First, happy Independence Day to all of our U.S. community members! May your day be filled with all the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness promised us in the Declaration of Independence.
For all you non-U.S. folk, happy Fourth of July! Which isn't anything significant, but is, nonetheless, today's date. Hooray!
Second, we had a ton of great entries for Character Contest 67, which challenged you to take two great concepts and mash them together. So without further ado, I present the relative handful of submissions that I thought had something truly special and unique about them.
AMS' "Mech Ronin":
Appalling, in a funny way, is Atomic Punk's "Kid Doctor":
Blue Blazer's "Ninja Cowboy":
I love the samurai cowboy hat in BornToBeALoser's "Samurai Cowgirl":
Dan's "Cowboy Alien":
DaRumblyTank's "Robot Cowboy" is so cute I just want to give him a hug, whereupon he would shoot me down in cold blood. Oil. Whatever.
dblade's "Runeslinger" is awesome in every way:
I love the attitude of DiCicatriz' "Cowboy Sorcerer", I think it's a great expression of the melding of the two different concepts, each having their place and contributing to something that's unique, but still recognizable. This is a great example of exactly what this kind of mash-up is supposed to be about.
Frevoli's understated but sinister "Dr. Ninja":
I really like the composition of Hammerknight's "Red Dragon Ninja Cheerleader":
I love everything about Headlessgeneral's "Cheerleader Wizard", from the knee socks to the outfit to the pose to the great flame letters. It totally seals the deal in the merger of the two concepts.
The thing that caught my eye about JWTx's "Cyborg Cheerleader" is the gun. And the energy pompom. You get the feeling this girl was cut from the squad after the accident, and now that she's been cyborgized, she's back for vengeance.
Kaylin88100 went the extra mile this week, turning in twelve different entries! I thought "Kid Wizard" was one of the cutest of all the ones with that combination, especially with the exaggerated eyes and big staff. It's like Wendy the Witch if she was a bad-ass.
I liked Knitesoul's "Sorcerer Kid" for the unintended consequences angle of dealing with powers beyond your skills.
Kytana's bold grayscale color palette really helps set the stage for the Alien Wizard:
Leadmetal's "Dino Redneck" made masterful use of some of the ripped items and (I assume) capes to make those killer wings. Great job!
Logosgal's strength has always been storytelling with her compositions, and this Zombie Robot is no exception. I love that it busted through the wall even though it was right next to the door, and I love that instead of brains it wants microchips. Very funny.
MartianBlue's Alien Outlaw flat-out rocks:
Nakiato had a very clever take on Will Eisner's classic creation with "Spirit Cheerleader".
Newerlie's "Spirit Sorcerer" might not be as strange a mash-up as some of the other options, but it's a great image. The face in the fog is particularly cool.
Rancid's "Doctor Robot" is so cute, I almost wouldn't mind the prostate exam!
Rozenstal's take on the Cowboy Robot is a lot more menacing than most, and for that reason is pretty cool.
What can I say about SeanDavidRoss' "Cowboy Ninja" except, wow.
Tarkabarka's "Teen Spirit" is one of the most clever mirror-image compositions yet. But it's the "tramp stamp" that seals the deal on this one.
Tool's "Cyborg Cowboy":
Trekkie's "Robot Dinosaur" is genius:
Waally1's "Cyborg Doctor" makes great use of color and looks cool, but no way is that guy cutting on me. No. Way.
Watson Bradshaw, I think, perfectly captures the love we rednecks have for our lawn equipment:
Finally, Zyp once again brings it with "Ninja Cowboy". I love the use of the traditional Chinese hat instead of a cowboy hat, and combining the pantaloons with the boot. Plus, Zyp, you gotta get that background up on the UGO site if you haven't already. That's awesome.
I'm having a hard time picking a winner this week because they're all really good. After a fair amount of agonizing, I narrowed it down to Zyp, SeanDavidRoss, Trekkie, DiCicatriz, dblade, and MartianBlue, as I felt they not only had kick-ass images, but also did a great job showing both sides of the mashup while still letting the new gestalt shine. Purely as an illustration, probably dblade's is best, but the I get way more sorcerer than cowboy. Zyp probably has the strongest combo of the two, but he seems more like a general martial artist than ninja per se.
