Character Design Contest ♯35- Public Domain Literature

This week I want you guys to have a look through the numerous literary characters that have fallen into public domain as listed on this site http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Literary_Characters, and do your own take on them. You can do modern versions, contemporary versions or futuristic versions I don't care, just be mindful of one thing; as these characters have been in the public domain they are not copyrighted, but adaptations of them made since are copyrighted (such as the Frankenstein movies, the Phantom of the Opera's mask form the musical, or the many Sherlock Holmes movies/ tv series), so make sure these are YOUR OWN VERSIONS.

Please make sure you have read the rules before entering. As usual, no limit on entries, so have fun and good luck.

Rules for posts, contests, and challenges that I am hosting: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warnings. Only post characters that you have either created for this contest specifically or you know for certain have never been entered to a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.

 

About JR19759

Email: jr19759@hotmail.co.uk Twitter: @jr19759 Deviantart: JR19759 Deviantart HM Group: Heromachine-Art

49 Responses to Character Design Contest ♯35- Public Domain Literature

  1. Mark says:

    My take on Jack the Ripper:

    http://i.imgur.com/Iy2xx0Y.png

  2. Nick Hentschel says:

    Where do we stand on Jane Austen? I’ve been working on a “Pride & Prejudice” image for a while now…..

  3. Vampyrist says:

    Along similar lines of Nick’s question, are we restrained to this list or can we use other public domain literary figures such as those of Shakespeare?

  4. Nick Hentschel says:

    It’s a pity, now that I think of it, that I used Mrs. Claus in a previous contest. Phooey. 🙁

  5. Ted Jones says:

    Black Arrow

    file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Black%20Arrow%20(1).png

  6. JR19759 says:

    @Nick Hentschel- I don’t know about Jane Austen characters. I’d rather just keep it to the characters on the list.
    @Vampyrist- There do seem to be two characters from The Tempest on that list if that’s any help, but other than that…..

  7. NeuroticDerp says:

    I know it’s about “our” versions, but how close do we have to follow the “canon”? the Headless Horseman, for example- can it be inspired from the original dullahan of Irish mythology, or does it have to be like the ghost from ‘Sleepy Hollow’? Just want to make sure.

  8. JR19759 says:

    NeuroticDerp:
    I know it’s about “our” versions, but how close do we have to follow the “canon”? the Headless Horseman, for example- can it be inspired from the original dullahan of Irish mythology, or does it have to be like the ghost from ‘Sleepy Hollow’? Just want to make sure.

    Don’t mind

  9. NeuroticDerp says:

    JR19759: Don’t mind

    Alright thanks ^_^

  10. Timedrop23 says:

    Kind of a sequel to my Frank Hallows character (he’s not eligible because I entered him as part of a family for a previous contest), I created my first official supervillain entry, The B.R.I.D.E.
    Dr. Elisabeth Victoria Stein (Evie to her friends) was once a prominent scientist at HallowGen, contracted by founder Frank Hallows to research the connection between computers and the human brain. Her work would soon form the basis for the interface Frank now uses to control the P.A.T.C.H. suit. But Dr. Stein’s ambitions reached much higher. She wished to push the boundaries of ethical science by attempting to have human brains directly interface with computer hardware, and even convert human memory into binary data for storage on computer mainframes.
    Fearing the devastatingly godlike potential this would have in the wrong hands, Frank shut down Dr. Stein’s program and fired her, retaining the rights to all of Stein’s research and keeping her findings under the highest level of security possible.
    Weeks went by without incident, but Dr. Evie Stein would return in force, breaking into HallowGen with a bang and escaping the ensuing chaos with her research and several million dollars’ worth of stolen HallowGen technology.
    The bomb she planted below her former employer’s office would leave Frank paralyzed from the neck down, dependent on the newly completed P.A.T.C.H. suit for his mobility and survival.
    Meanwhile, the disgraced Dr. Evie Stein would continue her work in secret, fashioning the Bionic Remote Interactive Digital Envoy from her cache of stolen P.A.T.C.H. and X-2 technology and taking the fatal risk of using her own brain as the upload source for what would prove to be her final experiment.
    The transfer was a success. Dr. Evie Stein’s human body was now an empty, soulless shell. What did that matter, when she had a stronger, faster cybernetic body at her command? But the collection of firing synapses that comprised the essence of Dr. Elisabeth Victoria Stein would quickly fall victim to the numerous security subroutines embedded in the patchwork of stolen HallowGen tech, leaving behind only a heavily armed, psychologically unstable automaton with a now-baseless hatred of Frank Hallows and an unwavering desire to possess as much human knowledge as possible. Beware, for The B.R.I.D.E. is alive!

  11. Nick Hentschel says:

    JR19759:
    @Nick Hentschel- I don’t know about Jane Austen characters. I’d rather just keep it to the characters on the list.

