Samurai007 Posted June 22, 2005 Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Samurai007' date=' is there a site where we can take a look at your work? I don't have any issues of DH, sadly.[/quote'] Thanks Mitchell, and yes Buzz, there is: http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/ On pg 2 is a cover I did for Digital Hero that includes a self portrait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I know its been said before, but: If DoJ isn't going to have color art in their books, then they shouldn't purchase color artwork and put grayscale images in their products. They should, instead, find artists with excellent black and white skills (which is generally cheaper than color work anyways) and put them to work. It would reduce costs and allow for a more consistent, cleaner presentation in the books. And you can have an excellent mood-setting presentation in black and white. For instance, I'm not a Witchblade fan, but I picked up the black and white issue they produced simply because I like the medium and it was truly remarkable work (and cost them less per page to print than the color ones, let alone avoiding colorist costs). The graysclame images are lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? The difference this time is that, in many peoples' opinion, DC:TAS is a BIG step down from the usual DoJ art effort. It was, with only a few exceptions (mostly the 4e reprint art), really bad. Embarrasingly bad. Jr. High notebook scribble bad. Blood of Heroes bad. It also (with a couple exceptions) wasn't even attempting to create an animated style, as you might expect in an "Animated Series" sourcebook. You don't need a huge art budget to get better work than DC:TAS had. In fact, it prompted me to write to DoJ and offer my services as an artist. I'm sure there are a lot of artists out there who'd be happy to work for DoJ who can do a much better job than we saw in TAS. Based on what I've seen of your work, you'd be a great choice for DoJ to pick up as an artist. Your work looks great. I do wonder if you could pull off the somewhat stylized format that is "animated supers" these days; your work looked a little realistic for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlin1 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I have to say that, as a guy who did a detailed, anal-retentive test read on the playtest copy of DC:TAS, it's a little disappointing to hear about these typos. I caught them all, dammit! I caught them all! However, I do like the content regardless, despite the fact that it's nearly all characters and almost no "guidance." At first glance, several of the villains struck me as a little on the corny side, but a few tweaks here and there and suddenly they were worthy adversaries for my group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai007 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Based on what I've seen of your work' date=' you'd be a great choice for DoJ to pick up as an artist. Your work looks great. I do wonder if you could pull off the somewhat stylized format that is "animated supers" these days; your work looked a little realistic for that.[/quote'] Thank you! I am very versatile and can imitate a great many different styles, from a variety of comic book, manga, and animated artists. I teach a class called Cartooning and Comic Book Art, so I've done everything from Bruce Timm to Disney, Rumiko Takahashi to John Byrne, and realistic nature and animal art as well. You name it, I can do it. Here is a Timm style picture I just uploaded: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/bat3sm.jpg Here's a Disney one I just added as well: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/SimbaSM.jpg The great majority of my art isn't posted there... I have dozens more pictures on my computer and laying around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Thanks Mitchell, and yes Buzz, there is: http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/ On pg 2 is a cover I did for Digital Hero that includes a self portrait... Very nice work. I would ask for your artwork to appear various Hero supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? The comments I've seen from Steve and Darren have made it clear that they don't believe that DOJ is sustainable investing in color and hardcovers. They've said that the cannot maintain their necessary profit margin going that route wihtout a significant increase in the price of their books. I don't have any basis to claim this isn't true. Nonetheless, I keep my fingers crossed that one day we'll see a HERO book that looks as snazzy as an M&M or D&D release. As long as the content remains top-notch (which it does, for the msot part), I'll survive until then. I'm not so much concerned with the color interior and hard covers. Most White Wolf stuff (after early Changeling) is B&W interior, but it's still