Superhero Images: Honest Critique

[Killer Shrike]

This character was fun to draw, and challenging.

 

for the kid I simply lifted Robin from the DCU in his Secret ID, played with the color slightly and threw the Bugs R Kewl logo on his chest. Its a perfect representation of the kid, so why not?

 

The bug was trickier. I ended up taking a pencil sketch of an Umberhulk by Lockwood, flipping it, and then using that as a baseline, working up from the frame in several passes; the legs, the torso, the head, and the detail work. Playing around with transition layers and masking, I got the mottled look I wanted for his chitinous hide, and was all around happy with it. I was still going for a psuedo-DCU at this time, so I went with simple geometrics for the detailing and avoided internal sketchlines.

 

[Killer Shrike]

This was my own PC for a stretch. I had originally stumbled across a kick-ass toy mod somebody did of nightwing, and I was using that for the graphic, but the uniform color was wrong, and the proportions werent heroic enough. As an experiment I took the head from model, which captured the character perfectly, and spliced it onto a DCU body, building up the shoulders to "fit" the head. Then I threw on the stripe and darkened in some sculpting for his muscles.

 

For the background, I wanted something subtle and not distracting, so I played around with some textures and ended up with a speckled effect.

 

Im fond of the outcome, but my main problem with the pic is all the other characters done in the DCU style have drawn heads, whereas his obviously is not, so the pic "doesnt fit in". I might do a secondary version of it, with a drawn face.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Not really an drawing, but I like the end result:

 

This is another toy of some DC character Im not familiar with.

 

The toy was incredibly detailed, but had obvious articulation, particularly at the hips, with a wide gap btwn the leg and the hip. It also had some funky mismatched sunglasses.

 

To fix it, I went in and masked over the joints and fixed the sunglasses to be uniformly shaped on both lenses.

 

 

 

[Killer Shrike]

This one is another light mod. I took it almost exactly from some DCU character Ive never actually seen before.

 

To suit it to the PC, I masked over the chest motif, replaced it with a new one, and changed the color scheme. I also removed the lower part of the face mask and drew in some facial features.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Another light mod from the DCU. I took a picture of a character I think is called Steel, and changed the helmet around, added a shield, covered over the brooch with a new one, and made everything green.

 

[Killer Shrike]

I took a picture I found of a Sentinel, cropped out the extraneous background, tweaked the colors, added some flare effects, and done.

 

The main problem with this pic is that the original was so small and at so low of res that I couldnt get it to upsize enough without getting grainy.

 

[Killer Shrike]

This is yet another Toy, this time of a Terran Marine from Starcraft. This one was actually kind of tricky bcs I took if from a scan of the actual toy packaging which I found on the internet, so it had advertising and sales crap all around it. It turned out to be fairly tricky to get rid of it all. As it was, a small part of the rifle barrel had to get clipped, but i tried to doctor it as well as possible.

 

With the addition of some effects, the "Major Savage" name tag, and an interesting bg, I think this one turned out pretty cool.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Here are the images from the running Enforcers Inc thread.

 

I decided that I wanted to go with a DCU style for the characters where possible, mainly because its much faster for me to draw/modify and I dont have a ton of time to spend on these characters.

 

 

First up is da Boss, The Machine. This character is trying to start a business, and started off originally as a street level character in a gritty darker campaign without all the costumes and whatnot. People just wore street clothes. The original version of the character was a street fighter and a pit fighter as well as a paid ass beater for the mob.

 

So I wanted to maintain the "not a cape-wearing sissy" feel when I did this drawing. I wanted him to look like some guy in a shirt, jeans, and street shoes, and no mask. None of the usual trappings of a "super villain".

 

So, I took a DCU of Aquaman as the base, and drew The Machine over that on a new layer to get the framing. Then I added the colors and threw in the bg as a backdrop.

 

Simple. The character is a fairly impressive ass beater, and should the PCs ever encounter him I would want them to immediately discount him because "he's just some guy in jeans". The ensuing shock and dismay if it came to fisticuffs would be quite amusing

 

[Killer Shrike]

Next up is Bronto. This guy needed to be freakishly brickafied. He's another street fighter character upgraded to fit in a CU game, but in his case I could totally see him in a costume. He's a 'go with what everyone else is doing' kind of guy, so in a world of cape and spandex types he'd wear one too.

