Duke

Re: Duke (art and characters) Your pulling our legs! I you can't fool me, I know you're larping! "I attack the darkness"

Re: What Champions Books Would You Like Published in the Future? Honestly I think Hero Games should get into licenses. They could start small with small universes like Hell Boy. Sure you have to pay royalties but with the rep of the titles you are sure to increase the number of gamers. They could even do obscure titles like.. Thundercats. Or even films and other generas. Eventually once you start with the smaller companies the big fish will be more willing to also join in. I mean how cool would it be to have a JLA source book, or an X-Men?

Re: Duke (art and characters) Can I draw a normal kitchen interior? Or are you saying that most artists in general? Me I would have to say yes. I didn't study classical animation at Sheridan college for nothing. I would agree most artists are not adapt at perspective and backgrounds. Which is why many artists lean towards mechanical, or organic illustrators. The majority of people I would have to say enjoy more organic principles, rather then attempting to illustrate perspective properly. Its more a mathematical way of doing things, and as we know most artists are not too fond of math. I think the real issue for most artists is can they draw a background like a normal kitchen? Sure they could, but they really don't want to because there is nothing exciting to them about drawing a kitchen. But if you start getting into composition and dramatic angles it could get more and more interesting to draw, rather then a flat boring kitchen.

Re: Duke (art and characters) so Cool its Hot? Enforcer happy birthday man!

Re: Duke (art and characters) I saw your face and your magic helmet in those stills!

Re: Duke (art and characters) Rob I used photoshop. Most of it I made though things like the cars I snaged from google and resized them. I like to use photoshop especially because of the layers. This way if a character enters a building I can remove the roof and show the interior wherever they are. Though I have not made the insides yet, I figure I can make them on the fly since it is only a message board game. I have the PSD if anyone wants that, just let me know.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Oh is he now! Thats damn cool. So no more dungeon seige for him I guess then.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Its been awhile and I should have a new picture to post up here soon. I did do 3 rush illustrations for the Digital Hero 33 though that is now going to be a skip month. Why am I posting? Last night I started making a map for my next adventure for my online champions game. Its only a fraction complete but I thought I would make it available for anyone else that may be interested in using it. I know that there are never enough maps. Anyway I put up a jpg version of it here for any takers. (edit taken down now to clear space on the site) Enjoy

Re: Astro City: the Dark Age I started collecting Astro City when it first came out and I was really satisfied with the stories. Then I lost touch and of course I came across this thread. It inspired me to head over to the local comic shop and pick up the Dark Ages. Got 3 issues so far and I have to say its pretty damn good!

Re: A D&D paladin in my Marvel Avengers campaign. Is this character from a mythical dimension or the current world of your game just back in time? It could solve your language issues if they are actually just from the current game worlds time line. Sure there will be thee's and thou's but it at least keeps some of the cheese factor of having some translation magical device or whatever. Maybe switch the name Knight up with Templar if you go with the game world. Perhaps in her time she was a "witch hunter" or in other words "defender of the good people against the super villains" Who knows just some thoughts, though I would for sure keep the steed with her! I mean if all her gear comes through she might as well be able to bring the horse.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Alright now I'm going to have to go hunting for some old hero products.

Re: Cell phones don't work underwater... The Deep One signal. Commissioner Gordan-san drops the ultra secret sonar device with its ultra secret signal into the water and viola! Within an hour the Deep One arrives to hear what Gordan-san has to say.

Re: Concept help! Hair Powers What about instead of flight, you take clinging so that the character can scale surfaces by the hair wraping around objects and pulling her up.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Thanks Duke Bushido. I'm not sure I'm familuar with Mark Williams art. I did a search in google and I found some things about him but I can't seem to find any of his work. I would love to see some though if our work is simular in style. I used to have 4th edition and Danger International years ago so I may have seen their work through time. Once again thanks man.

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech What about a specific location. Say like a prison in the middle of the ocean with no transportaion off of the prison save a suply ship that comes once a month that is guarded by other supers.

Re: Has the game made anyone like comics even more? My interest in the game came from starting to collect comics again for the first time in like 10 years. I guess its a dominos effect either way you go at it.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Amazing overall. Great sense of movement. Solid structure. Nice silhouette and composition for the pose providing a sense of depth.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Thanks again Enforcer. I'm still aiming to try something with a harder light source as shadow pools are my bane. I hate inking them and I think that it can also be achieved better through colour. nevereverend thanks, though I'm trying to get away from doing toons for awhile. I needed to get focused again on something closer to realism. Black Talon thanks once again. And even more thanks for the money for the drawing. RK your next of course. Question Man, that may be an idea but I am already finished the sketch for his character in our game. Maybe soon though. I heard the debate of spandex vs herc. Blue you know I think that is totally true. Also try getting a lot of those artists to do backgrounds, or convery the proper emotion for a panel besides the few plastic expressions that comic characters always seem to have.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Storn now that you mention it, I'm sitting back and I'm looking and you are correct. The heads are a bit large compared to the figure. It's something I'm just noticing now. I think it may be because for the last year or so I have been illustrating toons, which as we all know have larger heads. In example: Its something I'll be watching more closely in my next few comic illustrations. Its interesting that you use multiply to keep your line layer. This is what I do. When the illustration is just inks I go to channels. I grab and drag the blue layer to the new channel. Then I switch back to layers. I then create a new layer. At the top I go to select > Load selection. I go to the channel drop down menu and I select blue copy and I check the invert button and hit okay. Then I hit D on my keyboard to bring the colours back to black and white. Then I hit alt+blackspace to fill the area with the foreground colour. That being black. I do this two times just to be sure to get a solid black. After that I do all my colour work on a new layer below the black line layer. Any effects I want over the line I do on layers above the line layer. Thanks so much for your advice, and about the colouring too. I'm just experimenting with this new colouring style. greymankle No problem. If you ever have any questions that I can answer, I'll always do that to the best of my ability. After all I ask tons of questions all over the place. Blue wow that was weird. I don't think that I've ever had anyone say that before. What I'm gawking at is that you said Duke's style. In my 30 years no one has ever used that term about my work. I have a style! Thanks, though personally I tend to find many "artists" use that word to cover up their mistakes. But seriously thanks that does mean something to me. Storn I agree with you there. Style is something that an artist may try to achieve it is not an excuse for their shortcomings. Example would be cubism. That is a style, not one I am fond of but it is a style. Rob Liefield drawing the Juggernaught with 70+ teeth is not style, that is just stupidity. I don't think anyone that can draw would ever say that they are not in the learning process. Art is something that no one can ever truly master. Susano I totally am picking up what you are laying down! Thanks again everyone for all of the great feedback and interesting conversation. And now for something completely different... Here is an illustration of Soma designed by Chad Michael Ward that I did for the old opi8.com site started by Warren Ellis. And here is another older illustration I did, that may be good as a nasty bad guy!

