker]

So whats going on with this? Thread just sleepy, or has Storn already started on this or what? Not to hassle, just interested.

[death tribble]

Await developments over the weekend or Monday

[Storn]

I tried to post last night, but maybe because of storms in my area... or perhaps the boards where down... I could not get through.

DT. Resend the quote for that bear of a commission you have me doing. The inks are done. color is next. But I can't find the quote.

Anyway, back to the main business of this thread. I chose to do Cyanide. Here are 2 steps and I'll go thru what I was thinking and why I made the decisions that I did along each step.

First: Rough Pencil Sketch

A lot of decisions happen during scribble time. Cyanide is an assassin. Assassins like to keep their identity hidden... safer that way. Hence full mask. Assassins work at night, okay... night goggles. Since this man has force fields and can hurt you by making you touch them... I decided on a relentless stride forward. So I picked the pose that I did, roughly shaping with pencil, very lightly (the sketch is punched up considerably in its darkness via photoshop so y'all can see it).

I'm making decisions on the force fields already in this stage. I'm not going to try and pencil them or ink them. I will do that all in photoshop on layers, to do the overlapping forcefield shielding that I envision. But it is in my mind as I go about sketching.

Also, I've made decisions about color. Cyanide is a poison. I decide that the dark parts of the costume will be almost black-green. Green is kinda poison-y color. I sorta suggest a "C" with the negative space on the torso. Thinking of Cyanide gas cannister... I'll make that part of the costume a light gunmetal gray. Everything works with gray <g>. The forcefields themselves will be various hues of green-blue... a color I think feels like "energy", yet in will be close in key to the costume. The goggles will jump to the other side of the color spectrum and be glowing red... giving that ominous, relentless look.

Second: Tighten up the pencils.

Not much to say, but here is where the rubber meets the road. Note, the tilt difference between the two stances that I just noticed was due to slightly different positions when scanning. I didn't change it in on paper <g>.

Coming Up Next.

I've inked it already, but I have to color it. I will do so and post hopefully today.

[Storn]

Inks

Not much to tell here. I changed the position of the lead foot at the last moment to something a bit more concrete to re-emphasis the walk. I use a brush for 90% of the inking. I like the elegant, organic, curvey line that I can achieve with a brush. I do use a quill (or dip pen) to do some detail work like fingers and the goggles.

Color

I did the shields in Illustrator and brought it back to photoshop for some airbrush effects. Pretty much everything else is done in photoshop. I build a main color, then work shadows sections and highlights on top of that. I tend to work in layers, so if I make a mistake, I clean up a small portion easily. The "gray" of the negative space turned to a green-gray when I went to actual play with the colors. The gray just wasn't quite working.

I was really rusty in Adobe Illustrator, so doing the curves was a bit time consuming as a fumbled around for the right way of doing many of them. but trying to draw a curve with a wacom stencil in photoshop would have been a real study in stoopid frustration. The lines would have looked shaky and ridiculous. The mechanical feel of the Illustrator vector line, I think, actually works in the context of Cyanide's overlapping force field.

So. There you have it. Cyanide.

[ghost-angel]

that's pretty damned cool.

A thanks to DeathTribble for shelling out the bucks, and to Storn for throwing down the art for us to see.

Way cool. I always enjoy seeing how an artist gets from 0 to finished.

[Enforcer84]

Thanks to everyone involved. This was a really neat project.

[RPMiller]

that's pretty damned cool.

A thanks to DeathTribble for shelling out the bucks, and to Storn for throwing down the art for us to see.

Way cool. I always enjoy seeing how an artist gets from 0 to finished.
And the speed is remarkable! That was very cool now if we can save Storn's talent in a can and market it... ;)

[death tribble]

I hadn't envisioned Cyanide in the way it came out. I hadn't thought of a covered head for example.
I would be interested to see what crackerjack now says.