 

To do him I found a pic of some hippo-looking DCU character in a Green Lantern outfit. Im not a DC fan, so I dont know what the deal is with that, but the body type was absolutely perfect for what I was looking for.

 

I trimmed off the goofy hippo ears, drew in some human ears, and fixed the face to have more human features, then added in the permanent 5-o-clock shadow. The costume was a straight shot as well. I masked out the GL symbol, covered over the ring, and built up the "B" motif. Faded out green in favor of grey, touched up a few details here and there, and voila.

 

[Killer Shrike]

In the original campaign Jackhammer was a total ass, professional wrestler mentality character. Total thug brick. He was always a big striker; his main schtick was being a major puncher. Very overbearing, aggressive, posturing character, with a huge physical presense. He wore black suits in the original game, and a tight black spandex body suit when fighting. He also had a habit of reffering to himself in the 3rd person. "Jackhammer this" and "Jackhammer that". The funny thing is the original campaign was years ago, long before "The Rock" , who reminds me of Jackhammer in a lot of ways.

 

As it happened I got lucky and found a version of Superman from the DCU kitted out in a psuedo-SS outfit, complete with a high collar, jackboots, and gloves. That was perfect for JH, so I went with the simple black uniform with only a huge "J" across the torso. I modified the head a little, giving him a haircut and a beard, and widening the face a tad.

 

That just summed the character up perfectly for me, so I didnt feel the need to enhance it further.

 

 

[Killer Shrike]

Next up was Unger.

 

Unger came from a completely different campaign that the other 3 Enforcers. He was a "Mr Johnson" and all around fixer from a Cyberpunk/Paranormal campaign I ran not too long ago.

 

I basically just went down the character paying for all the equipment he had that I wanted him to keep in the CU (it cost money in the previous campaign), and tweaked his Perks to better fit the new BG i outfitted him with.

 

I didnt want to change his look however. I wanted him to be another "some guy in normal clothes" villain for the surprise factor, and bcs in context he does business with people; a spandex suit would not be conducive to that.

 

He wore a trenchcoat over a otr suit & tie in the old campaign, and again I lucked out and found some DCU character similarly attired, but with no face. Score.

 

This was the easiest fit yet; I simply added a face and some sunglasses to the pic and was done.

 

[Killer Shrike]

The next character I made for the Enforcers I did from scratch.

 

I wanted to try out the new AoE rules in Digital Hero 10 by Dave Mattingly, so I made a character to do so.

 

For his outfit, I wanted to capture a pulpish feel bcs the characters background and concept had some pulp science, "rocketman" like elements to it.

 

So I went looking through te DCU again and found a character called The Sandman who looked pulpish to me and was even the right body type for the character. However, he was wearing a gasmask and that wouldnt do. Then I noticed some character called Firefly, who was pretty retarded looking IMO, but had a cool old-school metal mask. Perfect.

 

The only problem was it was too small. Apparantly the Firefly has a shrunken head or something.

 

So, I basically built the image up by taking Sandmans body and changing the color scheme and getting rid of his gun belts, and then skewing Firefly's head to fit, and drawing over to of that the hide the stretch marks and make the head fit the body.

 

I actually really like this image, as it just feels Pulpy to me and really seems to fit the character. Since I didnt have a preconceived notion of the character (because I made him new for this purpose), the picture took some extra time to piece together as I looked for a good fit, but once I found the elements I wanted it went together like clockwork.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Next up was Wu.

 

Wu is a character, villain to be exact, that earned a place on the most hated list for the current group of PCs in the current campaign. He's a fairly bad ass Martial Artist who really schooled the PCs in the first couple of sessions of the campaign.

 

For a costume he wears racing leathers and a motorcycle helmet, and rides around on fast rice burner motorcycles.

 

To get the look down, I took a X-Men-The-Movie Cyclops from the DCU and modded the leathers slightly, disguising the "X" effect. Then I spliced in a Motorcycle helmet I found on the Internet.

 

I then managed to accidentally crop the image at some point, trimming off the top of the head and didnt notice until I had already closed Photoshop (thus canking the History).