So ultimately, I am going to go with ... DiCicatriz! I just felt like he has the certain kind of Clint Eastwood swagger to him, and I could totally see him in his own series. It was a really, really close call, though, and I'm sure others would have gone with one of the other alternatives. But that's where I'm putting down my marker, so there you have it.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone!
Yay! I got a Finalist 2nd time running 🙂
It probably helps that I do loads of entries ;D
But anyway, I think all the finalists deserve to be up there, and the winner is definitely the best. Well done DiCicatriz for a very well deserved win!
Another finalist mention? Cool.
DiCicatriz, that entry was amazing. I particularly love that background. Well done!
Awesome! I’m honored to be mentioned on one of my first five or so submissions. I love Heromachine. I’m so glad I got internet back. I’m a resident of Joplin, MO and lost power for 10 days and internet for 3 weeks after the tornado. My home needs a new roof and there was a lot of exterior damage. DiCicatriz knocked one out of the park on this contest.
Good timing! I just got finished looking at all the entries when I checked again and this was up!
Yay for getting finalist! 😀 I must admit, I got really lucky with my combination; I chose by dice throw.
Congrats, DiCictriz! Definitely an awesome image all around! And great job everyone else! There were some amazing entries!
@ DaRumblyTank (3): Wow, glad you’re safe! Been praying for you Joplin folks.
Grat the finishers and especially DiCicatriz
Congratulations, DiCicatriz. My favourite entries were both of Zyp’s followed closely by Me, Myself, and I. The backgrounds on those are great. Papakrok’s, as usual, was strong. I enjoyed headlessgeneral’s cheerleader series. The entry from dblade was stunning. Kytana’s Robot Doctor reminded me of some of Papakrok’s best stuff (that’s a high compliment). Her black and white Alien Wizard’s were awesome all on their own. I liked Sutter Kaine’s Teen Ninja. I thought Meniukas Cyborg Wizard was very cool.
Gratulation, DiCicatriz. A cool cowboy (MartianBlue’s too), but who is his mount? Has the cowboy nija stole it? Great entrys here.
And i wonder ever that my simple entrys more honor as my really good like the biodoc or the cyborg last time.
The last one was only a test how it look like in black and white style. *rolleyes
I know i newer do new body pose next time, it’s terrible long time, and need a lot of patient.
My favs especially
Zyp – Ninja Cowboy – The full composition rocks me
Sean David Ross – Cowboy Ninja – The pose is awesome
Dblade – Runeslinger – Great composition
Kytana – Alien Wizard – I like black and white draws
Trekkie – Robot Dinosaur – Build new thing for an ordinary
DiCicatriz – Cowboy Sorcerer – The background kill me, AWESOME
And more and more…
Everyone’s were awesome!
@DiCicatriz: Congrats. Cowboy Sorceror sells the concept well.
@Jeff: I don’t envy you. So many awesome entries.
Personal thanks to Kaylin (Team Dino), Kytana (Dinozombie), and spidercow2010 (Dinosaur Cowboy). Lots of mileage for the Stegosaurus Companion!
For Doctor Kid… I’m long overdue for a physical. As you can tell, not looking forward to that!
Oops.. I totally forgot Trekkie’s incredible Robot Dinosaur!
