This week's "Power User Profile" features the winner of the second Friday Night Fights, Imp!
- A photo (or drawing) of you in "real life":
- Online name used in HeroMachine environs: Imp
- Real name: Jim
- Real city/state/country: San Francisco Bay Area
- Real job: Optician
- Real age: A decrepit 38
- Gender: Male
- Married/single: Single
- Online archive of your creations (if any): http://forums.ugo.com/showthread.php?t=35078
- The best piece of HeroMachine art you've created:I can’t really judge my own stuff accurately.
- Favorite all-time geeky movie if any: I’d have to say Watchmen or Aliens.
- Favorite all-time geeky book if any: Stephen R. Donaldson’s “Gap” Series, Lois McMaster Bujold’s “Vorkosigan” Saga, George R.R. Martin’s ‘Song of Ice and Fire’, and my absolute favorite, Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay.
- Favorite all-time geeky TV show if any: The Walking Dead, of course. Although the original V is a close second. I also loved Xena, Babylon 5, and Earth: Final Conflict.
- Favorite all-time comic book character: Aquaman. 😀
Seriously, although I do have a soft spot for Arthur Curry, I think my favorites are Warlord, Arion, and Grimjack. Anything by Garth Ennis is on my instant-buy list too.
- If you could have one super-heroic power in real life, you'd choose: Either flight or immortality.
- In your leisure time you like to: I’m an aspiring writer, so nearly all of my free time is spent scribbling on the computer. My first novel (a South Pacific vampire story with drug-runners and cannibalism) is done and is currently making the rounds of various publishers.
- Character design turn-ons (things you love to see that make for a good design):I love a good spandex costume design. I think the temptation is to cram as much stuff into an illustration as possible, but simpler is almost always better, especially in a superhero costume. Resist the Liefeldian urge to add as much extraneous and useless junk as possible! Color schemes play a big part in it too; nothing ruins a costume faster than weird and clashing color choices.
- Character design turn-offs (things you hate to see that make for a bad design): Illustrations that look like they were slapped together in ten minutes, with no thought or soul put into them. Like Hammerknight, I’m really bugged by wrong-facing hands and stuff like that, things that could be easily corrected by a few minutes of study and thinking about the layout.
- Best tip for a HeroMachine newbie:Take your time. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Accept criticism, but don’t let it rule your life. If the criticism offered clashes with your vision, throw it out the window. If you’re not happy with your work, chances are nobody else will be, either.
Also, never ever mention the word ‘Apex’ on the HeroMachine Forums.
- Any personal message you'd like to share with the HeroMachine community about Geek Life:As clichéd as it sounds, be true to yourself. So many people live miserable lives because they try to fit in with social ‘norms’. It’s really horrible when you’re younger. Many of us (most of us, I suspect) were or are geeks in high school, and it sucks to be the outcast. But the silver lining is, if you stay true to what you love and don’t bow to peer pressure, you will almost always come out the other side into adulthood better off than other folks. Those drones will lead soul-sapping, creatively stifled lives, all in the interest of ‘fitting in’ and being cool. You, on the other hand, will have an open mind, be willing to try new things, and lead a generally all-around happier life.
In all honesty, I thought that I was the only one who liked the Donaldson’s Gap series. Nice to know I’m not the only one that disturbed.
Imp has to be one of my all time favourite creators. He constantly amazes me with his characters and puts mine to shame.
Thanks for showing me how it’s really done Imp. You rock! 🙂
Interesting, 3 power users down ( HammerKnight, Myself, and Imp ) and we have 3 Goatee’s and 3 pairs of glasses. I am starting to see a Pattern forming here, LOL. Seriously Imp is indeed worthy of the title Power User as he puts out some amazing HM creation!.
I’m with you Imp on George R.R. Martin’s ‘Song of Ice and Fire’. Great book. One of my favorites. A lot of people could learn a lot from your images Imp. Thank you for sharing them.
Kaldath (3) you might be onto something regarding the goatee’s. 🙂
@Kaldath: And 38… Power Users are Pod People!!!
Grimjack, that takes me back. Wasn’t a regular reader, but I liked the nods it gave to 1930s serials.
