This week's "Power User Profile" features frequent contest winner Blue Blazer, whose portrait in the "Head-Winners" set has already adorned a number of fantastic creations from other folks. Herein we learn that his success is actually due to his being the reincarnation of Pablo Picasso. Not the artist, but a bookie from Cleveland by the same name who died in 1934. Good guy.
- A photo (or drawing) of you in "real life":
- Online name used in HeroMachine environs: Blue Blazer
- Real name: Will Gross
- Real city/state/country: High Point, NC, USA
- Real job: Assistant warehouse supervisor
- Real age: 30
- Gender: Male
- Married/single:Single
- Online archive of your creations (if any): http://forums.ugo.com/showthread.php?t=29487
- The best piece of HeroMachine art you've created: in my opinion, this:
But based on feedback from others, probably this:
- Favorite all-time geeky movie if any: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade if that counts as geeky, The Dark Knight if it doesn't
- Favorite all-time geeky book if any: Ender's Game
- Favorite all-time geeky TV show if any: Heroes
- Favorite all-time comic book character: Two-Face
- If you could have one super-heroic power in real life, you'd choose: Self-propelled flight
- In your leisure time you like to: Hang out with my son, play guitar badly, read, and of course Heromachine.
- Character design turn-ons (things you love to see that make for a good design): Subtlety, creative use of items to make new items, inventive poses.
- Character design turn-offs (things you hate to see that make for a bad design): Excessive primary colors, inappropriate shading colors, incorrectly proportioned faces, overload of items for the sake of making the character look cool.
- Best tip for a HeroMachine newbie: The facial features are already set in the correct place. It ain't broke, so don't try to fix it. Also, villains' costumes don't always have to be black and/or red; two of the most recognizable DC Comics villains wear green and purple.
- Any personal message you'd like to share with the HeroMachine community about Geek Life: Don't be ashamed of your geekiness. Embrace your imagination, even if others don't. It's possible to be geeky and cool at the same time. Don't compromise your creativity for popularity, because creative minds are becoming rarer and rarer the more people are spoon-fed entertainment with evolving technology. Read any book you can get your hands on. Think for yourself. Be what you think is cool, and don't worry about what others think. You only get one shot at life, so shape yours the way YOU want it to be.
Thanks to Blue Blazer for being kind enough to complete my intrusive survey. If you’ve enjoyed his creations over the years, please speak up in comments and tip your hat to him.
Also, I’m definitely open to nominations for who should be profiled next, so by all means, let me know that as well.
Congrats on the profile, BB. I always enjoy reading these things, they give a lot of insight into our best and brightest.
@Jeff1: Give me a few minutes to go over the last few contests and I’ll find you some people to ask next. We never seem to be in short supply of ridiculously talented HMers who also enter everything. I don’t think you’ll need to actually hunt around for a profile to do for quite a long while…
Having gone through your entire 200 and some odd page thread in the forums, I can truly say you are a master. I’ve always enjoyed your work and your ability to pop out creations as if they were rabbits. And what high wuality creations they are as well. You are by far one of the best heromachinists around.
Congratulations Blue Blazer,
you are one of the best. Your awesome creations are inspiring. And oh boy, you created masses and masses of characters that I absolutely admire.
Best wishes from Germany!
As Vamp said, one of the best heromachinists around and a constant inspiration for me personally. Blue, your back catalog of characters is simply awesome. I can’t believe you’ve managed to constantly come up up with so many great characters so consistently.
Keep up the good work. 🙂
Great job Blue and welcome aboard.
You are a very prolific image creator indeed. You have a good design sense and have obviously been practicing a LOT. No wonder you’ve won so many contests.
Good stuff, Blue Blazer! Love the Hero Corps serial. Ever look into getting published? The storyline possibilities involving generations of superheroes. Especially how you touched on the differing attitudes of the eras.
My nominees are PapaKrok and Lime.
(P.S. I’m watching UNC versus Virginia Lacrosse on ESPN right now. Go Tarheels!)
awesome, you are like the lakers or yankees in terms of how many times you have won, a crap load, and you deserve it.
BB, I tip my hat to you, sirrah. I think my favorite thing about your creations is how you’re increasingly going away from the black line color for the art, giving everything a more hand-painted feel.
Congrats BB. Always a fan of your creations. Great job
Awesome work, Blazer. Congrats.
Blue Blazer, you son-of-a-b…..! You know how hard it is to compete with all of your awesome characters? You are personally ruining all other contest entries with your inventive, colorful creations! I sit in front of the computer everyday and think to myself and wonder “What in hell’s name crazy cool image or concept is Blue Blazer going to come up with next? Will this force of nature ever get tired?” Well, you take your Power-User status and enjoy it, while the rest of us sit and wait for you to fall off your pedestal and rejoin the rest of us struggling artists in the real world! Congratulations and godspeed!
Thanks for the good tidings, everybody! It’s an honor!
Congrats, Blue Blazer, and may the Force be with you!
Congrats Blazer! You constantly create amazing characters and I always look forward to seeing what you will come up with next. A well deserved honor!
Congratulations, Blue! Looking through your thread, you have an astounding array of superheroes. Keep up the good work 🙂
Congrats Blue Blazer! I’m a fan! 😀
And I’m TOTALLY both geeky and cool! 😀 Damn right it’s possible!
Congratulations on your being named a power user, Blue – you’ve earned it!
congrats me boy