 

Thatll teach me to do these things at 4 in the morning

 

Other than the "YOU EEEEEDIOT!!!!!" cropping fiasco, Im relatively happy with the pic.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Next up, somebody was asking for a "Feels No Pain" character on another thread, and I reffered them over to The Machine, who of course is an 800 pt gorilla and not suitable as a PC. The guy made a comment to that effect, which inspired me to make a toned down version the Machine at 350 points. Never one to waste a character writeup, I made the new character, Tenacious, The Machine's illegitimate son from before his recent 13 year stint in Stronghold.

 

So, I had this character that I wanted to look like his dad. He's also not an active super, he's just an over-developed 16 year old kid possibly about to embark on a career as a hero.

 

Thus for his image I took The Machine, flipped it horizontally, and changed him around a bit. I took the sleeves off the shirt and made the shirt much tighter, showing off his ripped physique (I imagine most 16 year olds with body-builder like muscles thanks to a powered heritage would opt to flaunt it). I added a hole to his jeans, and put boots on him. For his face I changed his hair style to a buzz-cut, and removed some of the personality lines, and thinned the jawline a little bit; finally I nudged the cheekbones just a little, and then resized the image to 95% width to make him almost imperceptibly a little narrower. Unfortunately, this made the picture a little blurry.

 

[Killer Shrike]

As a comparison:

 

[Killer Shrike]

Here is a character I did yesterday.

 

So I had this strecther character and needed a pic. The pain in the rear thing with stretchers is that they are hard to find templates for, and they are hard to draw.

 

So I ended up drawing one from scratch in Photoshop. This of course took 4 to 5 hours, which is way way too long for me to spend, but once I started I couldnt not finish it.

 

Im overall happy with the effect, but in the final glossing I think I made him a little too dark; its hard to make out the details on his back arm and his head.

 

I also think I should have relaxed his collarbone and allowed more deformation/bending. Thats the hard part of stretchers for me; I have a difficult time letting go of normal anatomy when I draw them.

 

[Killer Shrike]

Another one I did early this morning/last night.

 

A straightforward speedster, I wanted a small, compact, but kinetic looking model.

 

I decided that I wanted to go for a caution-tape look for the character early on, and even though the bg diverged from the original conception I decided to follow thru with the yellow and black design.

 

So digging through the DCU I found a take on Red Robin from Kingdom Come. I thought that was most cool bcs while I dont read DC comics, I do like Alex Ross and bought KC years ago when it came out. I like the look of the pic, so I decided to use that.

 

First off the cape had to go, and the batman-esque glove flares. Next up was the robin symbol and I needed to disguise the bat-belt, so I made it a pouch-belt for loot stashing. I knew the gold metal effects would clash with the yellow I would eventuall add in, so I changed all of that to silver, and hid the Robin motif. Then a switched out the red for yellow, added the caution strip to the leg, and did a caution-tape bg. Finally, I added the name and called it a night.

 

Im overall happy with this mod....

 

[Killer Shrike]

Here is another one I did from scratch in Photoshop.

 

I like the way he turned out, but his all-black uniform is perhaps a tad too dark for this style of shading....

 

The one major flaw that I can see is that I subconsciously clipped his right foot against the paper edge -- forgetting that Photoshop has a canvas enlarger feature.

 

My favorite bit about this pic is his right hand; the hand in the electrical blast. I actually didnt draw that hand at all; I basically just darkened in the hand with low percentage fills and some smudging to make it part of the energyblast, but concealed by it.

 

Amp is a flying blaster with an Electricity SFX, btw .

 

[Gwena Kitten]

Catching up with responces - pg. 1

 

Wow! So many new posts! ::cracks knuckles:: Ok. I hope I can respond to them all tonight. I just can't believe that it's up to 5 pages already. Page 1:

 

To Warp9:

 

"Great job on the mentallist character. I like the pose, I like the detail on the belt and the bracelets. If there is anything at all which I could recommend to improve it, it might be nice to see just a little more detail in the neck area. Overall an awesome picture."

 

Thank you for the suggestions on Equity. After I finished this picture I realized that I had completely left of the collar of her outfit. Sharp eye! : ) I'll see what I can do to improve on that for the colored-in version.

 

I'm glad that my comments were helpful to you. Good luck on that Kronos scene you mentioned you might re-do.