[Madstone]

And the speed is remarkable! That was very cool now if we can save Storn's talent in a can and market it... ;)

I'd buy a six-pack!

Add my appreciation to the rest, very cool. I was amazed to see the raw sketchiness of the first pic. The second almost looks like it came from somewhere else. The negative space 'C' is very subtle and works really well, and the lethal force fields are a great visual. The Illustrator maneuver is a good idea. I've used both and I know exactly what you mean about curves in Photoshop, frustrating as heck.

Thanks, he looks great. Now, who's doing the .hdc?

[Crackerjacker]

Storn, thanks to you, Cyanide has now become the most badass Canadian of all time. (yes, David "Cyanide" Shaw is Canadian, or did I neglect to mention that?)

Truly, badass. Great job, Storn, and thank you DT for choosing my idea.

[SteveZilla]

JT, thanks for posting your characters. Because it allows me to state something about commissions in a public forum. Those briefs? Too much information.

I don't OFTEN need childhood traumas, long backgrounds and secret origins in order to do a picture. Sometimes it helps, but rarely. I know folks have passion for their creations... but I'm trying to add to that creation, throwing a lot of info at me obscures the forest thru the trees.

{snip}

In fact, I got a GM's understanding of Mirror Man and NO description of what the character looks like in action... or costume. It is fine if folks have no idea what the costume should look like...but I need to know when I have this carte blanche room to operate. From what I've gleaned from charlie, he could wear anything from plaid to leather bomber jacket to 3 piece Saville Row suit to spandex... I didn't get a description of his gear. Is Mirror Man part of a super team? Or is he a loner? Does he fight crime? Does he have a radio comm to communicate with his team? Is he a PC or supporting cast NPC (that can have a visual difference)?


Storn, what is the usual procedure for getting a piece of (superhero) character art done? I'm seriously considering comissioning one, but have never done this before.

This is like what I was asking. Other questions I would have would be:

1. How much say do I get in the character's appearance -- like particulars of the costume, pose, expression, powers in use, etc?

2. Do I only get one "shot" at describing him, or can there be a little dialogue to convey more of the character? I might not think of everything all at once.

3. Since this is for a Superheroic Champions game, I would want a "comic book" feel to the art -- does that require a certain format & materials (like paint, pen & ink, or something else)?

4. I have some pieces of art (using the term loosely :)) that I have used previously for the character. Would it be okay to submit them along with the usual info on the character?

5. Would also having the character sheet be helpful?

6. Am I forgetting anything? :think:

Thanks in advance to any and all who help educate me on this subject!

[death tribble]

This is like what I was asking. Other questions I would have would be:

1. How much say do I get in the character's appearance -- like particulars of the costume, pose, expression, powers in use, etc?

2. Do I only get one "shot" at describing him, or can there be a little dialogue to convey more of the character? I might not think of everything all at once.

3. Since this is for a Superheroic Champions game, I would want a "comic book" feel to the art -- does that require a certain format & materials (like paint, pen & ink, or something else)?

4. I have some pieces of art (using the term loosely :)) that I have used previously for the character. Would it be okay to submit them along with the usual info on the character?

5. Would also having the character sheet be helpful?

6. Am I forgetting anything? :think:

Thanks in advance to any and all who help educate me on this subject!

Well as someone who has asked for Storn to do stuff here's what I can tell you.

1. Everything. If you want them in flight, then yes they will be in flight. When I asked for a modern day Medusa I asked for multi-coloured snakes with one black strand nearer normal snake size coming down on the right side. I asked for glasses as well. And that is what I got. I asked for her to be good looking and not like a WoTC/Hasbro or Ray Harryhousen look. And again this is what I got.

2. The more detailed you want it the better. Try and get all the bits together before submitting your idea. If there is something that the artist is unsure of or wants to suggest they will get back to you.

3. Storn has done digital work and paint work. The digital is the default. Check my commissions. That's digital. Where he has not done digital he says so. He has also done Fantasy work which is in the Fantasy hero forum.

