It's time once again for another Open Critique Day!
If you have a HeroMachine illustration or another piece of artwork you've done that you'd like some help with, post a link to it in comments along with your thoughts on it -- what you think is working, what you're struggling with, etc. I will post my critique of the piece, hopefully giving some tips on how to improve it.
Of course everyone is welcome to post their critiques as well, keeping in mind the following rules:
- Make sure your criticism is constructive. Just saying "This sucks" is both rude and unhelpful without giving specific reasons why you think it sucks and, ideally, some advice on how to make it better.
- Each person should only post one illustration for critique to make sure everyone who wants feedback has a chance.
- I will not critique characters entered in any currently running contest, as that doesn't seem fair to the other entrants. You can still post it if you like for the other visitors to critique, but I will not do so.
That's it! Hopefully we can get some good interaction going here and help everyone (me included!) learn a little bit today.
Eighth in my croquet pin-up calendar, Miss August:
http://personbear.com/croquet/calendar/8-Aug.jpg
I feel a little odd that the most skimpily dressed one is also the most upset looking. Also, I may’ve failed in my attempt to make her look East Asian.
I was experimenting with the color scheme on this one. I was hoping people could offer some insight into the colors that would work best.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6781672/MMI-Fantasy%20Warrior%20Dragon%20Knight.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6781672/MMI-Fantasy%20Warrior%20Dragon%20Knight%20w%20Silver.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6781672/MMI-Fantasy%20Warrior%20Dragon%20Knight%20w%20Gold.png
Adorjan:
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8172/hm3adorjan.jpg
Rosco (1): I do get an Asian vibe from the face, but the skin tones are all Caucasian, at least to these old eyes.
I dig the dragon embroidery on the bikini top, that’s a nice touch. It might be a little too subtle, though, I didn’t pick it up on the first look-through.
I have to confess, this is the first one that I don’t “get” in the sense of I don’t understand what this design has to do with the month she’s in. Or is it as simple as “We go swimming in August”?
Also, the ankle bracelet in black with the black croquet ball kind of looks like a prison ball-and-chain without the chain.
It’s a nice image in general, even if it’s not among the strongest in the series thus far.
MMI (2): The yellow/bronze background is the best combination by far. Not even close, at least for me. Because orange and blue are color opposites, the close-to-orangish yellow you’ve got perfectly sets off the blue. The whole image pops a lot more than either of the other two.
I also like how you have certain elements breaking the frame at the bottom and upper right. Very nice.
Arioch (3): Very nice overall! The scene is set well, the accessories are very appropriate, and the composition works. Good job!
Suggestions for improvement would be fairly minor. You might try making the line color on the moon a somewhat lighter gray than is there now. I’d darken the rear of the cape (the part behind the body) to help sell the fact that it’s behind him. And you might try a gradient from a darker blue to the current blue for the sky.
Like I said, minor tweaks to what is already a very well done image.
For the critique day i have take the Scream from Edvard Munch as an example. Often i do not know what kind of item i took or what kind of colour is better. And this is a way for the wrong result.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2213/kritik.png
I think more ugliness is impossible. But you can try it.
*smile
Kytana (7): LOL! I can see why he’s screaming!
Nice job!
Good afternoon all machinists!
This is a soldier, any feedback is welcome.
http://i.imgur.com/AsHc8.png
I’m pretty happy with the character, but I wish the background shield could be bigger. Unfortunately having the top edge of the shield intersect the face or the upper part of the shoulders robs a lot of focus from the character.
http://i52.tinypic.com/f54ww2.png
Most of the people that I submit are directly related to the story I’m making, but Leah is actually dead as of most of the events. Even so, I do want her to look good.
Last time I could join Open Critique I received much appreciated advise for improving 2 characters. I just hope for the same now. I think these are already good, but you guys see with a different set of eyes and can help me improve them.
Kaptain Kid
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=76989&d=1303848457
Tyra
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77064&d=1303999778
I’ve been meaning to post this one for weeks, but I kept missing the open critique days.
Named “Forgotten Prisoner”, the setting is a secret high-security prison where the worlds top criminals are held. In this case, the prison has been long abandoned due to an undisclosed event and is in its first stage of decay, with the prisoners still in stasis.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y114/NemoSilentheart/ForgottenPrisoner.png
Rosco (1): I would try a more yellow skin color. It will most likely require a custom color to get it perfect, sometimes there’s no way around that. For an asian character I made, I used
Color1: C7976A (custom)
Color2: Pallor Asian Dark
but that’s quite a bit darker than what you may want.
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MMI (2): Right off the bat, I’d say the yellow one. However, I’m not sure about the bright blue dragons in that picture, I think that color clashes a bit with the rest of the character.
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Arioch (3): I really like that picture, but a few things stood out for me. First off, his beard really blends into his clothing since they are pretty much the same color. You could try giving him a grey beard, but to be honest I’m not sure how it would work with the rest of the face.
Second, the handle of the knife is sort of hidden behind the spell effect, and that caused some confusion about what the knife blade was. This was a first impression-thing only, so no big deal.
Oh, and you might want to fill out the back of his hood.
Here’s a guy a made. I originally wanted him to have a tailcoat, but it was pretty difficult to pull off. Now, it’s more of a suit/ trench coat hybrid that I kind of like.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f349/singalongsong/DukeDountry.png
Jeff: I figured I need one bikini picture in a pin-up calendar, and August being the hottest month of the year made sense. Miss June ( http://www.personbear.com/croquet/calendar/6-Jun.jpg ) is wearing a swimsuit for the same reason, tho with a little more coverage, I guess because it’s colder in June. You’re totally right about the ball-and-chain, and I’ll see what I can do about the skin tone, starting with Panner’s colors and mebbe lightening a bit. I thought I used the colors labeled as “Asian” on the palette, but mebbe I’m mistaken.
Kytana (7): Haha, wow, that’s insane on so many levels. Anyway, I think you have the colors on one hand reversed. Although that may very well be intentional.
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Captain Kicktar (10): And good she looks. Pretty much everything here is spot on, but I have one suggestion. There is a lot of yellow in her clothing, which makes the yellow in her eyes not stand out as much as you might like. If you change it to red they’ll likely draw more attention. Oh, also, the bow sort of gets lost in her hair, especially just to the right of her chin.
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Vaadren (12): The tone of this picture is pretty much perfect, I understood exactly what was going on just from the scene and the name. I only have one small suggestion. On his shirt you have used the double gradient, which unfortunately leaves an ugly band in the middle. I like taking a round gradient and stretching it out REALLY FAR vertically before masking it on. Remember, the scale goes to 999 nowadays!