@ams great illustration congrats 🙂
@AtomicPunk I dont know what happening in image but its great illustration 😀
@blueblazer its exactly ninja covboy great job 🙂
@borntobealoser well its one of my favorite congrats 🙂
@dan wow I dont see it great illustration 🙂
@darumblytank its morelike robot kid but its good congrats 🙂
@dblade Its my fvorite too an amazing image congrats 🙂
@DiCicatriz I want to read comics about him 😀 he look like a real hero 😀
@frevoli great image congrats 🙂
@Hammerknight beatiful illustration congrats 🙂
@headlessgeneral go team!,go team! 😀 congrats great image 🙂
@JWTx great illustration congrats 🙂
@Kaylin88100 oooow its really cute congrats 🙂
@Knitesoul great image congrats 🙂
@Kytana i see it and some strange voice say “may the force be with you ” 😀 congrats kytana 🙂
@leadmetal great illustration congrats 🙂
@logosgal great image congrats 🙂
@MartianBlue I love ninja wizard more but its very cool too 🙂
@nakiato great illustration congrats 🙂
@rancid great image congrats 🙂
@Rozenstal great illustration congrats 🙂
@seandavidross wow this is greatest all off them you have fantastic skills congrats 🙂
@Tarkabarka wow that cool 😀 congrats 🙂
@TOOL great image congrats 🙂
@Trekkie wow great details really cool congrats 🙂
@Waally1 great image congrats 🙂
@watsonbradshaw great illustration congrats 🙂
@Zyp great image congrats 🙂
@SeanDavidRoss: How thanks for the compliment, but don´t let hear him that. *to blush for shame
@newerlie: Stop, my eyes.So many smilies. @_@
I almost called BS on “Ninja Cowboy”, then I saw that is was by SeanDavidRoss, and thought, “Oh, nevermind, then.” Entries like these are the reason I never do Character Contests anymore. Congrats to DiCicatriz for winning against so many other amazing entries, and congrats to the rest for placing!
Cool, well first off Im’ back ( Thanks to everyone who shared kind words ) and congrats DiCicatriz but Jeff I’m not sure if Eastwood would of had a pink gun although I still like it LOL. Great job to everyone else who made it here, I liked my cowboy but didn’t think it would of risen above the other entries of mine, WOW. I hope to go even farther and create something even better next time. See you peeps later. Got to get to work ;P
Phenomenal work on the Hero Machines people! It must make you very proud to see the incredible concepts folks turn out with the great tools you’ve provided. Kudos to you all!
I stumbled upon this site Saturday afternoon and since I have logged at least 20 hours and built 6…no 8 characters. I love that you have included animal, zombie, and alien parts. Today I’ve been making Wheel of Time characters, Trollocs included of course, but I’m thinking that I need to make a Zombie Gunslinger. Why I didn’t think of that first can only be explained by the fact that I was entirely brain blown by the awesomeness of it all.
WTF is a Zombie GunSLIGER?
I hate it when I misspell my own name.
Hey jeff about the caption contest prize would you be willing to a sketch of my cop guy? You could use the pose in the picture on the critique to make it easier.
ajw (17): Sure, but please remind me with a link to it again, if you don’t mind — I’m old and forgetful.
Hey Jeff, how goes the gun blade as long as we are talking about prizes?
I don’t envy Jeff when it comes to judging these contests, because there are so many awesome entries.
Congratulations everyone! And special heads up to the winner, DiCicatriz.
It’s on the list, Tool, no timeline on any prizes. It gets done when it gets done.
@DiCicatriz, a well deserved win, sir! Once again everyone amazed me with what you can do with Heromachine!
Wow! I was so unprepared for this, considering the phenomenal creators I posted with. That being said, I was particularly attached to my Western spell-slinger and am more than flattered that he won 🙂 I might even incorporate him into my ongoing, considering all of the positive attention he’s getting.
Thanks to Jeff and congrats to all of the finalists. It was a top notch kind of contest 😀
Its cool Jeff just wondering
Congrats, DiCicatriz – that does indeed rock.
My personal fave was Zyp’s once again.
@ jeff
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1811676&l=2b3e8051e7&id=1589732210 the pic for my guy.
@ ZombieGunslinger (17 & 18): Welcome! Always great to see new people around here! Hope you’ll share your creations with us soon! (BTW, a gunsliger is obviously someone who sligs guns, sliging being a highly specialized method of attaching a new trigger after it’s been broken off by overuse. 😉 )
Congrats DiCicatriz!
Congrats DiCicatriz, awsome image!
Thank you for your feedback SeanDavidRoss (7); I think it was one of your images that inspired mine actually so I guess there is a reason you like it. 🙂
Every time I see the results of one of these contests, there are always a few that I want to steal for character inspiration. This contest, most of them I want to steal for character inspiration! (I have resisted the temptation every time, I am proud to say.)