We had a lot of really great entries for Character Contest 30, which made judging quite difficult.
First, I wanted to highlight the submissions I thought had some element that went above and beyond the usual level, something that made me want to call them out as an Honorable Mention, although overall they weren't Finalists that I considered making the overall winner for one reason or another.
Honorable Mentions
Anarchangel's Vendetta is a nice looking character all the way around, but I wanted to call attention to is the background. The sky, clouds, and lightning all work together well to give a sense of place.
AtomicPunk's "Bloke" is just funny in general. I think the words on the shirt must be done in Photoshop or something, as I don't think there's a built-in font like that, but I love everything about this guy. The do-rag, the funky goggles, the pale skin, the combat boots with kilt, it all just works.
Blue Blazer's "The Night Watchman" is a solid composition in general, but what I really liked was the green highlighting on his various accouterments. The eyes in particular, lurking just at the edge of the cowl, work well.
This one's all about the outfit. Hubba hubba, baby! Plus, that took a lot of work to create, CPrime definitely deserves a nod for "Union Jill".
Ultimately the checkerboard background was too distracting for me in Darth Neko's "Enigma", but I love the way the guns are floating in the energy halos and the look of the mask under the hood.
Gene's "Red Ranger" has a good solid conception and the outfit works well, but what sells this is the rifle. I like how he didn't wait on slow slacker Jeff to put together a good Rifle set, but went out and made his own. Well done!
Finally for the Honorable Mentions, SutterKaine's "Frost" is one of the best two-figure compositions I've seen. It's simple, but very effective, party for the pose and partly for the play of dark and light colors.
Finalists
I now want to profile the illustrations that I considered as serious possible winners. I'll start with Paul's "Gadget 2", which couples a whimsical steampunk feel with the intrepid adventurousness of "Go Go Gadget".
In a very similar vein we have Sol Invictus' "Reichsadler", one of the better Nazi provocateur images I've seen so far. I think he gives off the right mix of menace and machine.
The two-fisted pose, the dual dueling pistols, the simple but effective color scheme, and the excellent use of shading all combine to make Anarchangel's "Red Devil 2" a very compelling character.
Either I have a soft spot for steampunk, or Danny Beaty's "Ironclad" is just that good. Probably the latter, but regardless, I like everything about this illustration, from the color scheme to the two pistols to (especially) the smoke stacks coming off his back. I can't wait to see his enemy, "Horsewhip Lash".
When one person has multiple entries I love, I try to limit myself to just one. But I just couldn't bring myself to leave out either of DiCicatriz' submissions this week. First up is the outstandingly detailed "Ishmerai". I usually hate hip boots, but these work perfectl with the rest of the composition. I think I see how the chest effect was achieved, and it's terrifically effective. I appreciate the little things, too, like the belt strap holding the thigh pouch on. That kind of attention to detail makes the whole character really jump off the page.
DiCicatriz also has "Orchid" in the mix as a Finalist this week, and I hope you see why I couldn't leave her out. I love the dark purple dragon tattoing effect on the skin suit, that's just brilliant. In general you don't see a lot of this kind of color scheme, but it's fantastic here.
Gene had an Honorable Mention earlier, but I took a particular shine to "Robot Wrangler". I can't imagine how irritating it must have been to put together those little robots. For Gene, not the character, although I imagine he had his struggles too. I particularly like the little blue guy dangling by one arm, that's a great touch.
Our final Finalist is Jack Zelger's "Gadget". I really like the pose a lot, especially the one boot turned off at an angle. That little detail totally sells it. The t-shirt with simple painted "G" on it and the shorts are a nice counterpoint to all the gear she's lugging as well. The hair also fits. In general I get a great sense of character from this drawing, of a plucky young woman who's armed to the teeth, but still would give you a hug if you needed one.
The Winnah!
Looking back over all these great entries, and knowing I can pick only one, I am going to go with ... DiCicatriz for Ishmerai! The overall look of the character and the detail are just fantastic, I really love it. Great job!
DiCicatriz wins either any item he or she chooses, or a portrait of him/her self, to appear in the final HeroMachine 3 version. Congratulations, both to you and to all the great entries!
@DiCicatriz: Congrats!
@the good Mr. Hebert: Thanks for the honorable mention! Horse Whiplash, huh. Hmmmmm…..
@Dicicatriz: congrats, great job!
Jeff, Thanks! An Honorable mention and a finalist!
I had a good time building these – great contest.
Lol, after I made the Red Ranger and Posted it, my oldest son looked and said, “You named your guy after a Power Ranger?”
*Facepalm* yeah, I did 🙂 But not on purpose. I was going for a Lone ranger, classic D&D ranger thing.
I keep missing these. I need to start checking the contest section, haha. Great job everyone, and congrats Dicicatriz
@Jeff, Atomic Punk’s shirt logo, is not made with photoshop, it’s standard on one of the zombie shirt’s by changing colors. Boy did that feel weird, telling the creator about something he made, lol.
Congratulations, Dicicatriz! There were some really amazing entries last week. I guess we have a lot of Batman and steampunk fans on here…
Very honored to have a character as a Finalist…thanks so much! Congrats to DiCicatriz and to all the Finalists and Honorable Mention-ees! Some really great stuff here.
Yay! I got an Honorable Mention! WOOT! Great going DiCicatriz! I loved Orchid, she’s freaking awesome!
@Jeff: Thanks for the Honorable Mention. I went for maximum cheese on that one. And the shirt is the “Got Brains?” from the Zombie Tops. =)
All the entries are really good stuff. Props to Robot Wrangler, April Fool, Gadget, Quentin Quantum. Specials to Red Devil 2, Vendetta, Night Watchman, Frost, Union Jill, Orchid.
I have to say the character designs are getting more complex and original (even the “rip-off” characters). Just from this contest alone, the entries could make a whole comic book universe.
Wow! Thanks everybody, this was literally the highlight of my day 😀
The entries were all fantastic and I’m really enjoying that increasing complexity Atomic Punk is talking about 😉
Wow, I totally forgot about that shirt. Thanks for the reminder!
And I agree, Atomic Punk, the entries just keep getting better and better.
Nice. Finalist! Thanks for the nod, Jeff. For some reason, I really got into writing Gadget’s story. When I heard “Gadgeteer” I took it very literally and pictured someone covered in machines, and it also made me think of someone who would be a geek. And to be different, I went with a woman geek, which then led to the idea she’d want to cover herself up, unlike most super heroines.
Good job to all! I think these are getting better just because we have more time to mess around with HM3 and seeing what we can do. Like how I figured a way to “create” some long shorts that didn’t exist before. This thing seems more flexible the more ya play with it.
I can tell you put a lot of thought into it Jack, it really showed. I had a hard time deciding between yours and DiCicatriz particularly, you did a great job on it.
Dude! I got an Honorable Mention! No way!
This just goes to prove that boobs are the most manipulative force in the universe.
Wow I didn’t think that one would even be considered with how plain it was.
Thanks for the props Jeff!
Archangel how did you make that pattern on Vendetta’s face?
never mind I figured it out.
@ CPrime – Okay, I give up. How did you get the Union Jack pattern on the outfit and boots?
Wow. I completely forgot about this contest. An honorable mention and a finalist? That’s pretty cool. Even better to be included among such great creations.
Really great work guys.
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