    As you wish, but my own research suggests that her work is in the public domain.

  12. Audrey_Lugosi says:

    How about Carmilla and Laura from Le Fanu’s ‘Carmilla’? The story and characters are well into the public domain (First published in the 1870s), even though they aren’t on the list above.

  13. Timedrop23 says:

    Silhouette work seems to go over big lately, so I decided to do a silhouette action scene for John Carter of Mars:
    http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w597/SeanWilkinson84/Timedrop23-JohnCarterofMars_zpsdc28b64c.png

  14. JR19759 says:

    Nick Hentschel: As you wish, but my own research suggests that her work is in the public domain.

    Audrey_Lugosi:
    How about Carmilla and Laura from Le Fanu’s ‘Carmilla’? The story and characters are well into the public domain (First published in the 1870s), even though they aren’t on the list above.

    How about we just stick to the list to keep things simple, because that way I can definitely be sure that no-one is going to get the site sued for breaching copyright. You are free to look around the many categories on that site to see if you can find the characters you are talking about and if they are on one of the lists and you can show me that they are on that site then I may let you do them, but at the moment, no characters that are not on that list.

  15. Keric says:

    Think I got a two~fer on this one Snow Maiden (GF’ed) and Claus’es kid… right?
    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/keric/2013/08/snow.PNG

  16. Vampyrist says:

    Mordred, my hero Excalibur’s greatest foe. Descended from the original Mordred and wielding the corrupted Clarent, he is a mighty and deadly enemy.
    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/vampyrist/2013/08/Vampyrist-Mordred.png

    “If I cannot inspire love, then I shall cause fear” This abandonment drove Frankenstein’s creation to become a Monster.
    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/vampyrist/2013/08/Vampyrist-Frankensteinscreation.png

  17. Herr D says:

    Miss Cuttenclip was given magic paper to make her paper people, etc. with. Some of their ideas must have been good–

    http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-MissCuttenclip_zps7f69624d.png

    Baum did some pretty good work.

  18. Timedrop23 says:

    This one answers the question of what would happen if Dorothy Gale learned elemental witchcraft. Who needs a bucket of water, a hot air balloon, and magic shoes when you can conjure water out of thin air and summon your own tornado?
    http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w597/SeanWilkinson84/Timedrop23-ElementalDorothy_zps8c8f4489.png

  19. rogueace6969 says:

    ~ Simply known as “Cinnamon Chip” by most who cross her path, Chip Barrett was born into a life of adventure. She traveled the world with her explorer parents seeing many amazing things. Along the way she also picked up many skills. Never known for turning down any sort of challenge, the brave girl is quite the accomplished marksman, gambler, brawler, & she has a quick wit to boot. Just barely an adult she has decided to venture out and see more of the world on her own. She has spent the past year traveling through the American Southwest on her trusty motorcycle doing odd jobs that come her way. ~

    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/rogueace6969/2013/08/rogueace6969-CinnamonChip.jpg

  20. Timedrop23 says:

    Sheriff Woodward Tynmen of Oz and the TWM lumber mech (based on the Tin Man): http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w597/SeanWilkinson84/Timedrop23-WoodwardTynmen_zpsd00d89d1.png

  21. Calvary_Red says:

    Phantom of the Opera again, but this time it’s really (my version of)
    the one from the book.

    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/calvary_red/2013/08/Calvary_Red-Erik.png

  22. Vampyrist says:

    My take on Aladdin.
    I see the lamp, or in this case bottle, being enchanted. When he is touching it, he can release his soul from his body and his soul manifests itself as a fiery Djinn.
    http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/legacy/forum-image-uploads/vampyrist/2013/08/Vampyrist-Aladdin.png

  23. Vectorman316 says:

    The totally awesome team of the futuristic pirates Captain Blackbeard and Captain Blood.

    http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/222/7/9/blackbeard___captainblood_by_vectorman316-d6hl54u.png

    Now in action pose!

  24. Timedrop23 says:

    The Atomic Punk:
    Judex interrogates his prisoner: “Where is Favraux?”

    Uh…Winner, anyone?

  25. Professor Pendragon says:

    This may be late as far as submissions and therefore shouldn’t be judged if it is, but I wanted to try my hand with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I hope you enjoy.

    http://youkai537.deviantart.com/art/JekyllHyde-392363332?ga_submit_new=10%253A1376202902

  26. JR19759 says:

    Ok guys, this weeks contest is closed. The poll will be up later.

  27. Timedrop23: Uh…Winner, anyone?

    Thanks for the nod, Timedrop!

  28. Medusa in all her hideous glory. I hope y’all enjoy this labor of love guys. <3

  29. Rachel Lynne Wood says:

    And if that link doesn’t work, http://raineyes.deviantart.com/art/Medusa-392606590