4. Yes. I am going to for some of the Protectors (home brew not the Hero Games team of the same name). And others have done this before.

5. Possibly. depends on how much info is there and what it says and how legible it is.

6. Payment is in advance via PayPal for Storn.

[Storn]

If I could afford him, I would make DT my agent in a heart beat!!! <g>.

Steve, you ask good questions. DT answered most of them as I would.

On #2... yeah, I'm afraid you really only get one shot at describing these. This is a sideline biz for me. I've got constant deadlines from publishers. So I don't have time to kibbitz over a sketch for a private commission. Of course, this can be overcome by throwing lots of money at me! <g>. I jest, but it is true. If you REALLY want all the attention and rights a publisher gets, then you have to pay for it.

#3: I do get requests to do supers in media other than digital... but it is my preference FOR supers. For fantasy, I like coloring over pencil and having a bit of the line and sketchiness show thru. That *feels* more fantasy to me than inked work, digitally colored.

#4: yes. Having previous pics is a HUGE help, especially if you tell me succinctly what you like and don't like about the pic. Maybe the pose is off, but you love the costume. If I know that, I won't change the costume on ya.

#5: character sheets tend to be more useful in fantasy pics, where it would surprise you how much "visual" equipment is forgotten in the character descriptions sent to me. It can't hurt. But it isn't necessary. I would review your character sheet for equipment or things that would have bearing (disads too) on the visual before sending off the description to me.

#6 My turnaround time tends to be a bout 1 week to 3 weeks. I've slipped of late (sorry y'all), but I'm making progress in getting to them. Unfortunately, the next week is all publishers, baybee.

[Enforcer84]

Glad to hear the work is still Rolling in Storn. Just hope I never win the lottery... :)

[SteveZilla]

On #2... yeah, I'm afraid you really only get one shot at describing these.

Then I won't worry about giving too much information up front -- I can be fairly verbose when describing a character. I didn't want to come across as nit-picky (even though I may be :D ).
<br />


#3: I do get requests to do supers in media other than digital... but it is my preference FOR supers. For fantasy, I like coloring over pencil and having a bit of the line and sketchiness show thru. That *feels* more fantasy to me than inked work, digitally colored.

Okay. So a Comic-Book Supers look = Inked, digitally colored. :)
<br />


#4: yes. Having previous pics is a HUGE help, especially if you tell me succinctly what you like and don't like about the pic. Maybe the pose is off, but you love the costume. If I know that, I won't change the costume on ya.

Okay, I'll include all 3 pics along with a verbose description. Are you sure your mailbox can handle it? ;)


New Questions:
#7: I am not a costume designer, so I might overlook something, or pick something that looks bad (like the patters or colors used). Would posting the description & previous pictures for feedback before the actual commission be worthwhile? NOTE: One of the pictures was made with a tracing of another comic-book character's form, thus I am unsure of the technical legality when posting that pic. :angel:

#8: If I am unsure of how a piece of equipment should be described (or I just have a vague idea of how it looks), should I just pile on some adjectives and a few "but not like this or that..." statements?

#9: If I see another picture you did and I like something about it, I should add that info to the description, right? I think I can pinpoint the specific piece with a link in each instance, but I am unsure. Would a link or description (character's name, person who commissioned it, etc.) be preferable?


Thanks for all the answers, everybody!

[Worldmaker]

Then I won't worry about giving too much information up front -- I can be fairly verbose when describing a character. I didn't want to come across as nit-picky (even though I may be :D ).


Verbose and nit-picky don't begin to describe it. You should see some of Steve's character sheets.

[Storn]

#7: I am not a costume designer, so I might overlook something, or pick something that looks bad (like the patters or colors used). Would posting the description & previous pictures for feedback before the actual commission be worthwhile? NOTE: One of the pictures was made with a tracing of another comic-book character's form, thus I am unsure of the technical legality when posting that pic.

