Category Archives: Character of the Week

Ok guys, feel free to call me an idiot in the comments section. I have absolutely no idea why I forgot to put COTW up last week. I'd been planning it all week and then, nothing, just completely forgot. So to make up for it, this week we'll have two weeks worth of characters. Anyway on with the show, and we'll start with what should/ would have been last weeks COTW, Axelle by Kicktar.

So, what do I like about this picture. Well, the pose is very well executed, the characters looks really relaxed and fairly natural (obviously there are a few bits here and there on the arms that don't work, but that's just the limitations of the program) and it really helps sell the perspective without being ridiculously over-complicated. Then you have the face, which is beautiful, I love the colour Kicktar went with for the eyes. Then we have the colours, the blue, magenta and yellow is a really striking combination and they look really good together. These really loud and bright colours really stand out against the natural greens and browns of the background. I've been on a bit of a Kicktar kick (no pun intended) recently and when you put out stuff of this quality, it's easy to see why.

Gallery- Kicktar on DeviantArt

And as this weeks COTW, well, we have this...

Guess who's back. Insert "Candruth always gets COTW" comment here. Look, it's Candruth, she is, to put it lightly, quite good at this Heromachine malarky. And besides, do you want to argue with a guy with THAT expression when he's about to draw two swords? Didn't think so.

Gallery- Candruth's Characters 😉

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It's AMS. Is there all that much that needs to be said here? Thought not.

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To be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive about putting this picture as COTW. Not because I'm unsure if it really deserves the spot (it does, it really does) but because I'm half expecting (and hoping) that Vectorman enters it into this weeks contest (which it would probably win). It fits the criteria too well. And when you look at it, everything in this picture is standout. The poses, the expressions, the costuming, the shading, the tattoos, the atmosphere, it's just special. And that's really annoying if he does enter it into the contest, because now everyone knows who the winner will be.

Gallery- The House Of Overkill

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Sorry, gonna be a very short COTW this week. I've had a very busy day and completely forgot to do this and now it's nearly midnight as I'm writing this and I have work tomorrow so gonna keep this short. Here's some HermanSmellville, it's awesome. Because reasons. Lots of them.

Told you it was going to be short. Sorry.

Gallery- HermanSmellville on DeviantArt

Once again we're dipping into the world of DeviantArt for our character of the week, this time for a pic by Kicktar, who some people may be familiar with already. Either way, just take a look at this picture before I start talking about it.

Ok, so what we have here is a top down perspective of someone lying down on their back, which is a very nice and very simple way of changing the perspective without having to make a painfully complicated custom pose. The main posing has gone into the arms and the legs are slightly rotated as well, which is really all that was needed to give a very relaxed feel. The shading is very subtle but really sets off the picture, especially the hair and the face. Then we have the face in general. I personally love using the slightly smiling mouths with a small rotation as shown in this picture, it is a great way of adding that extra bit of personality to a character. Personally, I would have moved the eyes and nose down a bit in relation to the ears, but that's not really a complaint, more an observation. Costume wise, it's very simple, but it leads on to two interesting points. Firstly, I have to point out the necklace. I didn't really notice it first time I looked at the picture, but I saw it second time out and for some inexplicable reason I just really like it. I like how the cord doesn't seem to have an outline except for the shadow it casts on the characters skin beneath it, that's really cool. Secondly, the colour contrast between the foreground and the background. Tip for any novice 'machiners out there who are thinking of trying backgrounds, make sure the foreground character stands out from the background. The best way to do that is to use different colours, especially different types of colour. Here we have a dull grey set against magenta and it really stands out, or orange against black. It makes the picture pop as much as shading. And finally on this picture, I would like to point out that Kicktar thought to put creases into the blanket to show that the character is actually applying pressure on it by laying there. Details like this are everything and will definitely get you at least an Also Awesome nod from me, but the fact that it just makes the picture look so natural just makes me very happy. You'll probably see more impressive pictures below the jump, but this is my pick for the best of the week because of those details.

Gallery- Kicktar on DeviantArt

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So, this week, we're venturing outside the realms of the forums for our COTW. Whilst he does have a thread on the forums, HermanSmellville is much more active on DeviantArt, and it's quite disappointing that a lot of people don't get to see his work. He's kinda like HerrD or Snail-Male in the fact his stuff is really out there and a bit crazy, but if you look past that his details and item usage are superb and his creativity is amazing (and a bit scary).

Gallery- HermanSmellville on DeviantArt

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You know, I swear I did this last week. AMS did a thing, it's awesome, COTW.

But anyway, have to point out the excellent use of colour (orange and brown with green, giving off a very creepy vibe), the superb shading especially on the mask, which just exudes menace, and the masking used to blend the bottom of the coat to the cape used to create the blown effect. Brilliant work.

Gallery- Planet AMS 

A new year, and yet some things never change. AMS being incapable of doing anything that could be described with words other than "sublime" or "jaw-dropping" is a good example of this. This week he has posted three brilliant pieces in his gallery, but I have to give the nod to this on because, in my opinion, it is one of the best he's ever done. The pose has such attitude, the costume is powerful and sexy whilst not being outlandish or unrealistic, and of course, being AMS, the shading is perfection. But my favourite part is her face. AMS is quite good at faces when he want to be (mainly when he doesn't do characters wearing masks or helmets or such things), and this one just combines everything in the picture into one expression, containing all of the power and attitude of the rest of the picture just in a look. Perfect.

Gallery- Planet AMS

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So, to kick off a new year of COTW's we're going to have this very interesting piece by Hawk. Now I'm sure everyone can tell why I've picked this. It's is very difficult to do a back facing pose on Heromachine and make it look good, we don't have items that facilitate such a pose, so you have to work around it and usually it looks slightly off, no matter how good you are.  Hawk has managed to get round this problem with what can only be described as "a lot of shading". If I had to nit-pick I'd say he could have used different gauntlets or paid a bit more attention to their placement, and trying to do something for the feet, rather than basically blacking it out, but those bits don't detract from the picture in too severe of a fashion, as I said, nit-picks. Overall, the item usage to make the pose work is excellent and the atmosphere is brilliantly done.

Gallery- Hawk's Nest

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Hey guys, JR here. As it's getting to the end of the year, I thought it might be fun to compile all of this years COTW's into one big (and long) list, just for the hell of it.

Enjoy.

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