decent art. And while HERO may not have color interior, I think that (for example) Conquerors, Killers & Crooks had some excellent art (with the conspicous exception of The Ultimates). So there's no reason Hero art can't be good. It's not a matter of budget so much as putting out the best product WITHIN that budget- and art-wise DC:TAS ain't it. Now, content wise, it's pretty good, and contrary to one post it does make several notes with regard to GMing a "animated"/four color style game in the DC-Hudson City setting. But then there is also that skimpy page count, white space, and page "???", which I expect from White Wolf but not from DOJ- or even ICE/Hero. Given that DC: TAS is the same price for 120 pages as Hudson City: the Urban Abyss (280 pages) that's another point against it. There's also the well-documented math phobia that seems to strike certain prejudiced minds when the subject of HERO is approached, and art aside, those people are more likely to buy the M&M hardcover first because they're already familiar with D20 and that system itself is pretty streamlined compared to other D&D based stuff from the past. No, you don't HAVE to know all the rules of HERO to start using it- but seeing the big green bulletproof book in all its colossal majesty seems to... intimidate some people. In other words, *we* think HERO's "crunch" is a feature. Most of the rest of the game market thinks it's a bug. And since we obviously don't want to get rid of the crunch- and we don't need to improve on it, really- anything DOJ/Hero can do to improve sales and profit margin has to emphasize the style and presentation for those of us gamers who aren't already hooked on HERO System. And again, it's not a matter of hardcover books with color pages, it's a matter of putting out first-class material within the budget, which DOJ is perfectly capable of doing. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Thanks Mitchell' date=' and yes Buzz, there is: http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/[/quote'] Damn, this is amazing. I was thinking, 'maybe I oughtta get a scanner and show some of my stuff to DOJ'- now it's back to the drawing board. Literally. RPG.net's loss is our gain. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I am very versatile and can imitate a great many different styles' date=' from a variety of comic book, manga, and animated artists. [/quote'] Your supers illustrations on Photobucket are insane! Robin, Huntress, Amazo, and Black Canary rock on toast. If you can produce illos like that with some speed and reasonible prices Hero shouldn't hire you, they should kidnap you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Beautiful artwork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Thank you! I am very versatile and can imitate a great many different styles, from a variety of comic book, manga, and animated artists. I teach a class called Cartooning and Comic Book Art, so I've done everything from Bruce Timm to Disney, Rumiko Takahashi to John Byrne, and realistic nature and animal art as well. You name it, I can do it. and i bet you work at a reasonable price, too?? seriously, i think you'd make an excellent "house" artist for HERO--i know that PALLADIUM had one for quite a while in the 90's--KEVIN LONG--they paid him a descent salary and he provided them with a SH-LOAD of art--much much cheaper than paying him by the piece.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai007 Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? and i bet you work at a reasonable price, too?? seriously, i think you'd make an excellent "house" artist for HERO--i know that PALLADIUM had one for quite a while in the 90's--KEVIN LONG--they paid him a descent salary and he provided them with a SH-LOAD of art--much much cheaper than paying him by the piece.... Certainly do, as Dave Mattingly can testify to. I'm sure Digital Hero has a smaller art budget than the printed books, and I've done work in 3 or 4 issues so far, including making some crazy deadlines... "Hi, we need 6 pictures in 3 days..." In fact, I'm working on a pulpish DH cover now, and I already finished 2 interior pieces for an upcoming issue. If/when Dave gives me the ok, I'll post small versions of them here. (Usually I don't add commissioned pieces to my portfolio until I get that ok). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Can someone give me a rouster with a couple of sentences of each villian in the book? I want to know exactly who is in the darn thing before I think about picking it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Can someone give me a rouster with a couple of sentences of each villian in the book? I want to know exactly who is in the darn thing before I think about picking it up. There are two sample campaigns. Hudson City Knights is the official DT:TAS setting, and is akin to Batman, i.e., no real superpowers. Hudson City Powers is more like early Spider-Man, i.e., low-level supers. I've only read the former so far. The Hudson City Knights villains are: Adonis: Aging brick model who's has too much surgery and now must steal to support his surgery "habit." Anagram: Female Riddler with a crossword puzzle motif. Astrologer: Toymaker turned mystic villain with a high-tech quarterstaff. Beatlemania: Beatle fan who commits crimes to pay for all the memorabilia he covets. Chitchat: Failed TV show host with a microphone that can control audio systems. Nuisance villain. Copycat: Copies the crimes of other villains. Doctor Enigma: Faceless villain who paralyzes people with The Unanswerable Question. Best villain in the book, IMO. Facet: Gem-loving cat burglar extraordinaire. The Human Capitalist: Wonder where villains hire all their goons? Here's your answer. Last Call: 1920s gangster-themed villain who's an ace shot with a Tommy gun. Midas: Goldfinger. The Missing Link: Runaway circus freak brick who uses gorillas as goons. Penny Dreadful: Literary snob who commits literature-themed crimes. Raptor: radical ecoterrorist with a Batman-esque getup. Red Eyes: Hyper-violent pugilist, victim of drug experimentation. Three of a Kind: Criminal triplets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Can someone give me a rouster with a couple of sentences of each villian in the book? I want to know exactly who is in the darn thing before I think about picking it up. I'll make an attempt: Almost all characters are in the 200-250 point range..so keep that in mind. The Answer: Your basic think tank hero Dark Angel: Hero. Female Bat clone Trickshot: Heroic Hawkeye clone Adonis: Villain with plastic surgery addiction Anagram: Female Riddler clone Astrologer: Carries gimmicked staff and bases crimes on the zodiac Beatlemania: Obsessed with The Beatles Chit Chat: Gimmicked microphone Copycat: Steals the gimmicks of other bad guys Doctor Enigma: Uses truth serum to ask "the unanswerable questions" Facet: Gemstone obsession/motif Human Capitalist: Rich...really rich mobster Last Call: Mob enforcer Midas: Gold obsession Missing Link: Primate obsession Penny Dreadful: Book/Literary obsession Raptor: Bird motif Red Eyes: Obsession with violence Three of a Kind: Triplets with obsession with the number 3 Hawkshaw: Hero with super smell Heavy Hitter: Heroic boxer Scarlet: Heroine with demonic heritage Burning Betty: Pyrokinesis Carnivore: Sabretooth clone and my vote for the book's most dangerous/powerful villain Charade: Seductive assassin Fleur de Lisa: Super pheremone powers Guillotine: Anarchist with wrist blades Hot Rod: Possesses demonic car and has supernatural driving abilities Rhapsody: Super violin and music obsession Scarab: A homage to Marvel's Beetle Serpentine: Martial artist Tick Tock: Uses a walking automaton Johnny Come Lately: Time Control Johnny on the Spot: Superspeed The Witch of Red Hill: Super stats and witch weaponry Hope that helps. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I'm looking forward to buying this book, even though i need a new copy of Dark Champions itself. I did get to look though it and it looked like it was full of great ideas for, oddly enough, a campaign somehwat in the style of the Adam West Batman series. I mean, Penny Dreadful just cries out for bizarre deathtraps straight out of classical literature (or pulp fiction, or Victorian gothics). I wonder how the Answer would take on a Vampire. (A 250-point Vampire -- now that's an interesting character development exercise -- or even an UberGoth villain who commits vampire-motif crimes and kills by exsanguination even if he doesn't neccesarily drink the stuff himself). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I did get to look though it and it looked like it was full of great ideas for' date=' oddly enough, a campaign somehwat in the style of the Adam West [i']Batman[/i] series. I agree. I actually found it much more in that vein than B:TAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadrakas Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I've felt that way for quite a while' date=' but mostly in regards to the mainstream CU. I believe Predators will give you several new DC characters [i didn't look at the playtest to be certain']. Hopefully something similar will come about Champions as well. I hope so. Otherwise frustration might start to settle in. Nadrakas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesG Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I flipped through a copy of DC:TAS at a FLGS today. I figured the art could not possibly be as bad as implied in this thread. My god, if anything, it was worse. Much of it looked like unfinished sketches. There were a few nice pieces, like Greg Smith’s contributions, but for the most part it was horrendous. I can understand why they chose not to include any art, other than the cover, in the