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This week, I thought I'd also take a look at some of my other favourites that unfortunately didn't make the final five. I don't know if this is going to become a regular thing or not, but I thought it might make a change.
Comments Off on Character Design Contest ♯41 Poll (Fashion Show)
Posted in Challenge Favorites
Earlier this week, Delirious Al posted three pieces that I think might just be the best stuff this incredibly talented creator has ever done. I could have featured any of them in this blog, and in fact I changed my mind on which one to cover several times, but I eventually settled on this one because it just seems to have wonder spilling out of it (literally).
I'm struggling to know where to start. The glowing effect on the symbols/ tattoos across what of the characters body you can see is just stunning, the simplicity of having the white glow behind the yellow font in order to enhance the font and make it stand out in such a way that it seems realistic is brilliant. Then we have the characters expression and his pose, which are just the right mixture of malevolence, mystery and charisma to make him an enticing centrepiece to a piece with so many different eye catches.
But really, the reason this piece won out over the other two is the background. And to discuss that we must start with the costume, because the two are basically inseparable. For once I find myself unable to recognise what item was used to create the effect of the stars spilling out of the coat, but the effect is magnificent. It does look like a condensed gas escaping from a container. The fact that the rest of the costume is also black adds to the effect, because it is hard to tell where the character ends and the background begins. And then there's the sunrise, which just adds another layer of warmth and I might just have run out of superlatives for which I apologise, but I think you get the idea.
Comments Off on Character Of The Week: 21st September
Posted in Character of the Week, Cool Characters
There's not going to be a Big Question today because I can't think of a topic that I really want to talk about. So instead I'll let you guys use this thread as an Open Critique Day thread. If anyone has any ideas for subjects to cover in the Big Question please tell me, because I don't want to have to drop it.
Anyway, lets see what you guys have got and we'll see if we can help you improve it.
Comments Off on Open Critique Day
Posted in Open Critique Day
Ok guys, for this weeks contest, I want you to create the best costume you possibly can. I'm not looking for amazing poses, intricate backgrounds, lots of powers on display, I just want to see a good costume. You can do a superhero costume, or you could focus on doing everyday clothes, formal wear, period costume, fantasy. And remember it doesn't have to be amazingly intricate and complicated, a well done little black dress can be just as effective as a fantasy ball gown.
Please make sure you have read the rules before entering. As usual, no limit on entries, so have fun and good luck. And as an extra incentive, I will do a redesign of one of the winners characters as a prize if they so wish.
Rules for posts, contests, and challenges that I am hosting: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warnings. Only post characters that you have either created for this contest specifically or you know for certain have never been entered to a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.
Comments Off on Character Design Contest ♯41- Fashion Show
Posted in Character Design Challenges
Earlier this week, I was watching some older episodes of Smallville and as soon as Green Arrow showed up it got me thinking, how come Superman and Green Arrow both currently have live action TV Series yet Batman doesn't. Batman is arguably DC's most popular hero, so it would make a lot of sense.
Because of the fact for the most part the entire Bat Family and the majority of their villains are unpowered, it would probably be easier to make than a Superman live action TV series and you could probably get more for the money because of it. This would be the same sort of argument for the Green Arrow series, but because Batman is so much more popular there would be a bigger return. So why has Batman been stuck in cartoon land since the 70's?
Of course, Batman did make a small appearance in the 2002 Birds Of Prey series but that didn't focus on him, and there's my point. Even Birds Of Prey can get a series, al-be-it a very short lived one. So why hasn't Batman?
Not that I have anything against the Batman cartoons, some of them are the best in the medium. But considering how Batman has always been a more realistic superhero and cartoons are always best at showing the unrealistic (such as a man who can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes and restart a planet by flying counter-rotationally around it), why is his only TV representation still only on Saturday mornings?
Comments Off on Screen Spotlight- Bat TV
Posted in Super-Hero Stuff
The winner of this week poll was prswirve for Crimson-1881. Well done prs and great work from everyone who entered.
Comments Off on Character Design Contest ♯39 (Colour Coordination) Winner
Posted in Challenge Favorites
Amazingly, considering how much of a fan I am of his work, we've never covered any of DiCicatriz's work in COTW. But this week that will change, because, guess what. Yup, you guessed.
