Trebuchet Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Somebody here in the boards posted a website or instructions for doing DC style character drawings. I've been struggling for a year to figure out a good way to get a drawing of my character Zl'f, and I figure DC style might finally get it to work. Does anyone here remember where those instructions were? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acroyear Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 It's been posted a few times http://www.wuji-web.com/multiverse.html The tutorial style thing was at... http://formula119.com/eqtaa/index2.html I enjoy using them for design, mostly. However, in my recent scribblings for a campaign setting, I've been using the templates almost exclusively for speed and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 There's another batch of templates at: http://users.ev1.net/~kryptcom/templates.html If you'd like me to take a stab at drawing your character, I'd be happy to volunteer my meager talents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Thanks, guys. I'll check those both out. Winterhawk, I believe I'll take you up on that offer. E-mail enroute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnoViking Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Isn't someone working on a program to allow people to draw DC animation style characters? Thought I saw it in alpha-testing. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Originally posted by Mike Basinger Isn't someone working on a program to allow people to draw DC animation style characters? Thought I saw it in alpha-testing. Yes, there's one discussed in the Software forum. I signed up for the newsgroup about it, and I'll be the first customer in line to buy it when it goes gold. It's frustrating to know just what your character looks like in your head but be totally unable to put in on paper. I have the drawing capability of a worm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Originally posted by Trebuchet Yes, there's one discussed in the Software forum. I signed up for the newsgroup about it, and I'll be the first customer in line to buy it when it goes gold. It's frustrating to know just what your character looks like in your head but be totally unable to put in on paper. I have the drawing capability of a worm. What I always do, is to take a photo of a model or actor/actress from a magazine. I take the one who's closest to how I visualize my characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Originally posted by Gary What I always do, is to take a photo of a model or actor/actress from a magazine. I take the one who's closest to how I visualize my characters. For my character I picture Kirsten Dunst in "Jumanji" with longer and blonder hair. But I want a picture in costume. And the grown-up Kirsten Dunst from "Spider-man" is much too curvaceous (Not to mention top heavy!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publius Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Finding out about the DC Animation stuff that Winterhawk mentioned in the Superhero Images thread was a real turning point for me. I surfed around, got a lot of templates and started working. The game is on a bit of a hiatus right now because players are having some time (and membership) issues, but the following images indicate what can be done by someone with little freehand drawing ability: http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/hero/Megawatti2.gif which is my girlfriends character, who can also be found in various stages of development here and here in a much earlier form. I prefer the more buxom versions myself. Of course there are the bad guys from the last adventure. I have more, but most of the other PCs are still in development (here's an older group picture however). I use Illustrator to retrace the template images, which I can then modify as I wish. I add stuff, change heights, subtract stuff, etc. its much easier that way and I am used to Illustrator from doing Trek deckplans. The earlier form of Madam Megawatt and the later forms for example are different in that I readjusted the height simply by dragging selected line-shapes 'down' and to the 'right' slightly, then readjusting the head and some other components so that they match back up. I am presently trying to learn how to use shadows on the images, which really improves their look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Very nice, Publius! I'd love to do a group picture of our team. Maybe once I figure out how to do my own character I can tackle a group picture. Most of our characters would be pretty simple. I don't have Illustrator, but I do have Photoshop 6 and Paint Shop Pro 7. I've also go a little freeware graphics editor called iMage, which is like Paint². It's vastly more capable than Paint but loads easier to use than Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Nice stuff, Publius! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publius Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by Trebuchet For my character I picture Kirsten Dunst in "Jumanji" with longer and blonder hair. But I want a picture in costume. And the grown-up Kirsten Dunst from "Spider-man" is much too curvaceous (Not to mention top heavy!). Well, I like my women shorter and larger boned, but hey, everyone's got to have their own thing right? How is this Trebuchet? Am I close? I modified that basic body style with less hip and less... other stuff than the original. I can't really do faces that actually look like someone in particular, but I tried for the cute and innocent type (upturned nose, perky smile etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by Publius Well, I like my women shorter and larger boned, but hey, everyone's got to have their own thing right? How is this Trebuchet? Am I close? I modified that basic body style with less hip and less... other stuff than the original. I can't really do faces that