Panner (9): She looks really good. I like the colors, the pose, the items, and the general design. Nice job!
For me, the shield’s a little too dominant. It doesn’t read as a design element but rather as an actual, gigantic shield. And with the reds and grays so close, it all sort of melds together. I’d either double-down and put a drop shadow behind her, on top of the shield to increase the separation of the planes, or maybe make the shield a lot lighter overall, as if it were one object at say 50% transparency. Something to separate out the planes, anyway.
The only other thing I could think of was to maybe lower the belt some so it’s lower-slung on the hips. I say that because with the way its outer edges are so close to the hip lines, and because there’s deep red above but none below, it ends up looking like she’s got a weirdly wide lower body and this much smaller torso jammed into it.
Finally, it too me a bit to realize that’s a nose ring. Maybe a lighter gold or something?
That’s a lot more negative than I mean it to be, it’s a really nice illustration!
Pesky (11): Well, they are both solid pictures With good detail and colorwork. I especially like the boots on Tyra, that’s really subtle but makes it much more natural. I’d suggest a more aggressive line color on Kid’s braid and beard, right now the lines are very hard to make out.
I’m a bit uneasy about both their hats. The hats are kind of dark, and they are located right in the dark parts of the backgrounds, which counters what would otherwise be a very nice ‘roof’ for the character. You could try moving the backgrounds around a bit. Don’t make the background brighter, they look really good the way they are.
And lastly, please save them as Png, hehe. Look at Kid’s belts, there’s some bad artifacting going on there. And that makes me go :sadface:
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Jake (14): I like his clothes too, they’re discrete and have good colors. The color contrast with his undershirt works well, but I’d try making the laces darker and more subtle. Right now I get the impression he’s wearing a very colorful and eye-catching suit underneath, but covering it with the dark one.
There’s great opportunity here for telling a little more about the character by giving him a necklace. Maybe a religious symbol, a lucky charm, a national piece or something.
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Jeff (17): Ahh, you have a great point about the belt, I see exactly what you mean. Thanks a bunch, I would’ve never caught that.
Rosco (1) I like how simple it is. The dragon embroidery is a neet touch, I would try brightening it up a bit. Changing the skin tone would help sell the East Asian look. Also I’m not sure if the anklet adds anything as it is, not sure how to change it though.
Kytana (7) that is messed right up! It is so wrong that I kind of like it. I actually no people with little enough shame that they would wear this outfit. That makes me both scared and proud at the same time.
Panner (9) I really like this one. The shield is a fantastic background! I’m not sold on the cavalry sabre though. I would expect this character to sport something like a broad sword as the armor seems more like a footman would wear. I really like the colors as well.
Captain Kicktar (10): She looks good over all. I like the item choices and costume design.
The main thing that jumps out at me is the quiver. It seems really large compared to the bow and the figure. I’m also not sure her hair would go behind it like that, though I understand that if you don’t do it that way you won’t be able to see the quiver at all. So there’s that.
The wrist dagger also looks a little awkward, like the pommel would be banging into her hand all the time.
My only other suggestion would be to play with the line color of the rings in the skirt chainmail. Maybe a dark bronze would help it blend in with the skirt a little better, as right now it all feels a little too choppy.
But, nice job!
Pesky (11): I only do one image per person, so while the other folks here are more than welcome to offer insights as to both, I’ll just be taking the first.
My first general impression is, neat! Lots of action and dynamism through the subtle pose changes and surrounding elements, colors, etc. Definitely lots of personality. Love the beard beads, the pants, the accoutrements in the belt, and the background element — very cool stuff.
I’ll agree with Panner that PNG would be a much better choice — anything red and the Flash exporter for JPG artifacts it badly. Not sure why, but that’s the way it is. I have trouble distinguishing some of the elements in this format.
The tones in the upper legs are very close to the tones in the background element, and as a result I tend to lose them. At first glance I took the dragon embroidery as the legs and was like “Why is he a Stick Leg”? That powerful blue scarf also draws all the attention to it, further attenuating the pants.
I definitely think you need to do some other color with the pant legs to help them stand out from the background, in other words.
Other than that, great job, I love it!
@ Panner: I’ll try your suggestions. However, I am mystified about the jpeg/png situation. I looked on my computer and they are definitively png-files. But as you mention, when uploaded to the forums they are jpeg-files. And onther files that are saved in the same way are still png-files. I’ll try to find out what happened.
Vaadren (12): It seems like a nice composition, but I honestly can barely see it. Way, way too dark without contrast to differentiate the various elements. It might just be my monitor, but I frankly can’t see enough to give you more feedback …
Jake (14): Very nice! A basic, but sound, character design. The coat is nifty.
I’m not super sold on that lip color … it looks like lipstick, which is fine if that’s what you were going for, but … yeah.
Also, I think the image as a whole would be better without the background and floor. They don’t add much to the overall composition and when you’ve got very few elements on the character, they need to be able to stand out. The surrounding elements kind of detract from them. Much easier to remove them and I think you’ll have a better image because of it.
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/117/f/d/white_mentalist_by_malfar-d3f0jhl.jpg
Once again Seventh Sanctum’s name generator helps me. Now it’s time for White Mentalist!
Ok I was going to try and decide on one of my favorites to put on here to see what you guys or gals thought and if there would be any good info to maybe make them better, but then I decided to put most likely my worst. I was trying to make a hulk character but it just doesn’t feel right, it seemed a hard character to make. Any suggestions on how to fix it to make it cooler?
[Jeff: link removed due to TOS violation.]
Malfar (25): Immediately upon seeing the random name “White Mentalist” I thought “His amazing power — to read anyone’s mind who’s thinking of Starbucks or The Gap!” Ahem.
The character image is good! You’ve got some nice effects going on with glows and such. I like the helmet and logo designs.
I don’t really get much of a “White” or “Mentalist” (much less “White Mentalist”) vibe here, though. It comes across as much more of a Magento type of character, particularly since the energy effects are coming from his hands, not his head.
I do like the costume design, I just don’t think it quite fits the concept.
Tool, I’m afraid that the image you’ve posted would be considered a violation of the End User License Agreement you agree to when using the software. That’s clearly Marvel’s Hulk and as such is a violation of their copyright. I’m afraid I can’t allow it to be linked to from here, I’m sorry. If you’d like to post some other original character concept illustration, I’d be happy to comment on it, but this is exactly the kind of thing that almost got me sued a few years back and so I can’t officially allow it.