 

To Nucleon:

 

"Equity has a great pose; maybe her legs are a little bit short for the genre, but that both refreshing and more real, so this is more an observation than actual fault."

 

Thanks for the feedback. I try to portray my characters in the most realistic light possible, but really all art is stylized in some way. Actually, I used the "trace and reverse" method to get a basis for this art.

 

For those who may not be familiar, trace and reverse is when you take another piece of art, photograph, or anatomy diagram, put tracing paper over it and copy the general shapes for a fast pose and accurate anatomy. You then take this pencil tracing, place it face down on another blank sheet of paper, and go over it with a soft pencil eraser, grease pencil, or crayon. This leaves a soft line for general placement of body parts, and then you draw the rest of the picture based on this frame. It's kinda like making your own personal template. I find that the easiest references for trace and reverse are those with skintight or no clothing, and my favorite place to borrow from are Playboy magazines. And yes, I also read the articles. ::grin::

 

This picture of Equity was also based on a playboy model, and if I remember correctly, the girl in the photo was around 5'6", the same height as Equity. There's the likely reason for the shorter limbs.

 

"You do have talent for picturing what seems happy women; they look easy to approach. It this intentional in both cases I saw? They have quite simple costumes too. Overall they're great, and you must be an appreciated member of your playing group. I will wait for more."

 

Thank you for the compliment. : ) I try to picture my characters the same way that any woman would pose for a photograph. Regardless of the situation around them, almost everyone tries to smile and flatter the camera during a photo op. In a way, character illustrations are a lot like glamour shots for them. It showcases all of the best, and leaves out undesirable features.

 

Gwena Kitten

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Re: Re: Equity - submitted for your review

 

Originally posted by Vanguard

Nucleon,

 

You have no idea how wrong and far off your above comment about "picturing happy women" is from the truth. I, for one, have gamed with this child and while her character's may "seem" to be easy to approach, they are anything but.

 

Her character's are contrary and only seem to exist within the game group to cause dissention among the players. I think I have a pretty good basis for forming this opinion since I have played with her in several games previously.

 

About the only reason she would be considered an "appreciated" member of her group is because she's the GM's SO.

 

Jeez, dude. Isnt that a little harsh? I mean, even if it were true, its a pretty rude statement to make on an open forum, dont you think?

 

Im all about brutal honesty in person, but this level of personal animosity/dislike should be kept private/ within your local social circle IMO.

 

Lets keep these boards free of personal attacks, if possible please

[Gwena Kitten]

Responces to art - pg. 2

 

To Lemming:

 

I really like the style of your picture with the fiery red head. Sorry that I did not catch her name. The pose you picked for her was a wise choice. I like the broiling flame effects on her costume, and it looks really good especially with the pose you chose. Had you picked a pose with her limbs closer to her torso, it would have been hard to see her silhouette. But as it is, it is nice and clean.

I also like the way that her hair is pictured. It really compliments the style of the rest of her costume.

 

The silhouette of her hand in white as a background for the white ball of energy looks great. Another idea might be to showcase your background in the same way through her force field / damage shield?

 

I like her figure just the way it is. You don't need to be supermodel thin to be supermodel beautiful. : ) I like her expressive eyes, but her face might benefit from a little more detail. Good work in a style that I think really compliments this type of character.

 

To Redmenace:

 

"Thank you, I wanted make a build that was somewhere in between the Martial Artist and the Brick in Hero machine online generator. As to the pose it may have been a mistake. The original templates on hero chr sheets had anyone who wasn't flying just standing there. At the time I thought that was all wrong for a superhero game, but then I forget how hard it can be to judge and draw the lines of a costume in perspective.

 

Several of my players have commented that the angle makes it hard to draw a costume onto it so maybe I'll make some versions with dotted lines for boots, masks, gloves etc."

 

It can be hard to strike a balance between what is convenient, and what looks good. I think that your template is worth the extra work to draw the costume on.

 

"The proportions are as you say altered, on purpose, to give it a bit more "larger than Life" super humanity to it and a template for any other genre would be more accurate and probably have some clothes. When I get done with a full set of templates there will be mostly exaggerated super types, a very mundane human build and something a bit in-between."