actually look like someone in particular, but I tried for the cute and innocent type (upturned nose, perky smile etc.). I like curvy women myself, but I don't need to have sexual fantasies about my characters. My character is very small and petite; she's only 4'10" tall (A former Olympic gymnast). She's built like a 14-year old even though she's 20, so she has slim hips and small breasts. You got the body about right, although the hair is a bit too short (It hangs to mid-thigh.) and it's generally bound in a ponytail when she's adventuring. The costume is more problematical. As I envision it, she wears a white sleeveless and strapless bodysuit cut high on the hips. Over that she wears a short white "poncho" belted at the waist and which hangs down as far as the bodysuit , her shoulders are bare as are her arms, legs and feet. If you're interested I can e-mail you the picture I got the costume idea from. It's harder to describe than draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Her's a picture of Zl'f I've managed to put together after much struggling with Paint. It captures the general appearance pretty well I think, as well as her essence. Hopefully she looks like a teenager, at least. I still can't get the costume quite right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Good stuff Trebuchet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeroGM Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 For those who are intreasted there is also a "How to Draw" DC Animated characters book out on the market.I picked it up and it's pretty easy to use. Also makes good for tracing templates if that's what your in the mood for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Originally posted by ChaosDrgn For those who are intreasted there is also a "How to Draw" DC Animated characters book out on the market.I picked it up and it's pretty easy to use. Also makes good for tracing templates if that's what your in the mood for. Title and ISBN? How much dinero? I'd be interested in trying it. Maybe I can finally get some use out of this Wacom Graphire2 pad I bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Originally posted by Trebuchet Title and ISBN? How much dinero? How to Draw DC Cmics Superheroes ISBN 1-56010-329-9...got it for free from my comics shop for one reason or another, so I don't know the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 I saw a "How to draw batman beyond" book which uses the style. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon, home of all things I don't need but absolutely want to buy anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeroGM Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Book How to Draw Batman and the DC Comic Super Heroes $14.95 at most places, published in 2000 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560104791/qid=1055265820/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9027008-0653626?v=glance&s=books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeroGM Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 From what I can tell the one I posted combines the 1998 DC character book, plus all the slim (how to draw Batman, Superman, etc) into one volume. My son and I both have been using it (granted, he's doing better then I am, but then again my hand eye coordination is almost shot), so I recomend it to anyone who wants to do quick simple drawings. My only problem with it is they don't really go into detail on how to do faces, expressions, yes, but not clear directions on eyes/mouths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Here's how Zl'f compares size-wise to a typical 6'3" male superhero. (At 4'10" tall, she's shorter than the average American 12-year-old girl.) I'm fairly pleased with how she came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyrm Ouroboros Posted June 11, 2003 Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Originally posted by Trebuchet Here's how Zl'f compares size-wise to a typical 6'3" male superhero. (At 4'10" tall, she's shorter than the average American 12-year-old girl.) Hate to say this, but I'm pretty certain that picture is off. I'm 6'3", and one of my friends -- 5'4" -- doesn't quite come up to my shoulder. On the other hand, I've done the copy/resize bit, 4'10" being 77% of 6'3", and it matches, more or less... Scary, that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonHunter Posted June 11, 2003 Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Other Templates Slightly off topic... Does anyone know of other templates sites (NON DCU) that are available for character creation? Long ago, there were seven or so, but all of those urls are all gone. Does anyone know their new homes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted June 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Originally posted by Wyrm Ouroboros Hate to say this, but I'm pretty certain that picture is off. I'm 6'3", and one of my friends -- 5'4" -- doesn't quite come up to my shoulder. On the other hand, I've done the copy/resize bit, 4'10" being 77% of 6'3", and it matches, more or less... Scary, that. I'm also 6'3", and my girlfriend of 22 years is 5'5" tall and well above my shoulder. If your friend is below your shoulder then you're either mistaken about her height, you have a very small head, or you have no neck. I also checked the image with the 4'10" being 77% of 6'3" bit before I first posted the picture here and it was close enough for government work, considering the female figure isn't standing up straight like the male one and that she's got hair. (It's sorta hard to calculate heights accurately from perspective drawings like this. I measured from bottom edge of heel to top of head.) And of course I'm making an unsupported assumption that a good superheroic male is 6'3". (A superhero should be at least as tall as I am, right?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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