Oh my bad, I wasnt trying to say I came up with him or anything I was just trying to draw him, I’ll post an original then. Very sorry, but I can understand. I have used this site since HM1 or 2 but never really got into all the posing untill recently. Ill try and post things more accordingly. How’s this?
http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee363/cameron_stanley_84/DarkElf.png
ugh, I meant posting not posing. LOL Back to typing class I guess.
I found out that the original files exceeded 500kb, and the forums thus convert them to lower sized jpegs. Mystery solved 🙂
Kid Pirate modified
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77100&d=1304094781
Tyra modified
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77101&d=1304094798
Tool (29): Much better! Nice use of colors and items. I like the way you have her reaching back for the other sword, that’s a neat effect. The cape looks great, too, nice job coloring that so it looks like part of the outfit but still is clearly on a different level.
I’m not sure what’s going on with the leg wings … are those tattoos? At first I took them as extensions of the belt, but then they don’t attach so I thought that must be wrong. Regardless, that whole area needs to be adjusted so it’s clear what you intend with it.
Speaking of the belt, I think a dark bronze line color instead of black would help a lot. Right now it’s hard to make out.
Good job overall though!
Pesky (32): I think that’s a lot clearer, thanks! Definitely easier to make out the pants now.
Although now I think the same could be done for the boots-panther area. I’d either use a really dark gray instead of the black on the boots, or keep them black and make the panther super-dark indigo blue. They kind of jam together as-is.
Looking great in general, though! It’s amazing how much clearer the PNG is, I can catch a lot of details I just couldn’t see earlier. Very nice work.
The wings were suppose to be tattoos but I believe your right, now that I have taken some time and looking back on it I dont like the wings there, Im not sure what I was thinking. Ill try making the belt a lighter color. Thanks
http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae99/dhabirunner/Batman%20Beyond%20Family/Azrael.png
Azrael
Raised by a secret faction of the Catholic Church, James Westley was trained and brainwashed to kill those who threatened the church and who were deamed to sinful to live.
MMI (19): About the sabre, well… you know how it has a very convenient scabbard just next to it in the item boxes? Yeah, that’s why. You’re totally right though.
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Malfar (25): Very neat looking character, I like your heavy use of black. The circle pattern has me a bit confused though. He’s clearly casting some sort of spell, but since the white gradients are in front of him it suggests that the circles are actually just background. However, they match too well in color and position to only be background. I hope that makes some kind of sense, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
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Tool (29): Looks great, but a couple of things bug me a little. First off, the staff isn’t masked to the hand, it looks fairly unnatural but is very easily fixed.
Second, that… uhh, bandolier I guess it’s called, looks very awkward with the sword on the back. I suggest removing the bandolier entirely.
Third, and this is mostly personal preference, I think it clashes when the cloak is a different shade than the rest of her clothes. If it were up to me, I’d make the cloak use the same colors, then mask something black over it, with transparency to taste (around 30-40%, perhaps?)
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Pesky (31-32): Hehe, that explains a lot. You can google ‘pngcrush’ if you want, that’s a program for reducing the file size of pngs. It works… sometimes.
And wow, that’s like night and day. One little thing about Kid though. Could you move the cat just a notch to the right? Right now the cat’s tail meets the dragon’s tail (on the pants) in a pretty awkward way. It looks like the dragon is pouring off of the cloth and turning into a cat. Which is admittedly kind of cool, and I’ll start working on such a character right now.
Jeff (27), The thing is…when I first saw this name I really wanted to create somebody like “Super-Charles-Xavier”, but then I thought about adding nice-looking helmet, and glowing things and mystic background, and so on that I completely forgot about “mentalist” part. But he is white. Well, his powers certainly are.
I could try and change the hand to a more open position where it looks better, and I put the strap so it looks as if there is a place for the sword on her back. I figured it would look strange with sword just on her back but I’ll try and redo that too. I had tried to make the cloak a little darker to add depth but I can change that easily too. All quick fixes and good suggestions. So are we limited to one art per critique? I’ll get started on this one for now.
A relatively random piece of art done with HM3.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=224743817543055&set=a.201686679848769.61050.100000223159388&type=1&theater
@Pesky(32): Tyra’s hat needs to be widened, or her hair needs to be narrower so that it fits inside the hat. I like the pose and the face and the tattoos. I like that you add a shadow for the hat brim, under the chin, and it appears, under the breasts. I’m not a huge fan of the colour choices, I find them clashing and garish, but that goes to personal taste and may suit the personality of the character you’re creating – so I won’t make recommendations with those. I do think you could add shadow patterns to all of the elements, to help give them a more full-bodied appearance. Other than that, great work as always.
@Panner (16), The eyes are kinda’ a sort of genetic thing that all of her lineage have, so not inclined to change that, and the bow I rotated a bit, so it’s not quite as hidden.
@Jeff (20), I made the quiver smaller, and that aided the hair problem, since now the hair can be over it without hiding it. Moved the wrist dagger further up the arm and around, so it looks a bit better. I took the line color and set it’s opacity to about half, makes it blend in a lot better.
Thanks to both of you.
Pesky (11) I like them both, well done. The captains boots and hat do blend into the background (and the cat). You might want to increase the contrast. Same goes for the ladies hat. Also, his bracelet seems a little to bright and draws a lot of attention away from the rest of the picture.
I recolored the panther – which has changed into a jaguar – and moved is slightly to the right as indeed his tail interfered with the dragon design on kid’s pants. I wonder if the jaguar is not too much a diversion of the rest of the picture, as it is more brightly colored?
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77102&d=1304098436
alphaalpharomeo (36): Azreal has a great look going on, the helmet and all black clothing make him seem very alien, almost non human. I think you need to change the weapons though. They make perfect sense to you and me, but a person that has never seen Heromachine will have a very hard time making them out.
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DJ (40): It looks good, but I’m thinking it might be more powerful without the stars. You know, loneliness of space and all. your Earth is really well done, and the stars are just there to steal attention.
And you know what would really kick ass? If you added tiny specs of light (likely round gradients) at the locations of all major cities! That’s not exactly a small undertaking though, I’m just saying.
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Captain Kicktar (42): Ahh, gotcha. I was just thinking, it’s such an unnatural color, maybe your intention was to make the eyes stand out.
Here’s mine- Universal.
It can create and destroy universes on a whim. Since living in a Void with no time can make you really bored, why not get a hobby? So, it mastered the skill of creation. And why not? It’s fun.