@Imp: Do tell when you go to press. I’ll definitely check out your novel.
for a second I thought Imp was the old man!(more power to the AARP crowd) I am loving these profiles, can’t wait to see who is up next. and I am with The Atomic Punk on checking out the novel, unless the vamps sparkle 🙂
I am loving these profiles. It’s really great to learn more about these bearded men who make such fantastic things. And, yes, tell us when your book gets picked up! Any new takes on vampires that don’t involve sparkles are a fine, fine endeavor.
A well deserved title! Imp puts out amazing work week after week. He has a great sense for colour schemes, I might add. The costumes he creates are always very convincing. The same does also apply for the poses of his characters. He seldom uses the standard pose, but he tries out new things and gives his characters a slight twist, which make them stand out from the rest.
I look up to you, Imp!
Okay, again the question, am I seriously the only male here without facial hair (Tuldabar apparently, notwithstanding)? This is a bit on the freakish side.
This is a great profile, Imp. I’d be interested in the book as well (less worried about sparkling vampires once you bring in full-on cannibalism). And what, no Kevin J. Anderson in your geeky book list? LOL
Jeff, a question: How is it determined who goes up each week? I only ask in that a number of people here are deluded enough to think I deserve to be up here.
Myro, I wasn’t even sure these would really go over, so I didn’t have a very detailed methodology or anything. I knew I wanted to start with Hammerknight, and since people liked that I sent an email out to maybe five people or so, not knowing who if any would reply. So I now have enough for another couple of weeks I think. After that, I honestly have no idea. You and MMI I know have gotten some lovin’ in the comments, and other likely names seem to be Anarchangel, Legatus, XStacy, Atomic Punk, etc.
Mostly I was just thinking of people who’ve been around a while and who are both active commenters and who make really nice looking images. At some point probably a voting type of thing would make sense, I suppose.
For now I’m just winging it, frankly.
Jeff (10): Fair enough. I at least have a rough idea what I could be in for.
Winging it’s the best way to go Jeff. I live my entire life that way 🙂
@Myro 9(): I don’t usually have facial hair. The only time I ever grew any was for a cosplay I was doing at an anime convention. @Imp (profile): Aliens as the movie and immortality as the superpower are probably the choices I’d pick, too. Also, good luck on the novel, a friend of mine wrote one a while back, and he said dealing with publishers was an absolute nightmare…
Myro, you can have some of my facial hair. I have enough that I could share with the entire Hero Machine community and still look like a Hungarian caveman.
CPrime (14): LOL! I’ve seen your picture, so I can see where you’re coming from. But I think I will continue my beardless ways, thank you. I can actually grow it decently enough myself, but I find it uncomfortable, and would rather just shave every day.
Good job Imp and welcome aboard.
WOOO!!!! Imp got one, but who is that in the picture? Or I should say…why does it say “before and after”?
I really like the what “Turns you on, and off” bit for each user. I never really thought about some of the things they point out!
Thanks for the kind words, guys.
As for the book, it’s collected two rejection slips so far, but meh. Took Stephen King many, many, MANY tries before he was published, so I’m not worried.
No sparkly vampires in my book. Nope, it features naked, savage, half-starved and insane vamps feeding on drug smugglers who crash their ship on an island in the middle of the South Pacific and have to resort to… interesting… methods to survive.
I think my votes for the upcoming power user profiles would have to go to Vengeance, Anarchangel, and Legatus.
That sounds like vampire’s would be depussified from that book alone! You’re awesome!
xD
I only have one thing to say about Imp…
He’s awesome.
^_^
Imp, congrats, i have to say that your artwork was one of the first thing that amazed me when i joined the heromechine world.
Since this seems to be a free publicity topic, also check out my DeviantArt page:
http://chanimur.deviantart.com/
😀
Congrats, Imp! Those are some great looking maps you have there 🙂
DiCicatriz needs a power user profile, no question.
I have to agree with John ‘
What’s wrong with the word Apex?
I tried before somewhere else but why can I not save a image from Heromachine Alpha?
Hunter631: You probably have pop-ups blocked in your browser. Make sure you either turn off your pop-up blocking software, or at least disable it for heromachine.com.