#8: If I am unsure of how a piece of equipment should be described (or I just have a vague idea of how it looks), should I just pile on some adjectives and a few "but not like this or that..." statements?

#9: If I see another picture you did and I like something about it, I should add that info to the description, right? I think I can pinpoint the specific piece with a link in each instance, but I am unsure. Would a link or description (character's name, person who commissioned it, etc.) be preferable?

7. Whatever you are unsure of color, equipment... just say so. I've done hundreds of superhero characters... I will have an opinion and a visual solution. Trust me, when there is wiggle room, I will make the best of it. If you traced another's artwork, its okay to send to me as reference.. that isn't public display, nor am I getting paid to do *that* character or pose. So it isn't even unlawful. For the record, I will not trace anyone's work. I don't mind doing something close, like reworking a pose in my own style.

8. Yup, see above. The clearer you are about what you are un-clear about (if that makes sense), the more freedom I have in coming up with something that will be cool, will work.

9. Yeah, if there is something I've done in the past and you like, it would be great if you can include where I can find it. I might remember it. I might not.

Just to recap.. knowing all the psych lims and the long history of the character is NOT necessary. Knowing the body language, expression you want, the equipment carried, the general color schemes, the salient psych lim... that IS nice to know if you have concrete vision of what that is.

Its funny, I often get hair color, but the figure wears a full face mask. Then I don't need to know the hair color, do I?

And where I see ways of paring down, yet keeping the integrity of the story and concept... I will. An artists job is to exclude elements as well as include. That is why it is an art, and not a science.

[SteveZilla]

Verbose and nit-picky don't begin to describe it. You should see some of Steve's character sheets.

Being precisely detailed is not the same thing as being nit-picky. And *I'm* not the one that came up with the following construct (particulars may vary):

Dispel Knockback Resistance 10D6, Does Knockback(+1/4), Double Knockback(+3/4). ;)

[SteveZilla]

One more thing, Storn. I want to use this picture for a PBEM site that has some of it's own "legal wording" to it. I would like to make sure that your legal requirements and this site's don't conflict before the final O.K. (and payment).

Should I post a link, copy and paste it here, or something else?

[RobCRogers]

Being precisely detailed is not the same thing as being nit-picky. And *I'm* not the one that came up with the following construct (particulars may vary):

Dispel Knockback Resistance 10D6, Does Knockback(+1/4), Double Knockback(+3/4). ;)
Man, that's one of my favorites!

[Storn]

One more thing, Storn. I want to use this picture for a PBEM site that has some of it's own "legal wording" to it. I would like to make sure that your legal requirements and this site's don't conflict before the final O.K. (and payment).

Should I post a link, copy and paste it here, or something else?

as long as I get credit... I have no problem with it.

[Worldmaker]

Being precisely detailed is not the same thing as being nit-picky. And *I'm* not the one that came up with the following construct (particulars may vary):

Dispel Knockback Resistance 10D6, Does Knockback(+1/4), Double Knockback(+3/4). ;)

Yeah, that was me. Guilty as charged.

[JmOz]

You know if I ever win the Lotto, I might have to get you to do my centurians team pic, so how are you with Perez style 100 character pics :)

sorry just playing around

[Worldmaker]

as long as I get credit... I have no problem with it.

Storn, regarding you getting credit... my plan was to have you credited on the specific pages upon which your art appears, and the credit will include a link to your own website. Is this sufficient?

[Worldmaker]

You know if I ever win the Lotto, I might have to get you to do my centurians team pic, so how are you with Perez style 100 character pics :)

sorry just playing around


Maybe, maybe not... I talked to Storn about getting every villain in Tarot (50+ villains, at the time) done, as a group pic.

[Storn]

Storn, regarding you getting credit... my plan was to have you credited on the specific pages upon which your art appears, and the credit will include a link to your own website. Is this sufficient?

Absolutely.