Main picture:
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=76680&d=1302780699
Headshot:
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=76681&d=1302780720
I think there is a bit of a problem regarding the head, since I was attempting to use various shades of dark grey to show all the layers of the hood, but it doesn’t show up well on the computer I’m using at the moment (so probably might not show on others, either). I have to look at the screen from a certain angle to see it properly. But, I don’t want to make the hood too light. Any suggestions?
(I’ll try and get the txt. file from the laptop with the knackered mouse over to this one to make modifications this time.)
Tool (39): About the strap, well, it’s aligned exactly the same way as the sword, it looks like the strap actually is the blade. Anyway, just wanted to clarify that. And one piece per friday is just Jeff’s limit. If you post more and want to make it a bit easier on the guy you can write ‘(NOT THIS ONE JEFF)’ or something similar next to the picture link.
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Pesky (44): Distracting, hmm, a little bit to be honest. It might help to make the jaguar darker, or to give it non-black line color. I’m also a bit conflicted about having the same pattern on the cat as on the belt.
This guy is intended to be my homebrew superhero setting’s version of Superman (i.e. “Strange visitor from another planet who uses his vast powers for truth, justice, and stuff like that.”). He comes from a warrior culture so I wanted to make his costume a sort of sci-fi/fantasy/superhero mish-mash but just couldn’t make it work so I ended up giving him a much more traditional superhero look. Since he’s one of this world’s top heroes, he should be visually striking, but I’m afraid he’s a bit generic. Any recommendations, on how to give him more of a warrior look or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated.
http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx260/hastur1/starKnight2.jpg
Crimson Knight
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/9205/crimsonknight.jpg
A modern day knight from a new generation.
Pesky: Here’s a version of Tyra based off the text save file you made available in the HM3 forums – it has the shadows added and the hat fitted as best I was able to manage. One thing that remains to be fixed is the gap between her right bicep and her armpit, that needs to be filled in with some flesh. Just wanted to note, while adding the shadows I noticed you’d added drop shadows from the the pants onto the cowboy boots – nice attention to detail.
Oops. Forgot to include the link. Here is the file for Pesky:
https://sites.google.com/site/seandavidross/gac/tyra.txt
alphaalpharomeo (36): Neat! The “Batman Beyond” color scheme works well here, and the character itself is nifty. The new cape dblade added looks fantastic on him.
The only bit I’m not so sanguine about is where the blades merge into the thighs. I lose sight of them both at that point because the gray of the blade merges right into the gray of the leg highlights. A different gray for the blades would probably fix it — something more metallic maybe, with a hint of steel blue in it?
Dionne Jinn (40):” Relatively random”, that sounds like family Christmas-time get-togethers back home 🙂
I like the way the Earth and the Moon turned out. It all has a sort of picture-book vibe to it, like an illustration from a children’s book (in a good way — I love picture books).
The space area doesn’t quite work for me, though. The stars are so uniformly white and the space between so uniformly black … I mean, it’s space, I get that, but it’s so stark. I’d like to see something to break that up, either a color gradient over the stars from like a white to a light yellow or maybe a somewhat lighter black to solid black for the space portion … something to give that big stretch some texture or something. As it is, it ends up looking like a flat plane rather than a 3-D space environment, where stars are different colors and there’s a real feeling of depth.
On the other hand, maybe a more cut-out look is what you were going for. But even then, I’d do something besides white for the stars … just a hint of color would help, I think.
Still, nice job!
Pesky (44): Hmmm … I like the jaguar all right, but now it’s REALLY noticeable. I think I might like the black panther better, but I’d like to see it done with the midnight blue I mentioned earlier. I think it being dark helps keep the focus on the character where it should be, it just can’t be exactly the same two tones as the boots or you lose it.
Trekkie (46): Wow, yeah, I can’t see anything inside the outline of the cape at all except obviously the hands. On my screen it comes across as totally black. I do totally dig the effect with the hands against that dark background, though.
One suggestion would be to use the cloud items (from “Background-Sky” I think?) in front of the feet just to add some dimension. The consistent pattern from top to bottom of the smoke ends up coming across as awfully flat, I think some smoke in front or around would help.
Sutter_Kaine (48): I actually like it! I think incorporating the triangle logo into the shoulder pads works great. The blue skin is also cool. I dig those gloves, too.
I definitely get more of a “super hero” vibe than “warrior”. You could try adding a weapon of some sort instead of the held helmet. Or you could do traditional things like adding a few spikes to the gloves, removing the sleeves so you see his arms with maybe some tatts there, that kind of thing.
Personally I’m fine with keeping it super-heroish as-is, I think he looks pretty neat.
Back with Adorjan.
Original:
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8172/hm3adorjan.jpg
Revised:
http://img861.imageshack.us/f/hm3beta.png/
Thanks for the imput! 🙂
(I meant, past input, but, well, it goes for any future input too :-D)
Arioch (57): I think that looks much better! I hope you’re happy with it as well.
I may have bitten off more than I can chew when I came up with this one. From Character Contest 51: Alien Nation
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv217/Myrowire/Hero%20Machine%20Contest%20Entries/myro-oglathyn.png
Had a difficult time trying to get the reflections to mask the way I wanted them to, which might have costed me. Ideas?
Trekkie (46): Uh, let’s just say you don’t need to worry about that hood.
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Sutter_Kaine (48): Warrior-ish things, you say? My go-to items for warriors are war paint and scars. Since he has pretty big ears, how about a couple of cuts in them? A memento of his first kill, perhaps. Anyway, I came up with this:
http://i.imgur.com/syVX1.png (NOT FOR JEFF)
For the body, well, I guess adding chains and other things that are metal.
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Alex (49): I like it a lot, but the insignia on his vest looks really washed out, though probably only because of jpg compression. His footwear is pretty casual compared to the rest of his clothes, but hey, practical and comfortable shoes are essential when going to battle.
Myro (60): I don’t have any good suggestions for better masking since this is a lot more advanced than what I usually do. I’ll have to ask the other power users what they would recommend, sorry 🙁
Alex (49): Oops, sorry bud, I missed this one the first time through!
I like it! Very distinctive “Clockwork Orange” kind of a feel to it. I dig the big metal arm with the Union Jack on it, that’s awesome. The combination of hat, vest, and sneakers sets up an interesting dynamic too, makes me want to learn more about him.
I can’t think of anything to suggest to improve it, I think you did a great job.