So, to kick off, lets look at the shading. DiCicatriz has always been one of those people where I struggle to tell exactly how much shading has been done, because it all looks so seamless and natural. He certainly has a great understanding of lighting. The contrasts on the red section of the hoodie in the first version are the best example of this, but it is also very prevalent if you look at the skin, especially on the face and left arm.
The costuming is also great. The double item shoes, which use two different perspectives to achieve a different style shoe to what either of the original pieces were. In my opinion the black ones on the first version work better, because you can't see the join between the two different shoes and that makes it look more cohesive. The Mexican flag theme works very well on the first version, but the rainbow hoodie is just spectacular. It's quite a simple effect to do, turn one of the gradient rectangles (in background-shapes) 90 degrees, shorten them to preference and then align them so the colours make a continuous rainbow and mask each rectangle to whatever item you are doing (in this case a top), but the effect works brilliantly.
Comments Off on Character Of The Week: 14th September
Posted in Character of the Week, Uncategorized
This week, I want to talk about comic books and politics. Should comics be influenced by politics? And have comics lost some of their sense of social justice?
Now, to get to the bottom of this, I have to go back to the Silver Age of Comics, the late 50's to early 70's, a time of great social and political reform and upheaval, especially in America. The prevalent black civil rights movement saw the birth of the first black superheroes, such as Black Panther and Falcon at Marvel and Black Lightning at DC. But even before then, there were some instances of comics favouring civil rights. For example Real Fact Comics issue 5 (DC, 1946) ran a highly favourable piece on Paul Robeson, a black actor/ singer/ athlete, which included the phrase "He already, by example, has taught the world, as well as his race, that color has nothing to do with greatness." which was hugely progressive for a time when there was still segregation in federal buildings. Also some comics featuring white protagonists came out against racism, such as Green Lantern/ Green Arrow, The Avengers and Captain America (admittedly the later two really only came out against racism when they had the two aforementioned black heroes amongst their rooster of characters). However, whilst black people seem to be doing well in comics now, I still think that some ethnic groups are being left out. For example, whilst I can think of a few Asian superheroes, I struggle to think of many Hispanic heroes and I can only think of at best 3 representatives each for any religion that is not Christianity. I can't name any explicitly Muslim heroes apart from Dust from the X-Men (Simon Baz is never said to be Muslim as far as I'm aware, just Arab-American, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and I can't think of any Hindu heroes off the top of my head.
Then we come to more a political side. Whilst I am glad to see a decent proliferation of LGBT heroes and heroines in comics today, I can't help thinking that the writers are actually shying away from any big political story-lines that might result. This is also now true about dealing with racism. It's almost as if they are denying that these problems exist. I know comics are still meant to be aimed at younger people (some might say kids), but surely that's a good enough reason to do it. By including any character specifically as a "good guy" (Batwoman, Hulkling and Wiccan from the Young Avengers, etc.) you are saying that it doesn't matter who they love, hopefully making an impression. So why is the bad side being ignored. They're saying "this isn't something that is wrong" about being gay, so why are they not saying "this IS something that is wrong" about the hatred and violence directed at people just for being different.
Anyway, that's my two pennies worth. I'd like to hear what you guys think about this subject. However, be warned. I want a fair and reasonable discussion, so if I see anyone being unreasonable or being intolerant towards any group mentioned above, I will be removing your comments.
Comments Off on Big Question ♯18
Posted in Uncategorized
This week, I would like you to create a character to represent one of the three emergency services (Police, Firefighters or Paramedics) or an associated department or profession (e.g. Police- S.W.A.T (associated department), Paramedics- Doctors/ Nurses (associated profession)). You can do real-life, superhero, futuristic, they can represent the service either through it being their job or a connection due to their superpower, doesn't matter, just so long as they represent either the Police Service, Fire Department or the Medical profession.
Please make sure you have read the rules before entering. As usual, no limit on entries, so have fun and good luck.
Rules for posts, contests, and challenges that I am hosting: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warnings. Only post characters that you have either created for this contest specifically or you know for certain have never been entered to a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.
Comments Off on Character Design Contest ♯40- Public Heroes
Posted in Character Design Challenges
Three middle-aged nerds (including yours truly!) review all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Short, funny, and full of good vibes, check it out and let us know what you think!
Nerdmudgeon.com