 

I'm looking forward to seeing some of your other templates if you're willing to share them. Especially since you are planning on making such a great variety.

 

"As to using it, thanks for asking and yes please use it, alter it etc. The way I figure it is that once it's on the web it stopped being mine. Thanks also for starting the thread.

 

RE your mentalist looks great may I use her?"

 

Thank you for the permission. You are welcome to use my mentalist picture and general concept, but I'm keeping my greedy little hands on her character sheet. ::grin:: It would be nice if you would mention me as far as the art goes when you use her. And that way, if any of your other players move to where I'm at, they won't think I stole her from you. : )

 

To Blue:

 

"I'm checking my computer now to see if I have anything I want to offer up for critique...

 

Looks like I have one. The only copy I have on hand is shrunk for the web. It's a combination of something I drew by hand (left), some poser (right), and some Corel photopaint compositing (the math & the glow).

 

This is Audra Blue, "cybernaut" and her virtual form."

 

This is a very nice multiple medium piece. I especially like the math and the glowing form to the right. That is a very striking use of Poser and Corel Photopaint. Simply beautiful. And it really conveys a virtual, or ghost form. Perhaps she is similar to a "cyberghost?"

 

The hand drawn art on the right is done in a technique I've never seen before. It is very striking, but a little hard to recognize features through. Your later re-post greatly improves the picture. Perhaps you could work in a larger scale next time?

 

To Warp9:

 

"This image will hopefully give everyone a good idea about what I was trying to do with Kronos. And it will also serve as an example of my work in a different medium. There might also be some useful observations relating to the differences in the way I do work in different mediums.

 

Note: in the colorization process of my sketch, I made a few different choices about hair and skin color than I did in the 3D model.

 

I have already been given a number of useful suggestions. And any more good advice on making the next Kronos model look more like my sketch will be helpful."

 

I really like the sketch of Kronos as a work of art in and of itself. The cosmic patterning came out just great - nice and clear, and very pleasing to the eye. Her face is very clear, but also alien, a just a little spooky. I like the style of her clothing - it's a nice change from all that spandex. : ) But spandex can be great, too. I also like the hairstyle you chose for this drawing. It compliments her face without detracting from her fabulous costume.

 

As far as how to make the computer version look more like the drawn version, I would focus on her face. Her nose is very different from one version to the other. Also, the pattern on the costume was not as apparent. I like the hair color from the drawing better, but that should not be too hard to modify, if you choose.

 

One question. There is a white dot near her left hand (on the right in the pic) that I can not place. What does it represent?

 

Overall, a very nice pic. Best of luck with the modifications on the 3d version, if you decide to change anything. If you do, I'm looking forward to seeing the next version. : )

 

Gwena Kitten

[Gwena Kitten]

Resonces to art - pg. 3

 

To Lemming:

 

I like the picture of Ice Pirate, a lot. ::shrug:: I don't know what it is about women with blue hair... I just like them. : ) Very good job with the hair and skin coloration. I also really like the weapon she has. Distinct and different. Her costume is reminiscent of Heavy Metal, but it compliments her coloration very well. I especially like the knee decoration on her boots.

 

I think that perhaps her lower body might use a little modification. It seems a little on the small side compared to her upper half. Her feet could also use a little extra work. Perhaps you could study some pictures of high heel boots to get other ideas of their general shape. But you mentioned reducing or removing the heels anyhow. Thanks for posting her. : )

 

 

To Redmenace:

 

Fantastic job on the female templates! I really like the variety that you've offered us. One standing pose, one in flight/ hovering, and one nicely muscled but still beautiful. I really like and appreciate these. The proportions are all fantastic, and since all of the major muscle groups and bone structures are emphasized, it makes it very easy to add or subtract for different figures. Exceptional hob on the positioning of the hands. Also, the sketch lines for body sections would make it very easy to apply costumes to them. Thank you again for the great selection. I am really looking forward to any other templates you are willing to show us.

 

To Warp9:

 

"Here is the a new version of the Combat Droid which I’ve been working on. . . . I'm probably going to use it when I redo the Kronos scene.

 

Do you like it better or worse than the old version of the Droid?"

 

I like this version a little better. It seems a little better shaded in light and dark than the first image. Nice differences in textures from one section to the others. I do miss the skull and crossbones and wording on the arms from the last picture, though. Perhaps they are on the backside of him in this shot?