Jeff (62): I’d ask if I could submit something else, but to tell the truth, I had to go digging for this one, so I’m not sure I have something else this week.
Do you have any other suggestions or critiques of it? Or can we just chalk this up to an overly ambitious idea that had interesting visual appeal, but didn’t completely translate in execution.
Myro (60): In terms of just as an illustration, for me there needs to be more emphasis on what’s going on with the robot & reflections and less on the background. So I’d probably try making all the background elements shades of gray, like it was a chrome lab or something. And the robot I’d probably try to do a bluish-gray chrome/steel kind of look for the colors. I dig the whole robot design and the reflections, I think it’s really neat. It’s just a bit hard to make out at a glance what’s going on; since the only real color is in the background, that’s where my eye goes first.
But I like it, it’s cool! I definitely “got” that it was a reflection of a horrified and soon-to-be-julienned alien immediately, so you nailed the most important stuff. I don’t know what you’d do to make it look more like a reflection, though for me it doesn’t really need it — that part works already, pretty much.
Myro(64): Perhaps you could try adjusting the lighting of the environment? Cast the furthest edges of the background (particularly the upper right section) into shadows and draw the viewers’ attention towards the lighter foreground and the reflective surface. Also, add some blinking lights and a machine that goes ‘Ping’ 😉
Thanks Jeff (65). I see what you mean.
And actually, it wasn’t so much robot as weird-ass crystal alien creature, but that’s no reason I couldn’t have played with the colors a bit.
Putting all advise together. Here are
Kit Pirate
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77106&d=1304104031
and Tyra
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77108&d=1304104286
Already many thanks to all for the advise given. One learns a lot from it.
SDR (66): Well, the blinking lights and machine that goes “Ping” is hard to realize in HeroMachine. 😛 But the shading advice is a really good idea. Plus, it would probably up the creepy factor I was trying to create with the picture. Thanks.
Pesky (68): I posted this on the UGO forum, but for consistency’s sake:
I like the panther changes, Pesky, though I’d swap the colors on him — lighter blue outside, darker blue inside. And I’d probably leave off the fur pattern.
Looking good though!
Ok, let’s try this again – apparently I missed the last Open Critique Day…
Here’s Kadabra; a character I’ve been working on for a while and have remade a few times in the HMs. This is her most recent version. She’s a teenage sorceress and reality-bender. Also featured are two of her familiars: Karma – the white wolf, and Winston – the blue beetle.
http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo88/Jesterthegreat92/Kadabra.png
http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo88/Jesterthegreat92/KadabraFace.png
Also… Here’s Punk Rocko, a audiokinetic anarchist. Yes, he’s supposed to be surfing on that guitar. This is an old creation, and I might be remaking him soon, so critque is profusely welcomed.
http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo88/Jesterthegreat92/293PunkRocko3.png
http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo88/Jesterthegreat92/293PunkRocko3face.png
Neither are fantastic by any stretch of the imagination – at least not judging from some of the other works I’ve seen featured here. You people do some MINDBLOWING stuff with this program. I use HM3 as more of a character showcasing utensil as opposed to a truly artistic medium. My own art skills are less than optimal, and I haven’t the patience to improve them.
Kid Pirate and the color swapped panther (no, this isn’t the title of an upcoming movie 🙂
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77109&d=1304105230
Arioch (57): The new sky looks a lot creepier. Which, of course, matches the character very well.
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Myro (60): Uhm… “When in doubt, add more insignias”, I guess. Seriously though, I don’t know. That picture is a monster.
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Pesky (68): The shading on Tyra’s right upper arm is excellent, I might have to steal that technique.
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Jester (71): The first thing that jumps out at me from Kadabra is the runes on the wolf’s back. Is there anything else you can use instead? They make the wolf look really, really flat. The markings on its paws and tail do the exact opposite, they look great.
Also, could you double check the layers here? Because it sort of looks like she’s setting her hair on fire.
Other than that, I like Kadabra a lot. The colors blend well, the pose is natural and the background is very subtle and pleasant.
About Punk Rocko, it’s hard to make improvements here. Well, the background is a bit hard to make out, I guess you could try moving it down-right until the street is showing. Oh, and it might be worth it to go for a tear in his pants, preferably on his right leg. That would put that big blue area to use.
And it really is too bad that all the awesome details in Punk Rocko’s face don’t show when looking at the full character picture.
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Pesky (72): …or is it?
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/onmission4christ/Sketches/Picture057.jpg
oops this one i mean: http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/onmission4christ/Sketches/inrii.jpg
Jeff (56) – Thanks, Jeff. Even though it isn’t what I originally envisioned, the suit is growing on me. And I am proud of how the gloves turned out. Getting them just right was probably the hardest part.
Panner (61) – Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll give them a try.
Rosco (1, 15): I used FFEEA7 and FFF4C4 last time I made an Asian-ish character.
Here is one of my RP characters, a half fox dark mage by the name of Karix Fontaine. I personally like the way he turned out, but I would love to hear suggestions on how to do a better job on him.
http://forums.ugo.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=76992&d=1303859026
Here is a redoing of the space picture:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=224787494205354&set=a.201686679848769.61050.100000223159388&type=1&theater
Panner #45: I didn’t want to get rid of the stars completely, as we are not really that alone in space. But I did try to make it look a more realistic. Better now? I’m also planning to give some thought about adding those lights you mentioned. Need to find my National Geographic lights poster for that 😉
Oh, and please, don’t call me DJ, it makes me sound like a discjockey. It is even worse than Jeff calling me “Jim”. But Dionne will do fine.
And Jeff #53: I said the picture is “relatively random” because I drew it “with the left hand” as I was watching the last Discovery mission in February-March on NASA TV. I would have propably forgotten the whole picture without the botched launch of Endeavour today…
Tool (39): I think having the cape be a little darker is a good idea for depth, it’s just that in this picture it’s also a different hue—i.e. it looks like you used colors in the “Violet” column for the clothes and colors in the “Blue Violet” column for the cape—and that does look weird.
One thing you could try is using the lighter Violets for the clothes and the darker Violets for the cape. Or you could make the cape the same color as the clothes and then mask something darker onto it with the alpha adjusted.
Dionne Jinn (79): Beautiful!
Alex (49): I like it, but the gray face gives me a sort of “creepy clown” vibe rather than a “modern knight” vibe…
logosgal #81: Thanks.
Myro (60): What were you trying to do, specifically? I like it fine the way it is, though. I was getting more of a crystal thing than a robot when I first saw it, I think.