online store’s PDF preview. If this is the best quality they can muster, I really think Hero Games needs to rethink their publishing schedule and/or philosophy. Maybe pruning a few titles off the schedule each year would be prudent, so that more care could be taken with what is released. It really pains me to say this, since I’ve been an ardent supporter of DOJ since they took over. But the look of this book was just terribly, terribly disappointing. So that I don’t come across as all negative, I have to say that Samurai007’s artwork (at http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/ for those who missed it up-thread) is quite good, and I for one would welcome it in future Hero Games products. Too bad he wasn’t used for DC:TAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? My RPG.net review (which I wrote about a week *before* reading this thread) oughtta be up Friday. Also, it will please you to know that I got Hidden Lands, and while the Atlantis art isn't that good, the rest is a lot better than DC: TAS. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadrakas Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? All my opinion... The content was useful. The artwork was Now... I also really like your work Samurai007. Question -- how long would it take you to do a B&W of this piece of art (yours of course): http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/?action=view¤t=cleric_cover_glow_vsm.jpg Reason I ask, is there is usually a very tight timeline for putting together books, and that includes art. Nadrakas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I just wonder why they didn't use Greg's Dark Angel Pic from 4th ed. It was great. I try not to get into the negativity about the art, but DC: TAS is probably my least favorite book visually. However, I have the Character Pack and the content of the book itself was very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai007 Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? All my opinion... The content was useful. The artwork was Now... I also really like your work Samurai007. Question -- how long would it take you to do a B&W of this piece of art (yours of course): http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/Tommiskey/Art/?action=view¤t=cleric_cover_glow_vsm.jpg Reason I ask, is there is usually a very tight timeline for putting together books, and that includes art. Nadrakas... Thanks again everyone! Dave, if you read this, please let me know when I can add the last couple DH pictures to my online portfolio to show the people here! Nadrakas, if you mean a b&w version of that exact picture, about 2 seconds to click the "greytone" button and save it If you mean a similar picture in b&w (and I think you do), probably a couple days or so (maybe 8-10 hours of total work). I usually only do that much work on cover pieces... that picture was for the cover of a D&D supplement called "Unorthodox Clerics". Generally, the more I'm paid (and the more time I have till the deadline), the more effort I can put into a picture. I've done pictures for as little as $5 each, but they don't look like that... I generally try to plan the piece out so that I spend about 1 hour per $5 of the price. Any more time than that and it becomes unprofitable for me. If I can finish faster and still provide the level of quality being paid for, I do. Dave has me working on a Pulpish cover for DH right now that should be as nice as that Cleric cover when I'm done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? I'm looking forward to buying this book' date=' even though i need a new copy of Dark Champions itself. I did get to look though it and it looked like it was full of great ideas for, oddly enough, a campaign somehwat in the style of the Adam West [i']Batman[/i] series. I mean, Penny Dreadful just cries out for bizarre deathtraps straight out of classical literature (or pulp fiction, or Victorian gothics). That would be someone of my own creation, Mr. Wicked. I would defently place him in a Dark Champions Powers campain. Basicly, I would list him as this. Mr. Wicked: Rich man with weapontry based on 18th centery gentleman wear. Is a 'white slaver', and is also obsesed with melodrama villiany. I sent him in for Digital Hero, and I got no responce on him. Then I placed him up on my own "Charapaloza" thread. Oh, and there is Red Death, another Dark Champions Powers villian. (The) Red Death: Mutant with a deadly touch and the ability to move through walls. Hates drud dealers and drug uses alike. Has a mobid sence of humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltaylor Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Re: Anyone get DC: TAS yet? Villainy Amok had and entire chart and map missing. I didn't know this! Are these available on-line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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