 

Thanks for all the great art posts,

 

Gwena Kitten

[Gwena Kitten]

Responce to Killer Shrike- pg. 4

 

Let me just start by saying, Wow! That is a lot of art in a little time. Judging by the time in-between your posts, you are very organized with your pictures, and a very fast typist.

 

I really like the clean lines of the "DCU" style that you have with most of your pictures. It's definitely different, but very concise at getting across costumes and general looks of characters.

 

Grey Ghost: I really like the way you can see through him to the city background. You put the transparency at just the right level to let the city shine through, and yet not so much as to distract you from the character portrait.

 

Arkelos: I like the white highlights/ outlines used for his upper torso. It gives him a very distinctive look. I am a little confused about his thighs, though. There is a blue flange behind his thighs that I can't place. What is that shape representing?

 

Rook?: Great job on the design for his costume with the rook/ castle motif. The face came out well for what you were attempting. But the back glow is really straining on the eyes. Perhaps it could be toned down a little?

 

Chitin: Great job on the bug. I really like the mottled design you achieved on his exo-skeleton. And the kid is really cute, especially with the T-shirt. : )

 

Hype: Great job integrating the head in with the rest of the figure. I like the effect it has, highlighting his face above all else. And I like the speckled background, too. I tend to not include backgrounds in my pics, as they are time consuming and generally distracting. You have some great ideas on how to keep them from being that way. Great job.

 

Agent X Hero: Great job fixing up the problems with the previous picture. I really like this one because it is so different from the usual character images.

 

Gravitic: I like the costume design on this one - nice clean lines and complimentary colors. The background does not seem to go so well, though.

 

Green Knight: Good job on the broach and shield. I am very fond of the metallic green you changed everything to. He blends in a little too much with his background though. Perhaps it could be a more different shade of green?

 

Warman: I am fond of the colors you chose for this picture. It makes him look very angry and hot, and very formidable, especially when combined with the "from the boot" view.

 

Major Savage: I own this toy, so I know exactly how it used to look. Great job on modifying this for your own tastes and character. It has a completely different look than the action figure above my computer. The nametag also really adds a lot to it.

 

 

The Machine: I really like the hair from this picture. Combined with blue jeans, it does make him look like more of a bystander than an opponent. But PCs beware..... If anyone bothers to do up a picture of someone, they're *always* important. : )

I think he could use more definition in the shirt, though. It hard to get shoulders that big without the muscles to show for it.

 

Bronto: The B motif is nicely done. The 5 o'clock shadow looks like more of a beard due to the shape of his jaw, though.

 

Jackhammer: Great job on the face - he looks like a very stern kind of guy. Also, lots of good attention to his gloves and boots. The rest of him looks more like a silhouette than a costume, though.

 

Thanks for all the pics!

 

Gwena Kitten

[Gwena Kitten]

Responce to Killer Shrike - pg. 5

 

So much art, so little time!

 

Unger: I like the tie and the frown. He kinda remindsme of Dick Tracy. : ) And very "Men in Black" sunglasses. Nice complimentary background.

 

Rocketman?: I like the very alien look to this one. Nice complation of works. His head came out exceptionally nice. My main issue is that his boots are washed out by the darker background.

 

Wu: Decent job modifying the leathers to get rid of the X design, but you can still make it out pretty easily. I really like the helmet, though, and until you mentioned it, I didn't notice that the top had been cut off. Nice Wren and Stimpy quote, though. ::grin::

 

Tenacious: Great job making him look similar but different from his father. I like the change in clothes, haircut and facial shape. But I really think he should be smaller. 16 year olds are usually a lot smaller than 20 year olds.

 

Stretcher: Great job on the hand. It looks grossly out of size, but still in shape, a very hard thing to do. But I do agree with you on the shading. It hides a lotof the detail you workedso long on.

 

Breakneck: Nice costume styling. I don't think that he looks "small, compact, but kinetic looking model." He's still too buff and broadshouldered for that. Also,the background really obscures the black sections of his costume, especially is right leg.

 

Amp: I like the pattern on his costume, and his hand/ special effects are done very nicely. I also like the way only one of his legs are green. It's unexpected, and neat. But I think his face and hair could use some work. His hair kinda looks life french fries.