I kind of got the crystaline creature at first as well. One thing I thought of is having the alien being reflected have a little pastel colors in its clothes so they don’t blend in as well.
Master Jeff, I wanted to ask a question before Submitting my Images for Critique.
Two Images I most need advice on, contain elements that might be construed as distasteful. As I am new to actually participating in the HM Community, I wanted to get a bearing from you as to whether it would be acceptable to post them Here.
The 1st and more important piece depicts an especially-scantily-sheerly-clad Dark Elf Priestess Sacrificing an Elf. The Elf is all bloody and beat up. And She is holding his Heart.
It may not be as straight up gory as some of (If I may say; absolutely FANTASTIC) work from the illustrious PapaKrok, but due to the context and what-not, someone might find it Disturbing.
The 2nd Image is Considerably simpler. I Attempted to recreate a Historical Nazi SS Uniform, but on a Female Character of mine. Obviously, I don’t want to seem to support the Nazi Agenda, and some people might take offence to seeing such an Image, but I really want to nail this Pose Down and I Can’t seem to get the Arm to look as desired, hence the desire for assistance.
Anyway, if it won’t be a problem, I could use some help with these, but if they would be, I suppose I can post something else i have on the Back-burner, like my Meditating Monk I posted in the Poses thread of Custom Items.
One Thousand Thank-yous For the Consideration.
Jester (71): I agree with Panner about the runes on Kadabra’s wolf. You might try picking something from the Fonts-Runic category, and go with two or more multiples so that you can change the angle to fit the wolf’s back better.
You might also want to work on the blue beetle in that picture. When I first saw it not knowing what it was, I thought it was some sort of weird decoration on the wolf’s tail or something. Maybe it would help to move it up so that it’s on or near her shoulder?
I do like the picture overall, though. That’s some nice detailing on her shirt!
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m600/logosgal/logosgal-TheWarriorOfTheHellScreenshot.png
I made this for the HM2 Revamp contest (original from the HM Facebook page). One of my biggest goals was to make this scary, and I think I at least succeeded in doing that, because it startles me every time I see it without expecting to! 🙂 I don’t like the way the goat foot came out, though, and I’m still not sure about the colors for the tail and wings.
And of course I’d love any other feedback!
Yes… this one again.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n629/Mashlagoo/Suk_and_Portal_Final_01.jpg
I just noticed that some of the background “patchwork” doesn’t match and the sandal on the right foot (our left) is not correct. I will need to fix that.
I am again curious how the pose works (perhaps I am a little too obsessed). I keep looking at this image and I can’t tell anymore if the pose is correct. Hopefully some fresh eyes can let me know.
As an aside to the above comment, maybe it would be possible to implement a method for us to zoom into a specific area. When I was working on this image using typical viewing, nothing seemed off. But when I exported it, the errors were obvious. Instead of having a zoom specific to the head, maybe if the zoom defaulted to the head and we could move it around? Don’t know if it is possible.
Jester #71: Does the bag on her belt look like it has a face on purpose or is it just a coincidence? For me it looks like it has two eyes, a nose and a mouth. I also think that the hair curling around it make the effect even stronger.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1689276&l=931e038336&id=1589732210
a preliminary cover design for a comic featuring my one cop hero, it features Smith an man bent on vengeance, mccallister the wild haired guy who killed smith’s wife, and muet( spelled the french way, means wordless)a french assassin. here’s blue if you forgot
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1402262&l=22d27ebc06&id=1589732210
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1689276&l=931e038336&id=1589732210
a preliminary cover design for a comic featuring my one cop hero, it features Smith an man bent on vengeance, mccallister the wild haired guy who killed smith’s wife, and muet( spelled the french way, means wordless)a french assassin. here’s blue if you forgot
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1402262&l=22d27ebc06&id=1589732210
sorry if this shows twice awaiting moderation
D,Panner (73): Yes, insignias are a HeroMachinist’s best friend when it comes to masking. I think the problem was that I made this pre-HeroMachine3 recode, so I was afraid of crashing it if I overloaded my image. Given the far more stable program (and that MMI for example, has proven that it can handle 200+ layers), I’d be far more confident trying to mask that reflection on almost every facet.
logosgal (84): It actually is a crystal alien in the picture, with the horrified (and soon-to-be eviscerated) alien scientist that was studying it casting a reflection on its body and blade-like appendages. The original entry I wrote for this is entirely too long to be repeated. But if you wanted to read it, I think this is it. http://www.heromachine.com/2010/11/29/character-contest-51-alien-nation/#comment-42526
MMI (85): Well, he is supposed to be wearing robes similar to a labcoat, but he is alien. There is no reason his species needs their labwear to be white. I think I did it that way because I was trying to cover up for the fact that my masking was not as good as I would have liked, and if it blended in, you wouldn’t see how crummy a job it was.
my comments are still awaiting moderation! dang
Jester (71): I think you sell yourself short! Kadabra’s a great image, I love the setting and the colors. The hair and the swirly business in the sky are particular high points.
The runes on the wolf don’t quite work as well as they could, they definitely don’t look like they’re part of him. It’s most noticeable in the stretch along his back, as they’re supposed to run over his haunches at one point but they just go straight across. I don’t know that it’s resolvable without individually placing the letters using one of the runic Fonts. I’d also play around with the transparency on at least the line color of the runes to let them look a little more “Burned in” to his fur.
I’d also play with the transparency of the fire in her right hand. Right now it looks like a solid mass, but being able to partially see through it would help sell the illusion that it’s flame.
Otherwise, really nice job!
Pesky (72): That’s a wrap! Really nice job, I think this looks awesome.
Zarae (75): Nice! I like the movement of the figure in the arched back, cocked knee, backward-flung head, and outstretched arm. The leg wraps look great too, very natural and convincing. The face is also great, a really nice look on it and a strong, effective jaw line.
I think the hair still needs work, although I like the strand that’s tucked around her ear, that’s a great touch. It’s hard to walk the line between too many detail strands while still keeping enough to look believable, but right now I definitely think it’s too far on the “not enough detail” side. You’ve got a nice outline shape, but nothing going on at all on the interior, so that whole section ends up looking like a solid block instead of a mass of fibers. You don’t want to draw every strand, but you do need enough to hint to the eye “Fill in the rest of this with fibers that are washed out in the light”.
But, hair is one of the hardest things to draw well in my opinion.
The other area I’d look at would be her outflung arm. I think the cape intrudes on the bottom line too much, making the arm look awfully thin, particularly the stretch right before it hits the torso.