Re: Duke (art and characters) enforcer you are totally picking up what I'm laying down! Thats exactly what she was doing. Okay I'm a bit tipsy right now but it sure is funny to me. Thanks again everyone.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Grey the process is this. I use a .5 mechanical pencil to draw with first. I used to use regular to achieve that thick and thin quality line, but now I find it is much easier to use a mechanical pencil as it saves time on sharpening. HB for the lead, but depending on the time of year and time of day I change that up or down the scale. (temperature of course effects lead in the way it comes out) I like to illustrate on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol smooth. So far I have not found a paper that works better for inking. I use staedler pigment liner pens for inking. Since I work at 8 X 11 size usually I tend to use sizes .005 to 3 for widths. After that I use any old scanner and of course scan it in. Photoshop is used after that to balance out the white and black to get as much of a cutout as I can without it eating into my line work too badly. Then of course comes the laborious task of rendering the image in colour with photoshop. I use a regular mouse no fang dangled pens or anything like that. Colouring usually takes anywhere from 6 to 8 hours it seems. though if a background is added it would take a lot more time.

Re: Duke (art and characters) During WWII Hitler attempted several times to create the ultimate soldier. The perfect being. Several scientists worked on an operation called Neue Ordnung during the war where they genetically grew humans. None were completely successful which ended up with termination of the samples. A group of freedom fighters with the Allies discovered the location of this secret project and laid siege to it. They destroyed the entire facility and burned all of the abominations to ash. One desperate scientist managed to get one sample away. Götz Schmidt was a deformed infant at the time. In secret he was raised by the scientist as his own son. Years passed until his time had come to seek vengeance upon those that destroyed his life's work, and so he sent Götz Schmidt now named Panzer out into the world to wreak havoc. In time the scientist learned that while Panzer was physically stronger then any normal man, his organs were deteriorating. Constantly having to be replaced, Panzer searches the globe for those freedom fighters in hopes to regain the original notes by the scientists of WWII for a cure to his dying form. Years later... Neue Ordnung or New Order was forged through a genetic process by splicing the genes of the super-human known as Panzer with that of willing host through artificial insemination. The reason for this attempt was to perfect and analyse the process that scientist had done years before and learn of a way to save Panzer. Four experiments were grown successfully at several different times. Each case developed a genetic flaw if you will. Faust's case he was born with a birth defect having no right hand. Later in life he was supplied with a mechanical fist. In Koloss's case she was born with four arms. Her size and weight were well beyond that of a normal human being. In Psychose's case she was mentally unstable. Prone to fits of psychotic tantrums that were projected through her superior mental capabilities. Hence her nightmares were unleashed upon whatever poor soul would be near by. Lastly Tragheit, A 12 year old that apears in his early 30's. His metabolism is so increased that he is aging rapidly. Instructed in a very confined enviroment they have been manipulated into the individuals that they are today. Full of rage and conditioning they are misguided and used for neferious crimes against humanity. (If the images are too big let me know and I'll make smaller versions)

Re: Duke (art and characters) Hero Clix eh! Thanks again everyone for all your feedback. Alright right now I am going to take some illustrations that I have already posted on the board and place them here in this thread because I'm moving files to another domain. Plus taking Storns brilliant idea of putting everything under one post makes it so much easier for myself to keep track of things.

Re: New Avengers? I've been collecting it from the start as well. I'm still not sure of how I feel about the line up, but I felt the sameway when I started collecting west coast avengers years ago. I like the new artists work that has done that last two issues. The faces seem more realistic with their expressions. As for the overall plot thus far it seems alright and the scripting is excellent.

Re: Duke (art and characters) Susano I see. Thanks for the input, I'm debating if I should change it. Hermit I am totally picking up on what you are saying. This drawing originally had a background to it that I never got around to colouring so I coped out by placing the logo. I may either get to work on the background during the week, or maybe just change the facial expression. And no worries about being nitpicking because the main reason I do like to post my work is so that I can improve upon it. I want to get better and the more eyes out there letting me know what should be done helps me think when I draw for the next time. Thanks again everyone.