Yearly Archives: 2008

Phlegmings

Posted on January 4, 2008 by | Comments Off on Phlegmings

Everyone in the creative business hopes to leave a legacy for the future, some mark on their craft that will resonate through the ages long after the originator has died.

In the case of Image Comics, part of that proud legacy is spit.

I call it a "phlegming", a long strand of saliva visible in the widely gaping mouth of the character. While today you see it everywhere, it reached salivary perfection with the fine stable of Rob Liefeld clones at Image Comics, as in this cover from "Pitt" (motto: "So much awesomeness we needed two Ts!") number two:

Super-Hero Saliva

As you can see, when you're a young man you have only one phlegming, because your adolescent body is just not sufficiently developed enough. But eat all your breakfast and work hard every day, and soon you'll grow into an eight foot tall Hulk/Wolverine rip-off with six, seven or even more phlegmings of your own!

Notice, however that supporting that many phlegmings at once is not easy. Just look at how many new and innovative neck muscles not present in regular humans are required to generate so much viscous spittle. And the jaw control required to form it into strings instead of flinging it about as droplets results in massive growth of your teeth and gums. Practically your whole face gets devoted to supporting the creation and maintenance of phlegmings, but I think we can all agree it's well worth the effor.

On a more positive note, given the size of his enormous melon, I think that young man definitely has what it takes to be a top-notch super-hero one day, supporting his own set of phlegmings and other mucous-related products.

(Image and character © 1993, Dale Keown.)

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Super-Hero Stuff

Custom Hangman

Posted on January 3, 2008 by | Comments Off on Custom Hangman

Pre-fab is good, but custom is better. At least, that's what my home builder told me just before handing me his bill, but it's just as true for super-heroes as it is for houses. As another example, from the pages of "Roll Call 06" by Oforie Murray, I give you Steven Warfield's "The Hangman". Steven's initial proposal had this HeroMachine illustration:

Initial Hangman Proposal

When you're doing a custom illustration for someone, the more detail you can get, the better, and Steven certainly came through. Here are the initial artist's notes he sent in:

Artists Notes: So this is obviously a pretty generic bit of art (the piece I did up at HeroMachine), but I think that it gets across the idea of how I think that Hangman would look "in character." As per his description, he wears the upper part of the bodysuit under any normal clothing (and would wear long sleeve shirts to accomplish that).
I am thinking maybe the smarmy overconfidence that Edward Norton displayed toward the end of Primal Fear for how he would look in the face (I would include a picture of what I am talking about, but as of yet cannot find any). I also think that it might be a good idea to have a "plainclothes" version of him in the foreground, with the elongated, masked version in the background/behind him rising up (to give an idea of how he gets away with his "dual existence" to some extent). If that is not possible, perhaps an "action shot" of him sloughing off his regular clothes and elongating out might be cool. As for his clothing - I am thinking some sort of body-suit that can stretch with him (to a degree). His hands would remain ungloved (so that he can feel what he is doing, both in terms of being more capable and also the thrill he gets from it). As for the mask, I think that a more elongated version of the one I have attached would be damn near perfect - and would give a chance to see the side that he doesn't display when he is hunting to really come through (since you can still see his eyes and mouth).

After a few initial tries, eventually that first generic HeroMachine image turned into this:

Custom Hangman

Next week I'll be announcing a special contest that will let you -- yes, you there, in your pajamas! -- try to get a custom illustration like this for your very own character, so be sure to check back then!

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Posted in Cool Characters, Super-Hero Stuff

How to draw Batman quick and dirty

Posted on January 2, 2008 by | Comments Off on How to draw Batman quick and dirty

Batman Doodle - completeHeroMachine is meant for people who can't draw very well themselves, but I always encourage people to try! Having fun, quick little doodles you can knock out is a good way to improve your confidence and impress your friends. Well, maybe not your friends, because they probably know you too well to be impressed, but you get the idea. Like drawing Killroy or knowing how to make a barn-door farmhouse without picking up your pencil, this quick and simple Batman doodle should be something fun for you. As much as possible, I tried to make it so that anyone who can draw letters can draw the figure. Enjoy!

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Posted in Digital Illustration Lessons, Super-Hero Stuff

The Clock Turns

Posted on January 1, 2008 by | Comments Off on The Clock Turns

A new year has dawned, and it's a good time to reflect on what has passed, what may be yet to come, and to take a few precious moments to mock super-hero costumes that don't know when they, too, should just let their theme slip quietly into that good night:

Clock King

Clock King found a niche and by gum he's going to fill it. I get the feeling he found clock-patterned spandex on sale at Wal-Mart and just couldn't say no. This is the kind of guy who wallpapers his entire house with the exact same print, and then gets throw pillows to match. Other, lesser villains with a time theme might have stopped at just an hourglass insignia, or maybe some arrows on the gloves, but we're talking about chronological royalty here!

I assume the glass faceplate is opaque on the outside and transparent from the inside so he can see, but what about when the time is 9:15 or 3:45 and the hands are covering his eyes? And don't think for a minute that a guy with this kind of theme mania is going to have a non-functional clock on his kisser! I don't even want to think about how he sets the time for the clock in his belt ...

Image and character are ©1985, DC Comics, Inc., "Who's Who", Volume V.

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Super-Hero Stuff