In terms of color, I’d just suggest darkening the tone of the cape as a drop shadow behind her body.
Nice job though, thanks so much for sharing a fun piece of hand-drawn art!
Vampyrist (78): Neat! I’m not usually much of one for animorph style character but this one is cool. I really dig the colors and the costuming choices. The spell effect on the hand is great too. And once again, dblade’s awesome cloak top fits the bill perfectly.
The only bit I’m bothered with, really, is the staff. It seems like it should be behind the legs and in front of the cape, no? I just don’t know how you’d hold a staff like that out in front of you, it doesn’t seem natural or comfortable.
Anyway, that aside, really nice job!
Dionne Jinn (79): Nice! I think the space part looks a lot better. I’d probably still like to see some kind of gradient applied to the black space, but it’s a lot more solid this way already.
Yurasagi (86): As long as there’s no outright nudity, I’m fine with scantily clad.
In general, while this isn’t a “kid safe” site, I very much would prefer to keep it “kid friendly”. That’s a little tricky when it comes to blood and guts stuff … Something like holding a heart is probably right on the edge of what I’m comfortable with, but if it’s not being actively ripped out of someone’s chest that’s probably fine.
Nazis are not a problem. An alternate-universe Nazi villain won a contest a while back, and while UGO made me take it down from their front page I think it’s fine. It’s not like anyone is advocating Nazi programs; Captain America made a living beating the snot out of Nazis, I don’t see why we can’t do the same here 🙂
logosgal (86): Yep, definitely scary! I love the environment, I get a very Hades-istic vibe from it. The orange glow right at the horizon is particularly inspired, it’s a small touch that makes the whole effect work.
The hand reaching out and being huge like that is great, it definitely sells the “in your face” angle.
I think the figure’s left leg is fine, but I get thrown a bit by having the two feet not match. I mean, he’s a demon, anything goes, it’s just a little offputting. You have to think for a minute about what the heck a hoof is doing there, before it clicks into place that it’s his other foot.
If you’re bothered by the pose in general, check out SeanDavidRoss’ template, it’s in the same general orientation and looks great.
The only part I really don’t like on this was his hair, strangely enough. Something about that “only on one side” thing freaks me out. Maybe that’s good though — it’s definitely something that makes the image very affecting.
The other bit I’d probably tweak if it were me is the wings. It seems like if the figure’s leaping right at us, the wings would be in a more billowed, active position.
But those minor things aside I think it’s a really good job.
Mashlagoo (89): In the meantime until a dedicated Zoom is coded, you can right-click on any part of the screen and choose the “Zoom in” built-in Flash function. You won’t be able to use the controls till you zoom back out but at least you can see it close up.
I think the pose has shaped up nicely. The only part that I’m not sure on is her right leg, where it looks like the upper thigh is outside the portal and then ducks back in mid-shin. But there’s no front-facing knee for that to be true, so then I think it’s parallel to her torso up-and-down, and still on the back side of the portal. But then the color changes there … So yeah, not sure what it is you want to be going on there. I’d think it’s the latter, and changing the color to match the rest of the opposite-side portal clothes would fix it. Otherwise you’re going to have to construct some kind of knee, and that sounds like a pain.
Otherwise I like it!
ajw (91): Neat! I love that central figure, he’s awesome. The one on our left is also really solid. The guy on our right doesn’t quite rise to their level, but still it’s a nice layout.
I’m not quite sure what the two white disks to either side of the title are — chest pieces like Iron Man has, or suns, or just graphic design elements, or … ?
Otherwise, I think it looks cool, really nice job.
Thank you again for the input, jeff and panner, it’s better now, especially the sky 🙂
thanks jeff1 the disks were headlights, They confuse me too, i’ll see what i can do to fix the crazy haired guy and maybe come back next week colored!
Thanks immensely for the Feedback Jeff, I had a friend Look at it and I think the Drow might be just this side tolerable, and if not, Feel free to take it Down, it’s not going to hurt my feelings, I suppose I could re-post a more tame version if necessary.
http://yurasagi.deviantart.com/art/Sacrifice-for-the-Demon-Queen-206863672?q=gallery%3AYurasagi&qo=2
My Questions on the Drow Priestess are regarding a few Compositional Elements:
I’m not 100% on her Arms, they might be too skinny.
I feel like she could maybe use some jewelery on her arms? Does the blood appear to drip/flow “naturally” (at the correct angles)?
Does the sheerness and translucence of the garments make it too busy?
Do her feet look totally out of whack?/Can you even tell she is supposed to be kneeling? (*I know… if I have to explain it I failed… the question is DO I HAVE to explain it or does it work?*)
As far as the Sacrificial Elf:
Does the left arm in the foreground look okay? I considered propping it up on a rock, or perhaps rotating or shrinking it. I may need to have it lie limply at his side parallel to the body instead, not quite sure yet. Any tips on the Gore/Bruising/Fine Details?
Please note I uploaded this Image on DeviantArt, and labeled it as Mature for “Social Responsibility” reasons, thus to View it One must be registered on that site, if this is a Problem…. I suppose I can try to work something else Out?
For those of You who do not care to, or are not able to view my Drow, I have a different composition instead:
http://yurasagi.deviantart.com/art/Sturmbannfurer-206925695
A character I created Dressed up as a Sturmbannführer (Equivalent to a Major) of the Nazi SS. I Attempted to make the uniform look as historically accurate as possible, with the obvious exception of gender, and a few Character elements, for example; I believe the Shoulder-boards were not worn on the Overcoats but only on the Uniform Jackets, but they look so blasted SWEET! What I really Need help with on this one is the Right arm positioning/masking/proportion. I have great Difficulty Foreshortening in HM3, so getting the arm right is a real challenge for me.
Thanks so Much for all the Help, Hero-Machinists are the Best!
here’s my 90s inspired character “the eye”
http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu224/seamusmcfrost/eyefinished-1.png?t=1304129547
Here is my rendition of the cult classic “The Shadow” which some of you may remember from the Alec Baldwin 1990s movie.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff406/turbolover69/hm3-beta-1.png?t=1304130748
Mashlagoo (89): What I do for a movable zoom is go into headshot view, select the “all items” grouping, and use the move arrows to move the picture until whatever part I want to work on is in view. I also use this trick in normal view to edit the sides of widescreen pictures.