 

Hope I didn't offend you with any of these responces. All of your work is in my opinion a fine example of this style. The shear number of the pictuers you've postedhere is also very impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work, but maybe spread out enough to breath in between? : ) Just kidding.

Thanks again,

 

Gwena Kitten

[Killer Shrike]

Thanx for all the kind words. I am a fast typist; Im a programmer by trade, so it helps

 

Arkelos: Thats the edge of his cape, which I suppose is difficult to make out due to its extreme stylizing.

 

Gravitic: The character's SFX is a purplish energy field for his "Gravioli Manipulation", which I was trying to evoke. He basically floats around weightless w/ his purplish FF up Its also kind of a running joke.

 

GK: I was trying to spruce up an otherwise plain figure, and the character has a FF with a green SFX so I figured why not. But maybe I overdid the "GREEN" bit

 

The Machine -- Yeah, I know what you mean. Im of two minds about it. Everytime I look at it Im tempted to muscle him up, but I resist. I want to down play his super-ness, not the other way around. I think of him wearing one of those thicker-materialed longsleeved shirts that conceal body curvature. I really want him to have a casual-cool simple look, all the more tempting for the players to dismiss him. Ill give it some thought however.....

 

 

JH: Yep. I want him to look like a towering column of pain, with attention drawn to the boots & gloves (he's a big, heavy striker/hitter, and highlighting the hands & feet evokes this) and the huge "J" on his chest (he's self-centered and full of himself). If encountered with the other 3 core members of the Enforcers (The Machine, Bronto, Unger, and Jackhammer), I want him to be the most eyecatching, because he's actually the least dangerous of the 4. He'll distract attention from the others, make a big splash with his opening hand attack reenforcing this idea, and meanwhile the other 3 are left to pick thier targets while the PCs are fixated on Jackhammer . I think minimizing his flat black body suit and enhancing the other elements of his costume works, but I could be wrong.

 

Tenacious: Yeah, I realize he's only 16, but part of the characters write up is that bcs of his powers he looks bigger and older. He was beating up grown bikers when he was 12 . Kind of a "Rage" angle -- the character from the Avengers/New Warriors -- he was only like 12 or so, but he looked like a massive grown up black man. Effectively, at 350 points, Tenacious is the equivalent of a grown up super with some experience under thier belts and is a really nasty light brick martial artist, but he's going to attend the Ravenswood academy soon (where most of the teen supers are in the 200-250 range). Just an element of the character -- he looks much older than he really is, like a grown body builder on 'roids .

 

Slinger: Yeah, Ill take a look at the PSD tomorrow and see if I cant tone the shadows down a notch. The fore-shortened arm & hand are fully drawn, but you cant tell anymore with the dropshadow kicked up. On my monitor at home it looks ok (I have a farily expensive graphics card and monitor), but on my work computer its really murky. I imagine the murky rendering is closer to what most people would see....

 

Breakneck: Hrmm...yeah, the DCU style tends to exaggerate the chest and shoulders quite a bit. Looking at the picture, I think I could probably clip out the shadowed part of the torso and redraw the cross-strap and belt pouch a tad to thin him down quite a bit.

 

Amp: Hmm....well, the hair bit is supposed to be a DF; as a side effect of his electrical powers his hair is kind of static-charged and freakishly kinetic -- standing on end and waving around constantly and what not. Wasnt sure how to illo that in the style I used, which is a bold line free-standing shape style. Amp came out too dark unfortunately -- a danger with an all black costume -- but the general design uses negative space to define shapes. Also, the one leg isnt green -- its black like the rest of the costume; the discoloration is a flare effect coming off the lightning bolt. Hrmmm....maybe the AMP pic isnt ready for prime time yet......

 

 

Criticism: Not at all. Helpful criticisms are always good. Heres the funny bit: all of my artwork that won awards and did well was artwork that I hated. All of the artwork I actually liked always did poorly So obviously my own opinion of my work must be flawed or something

 

As a side note I havent done any serious/real art in the last 10 years; I pretty much just do occasional character illos when the mood strikes me. Anymore, its all about the character; I just want to express the way I see the character, trying to involve as many of the aspect of the character as I can.