Notes on the “all item” zoom:
Whatever you do with the “all items” grouping won’t save or export, and any left-right movement will reset when you switch views; e.g. if you move all items directly to the left in normal view, then when you switch to Headshot view or Widescreen view the picture will be centered like you never moved it. This can be a little annoying sometimes, but it’s handy when you need to see whether the item you’re placing goes off the edges. (And you should make sure to check, because unless you put a background in and make it just the right size and position, there’s no line or anything to tell you where the edge is.)
Up-down movement does transfer between views, but does not save or export. To get everything back to its original vertical position, use the “reset” button in the move box while the “all items” grouping is active.
Also, when using the “all items” group to move the picture, make sure you switch the grouping back to “Current Item Only” (or whatever other, non-”all” grouping you need) before you try to do anything else in the transform tab, otherwise you could end up rotating or resizing the whole picture. (Again, this wouldn’t save or export, but it’s a little annoying to deal with.)
Maybe I should make a tutorial about this once school is out…
Jeff (101): Thanks! I was really proud of that background! 😀 I’ll try playing with the wings and feet a little more sometime. I’ll probably keep the hair as is, though—like you said, maybe having it freak you out is good! 😉
Myro (93): I didn’t mean to imply that I thought it was supposed to be a robot, I meant to reassure you that the image was getting your message across to somebody, because I thought I saw that someone else mentioned thinking it was a robot.
Anyway, I like your description in the other thread! Sounds like scary stuff indeed! I’m still not entirely sure what your problem is with the masking, but based on what you said to Panner, I’m thinking more layers would be a good idea. HM3 is indeed getting pretty good with large numbers of layers, and if you could do a separate masking for each facet at its own angle that would be pretty awesome!
As for the colors, personally I like the white labcoat; I’m not sure I’d read it as a labcoat if it were some other color. Jeff’s suggestion of making the background less colorful is a good one, though I like how the current coloring shows off the transparency of the alien, so maybe don’t lose the coloration altogether. You could consider changing the alien’s color—as someone who spent much of her time in highschool looking at rocks, I can tell you with authority that there are crystals in pretty much any color you can imagine, and they can be surprisingly common.
Yurasagi (106): I couldn’t get to the Drow illustration, it said I had to sign up for a DeviantArt account because it’s marked as Mature. So I am going to address the Sturmbannfurer instead.
The uniform is stellar and it’s a good image overall. I think you’re right that the arm is not correct. There’s not a great way to do this in HM but here is the way I think the arm needs to be:
Position 1
Position 2
Hope that helps!
maniacmick (107): Good job! Nice character design, the city environment is appropriate and convincing, and I like the way the pupil of the eye logo really jumps out at you.
The only part that bugs me a little is the rifle. It’s so bright and clean relative to everything else in the scene, it ends up looking out of place. I can’t stop staring at it. Maybe throw a drop shadow onto the stock, or a dirt pattern, or even just a darker color.
Other than that nitpick, though, well done!
turbolover (108): Very nice! I think the cloud may be a little TOO transparent, and I’m not crazy about the red background (seems too much like a design element given the really detailed wall), but otherwise it’s a great rendition of the classic character.
OK folks, time for bed and thus this Open Critique Day has drawn to a close.
Thanks to everyone who either posted an image for comment, or who took the time to share their thoughts with those who did.
When he post a woman in nazi uniform it´s ok, but why must he show with this arm position? When he not support the Nazi Agenda why he must do that. I find this not correct.
Also i wonder when i can pick up a follower can i also design a al-Qaida type with a bomb on his body?
I find this a little bit curious.
But i find it without very good. Me disturb only this pose.
Kytana #115, this just goes to show how many good things the Nazi spoiled. They adopted that arm pose from the old Roman empire, where it was used by gladiators. Do you think it would disturb anyone if the picture would have been a gladiator in that same pose? I don’t think so.
Kytana, it’s just a picture of a Nazi. Nazis give that salute sometimes. No big deal. We’re about to have a major motion picture released from Marvel that’s going to have Nazis in 90% of the frames, and many of those will be of them saluting. Many more will involved them getting the snot punched out of them by Captain America. I presume no one will object to that.
Comic books have always had villains, Nazi villains being a major staple. Would you have me prevent anyone from using the HeroMachine to make villains? Why is it worse to show a Nazi than, say, a KKK guy (as happened recently in the villain contest) or a Mongol warrior, both of whom were responsible for mass deaths and killings?
The image isn’t supporting Nazism, it’s just a picture of a Nazi. Nothing about it is advocating for the cause any more than it’s advocating AGAINST the cause. It’s just a picture of someone.
If we start banning pictures of Nazis then we’re going to have to burn pretty much every comic book produced from 1940-1950, and a major percentage of the ones produced since then. Along with the Captain America movie, most of the “Hellboy” merchandise, etc. etc.
Not to get political, but Kytana is German. Germany DOES have laws banning the Nazi party and paraphernalia. It’s still a very sore and touchy subject. Even among Generations Y & Z.
In America, Nazis are representative of evil, sometimes comedy. As long as they die horrible deaths, it’s ok. Nazis are not a reminder of national shame and tragedy.
@Yurasagi: That being said, the picture itself is awkward in that the saluting arm is just a forearm tacked on to the body. It lack perspective / dimension. The “SS” labels are a strong detail.
@Vaadren: “Forgotten Prisoner” has that perspective. The lowered ear definitely conveys that he is hanging his head. But, you might want to lighten it just a tad.
Here is a Nazi character I designed for Character Contest 51 – Alien Nation. The backstory is that the Nazis were actually aliens who supported Hitler in their bid to takeover or destroy the earth. Only to mysteriously suffer their own defeat on Mars:
http://members.cox.net/freethespam/tithoniandevil.html
Good point, Atomic Punk.
Kytana, as this blog (and this blogger!) live in the US, its laws apply, and our First Amendment is much more broadly interpreted than free speech laws in many other countries. Here, as the Punk says, images of Nazis are not censored. Especially if they’re about to get the snot kicked out of them by a super hero.
For the first i came not from German, i came from Austria(where Hitler came from). And i am not like the old people they often shame for that or do nor speak from wk. I am very interessed of old storys.
I know that they pose and signs come from a other history.
But when i see a person in this uniform and pose together i think of nazi propaganda. When you see a arabic person with a bomb on his body to you not think of terror?
Comics like Captain america or hellboy are all things of your land. In europe you don´t can do that or see that so easy. That what i mean.
So when i see that i think of nazi propaganda. Thats the point. But for myself i don´t have any problem with this theme. I played in World of tanks a german “Jagdpanzer”. *smile
@ MMI: I think the yellow looks the best because i makes the blue look bluer!!!