[Herr D]

Alex King wrote:

Thanks for advice! You’re absolutely right about the cigarette. I also tried to create a shadow for it but it didn’t work well. So I think I need to get into masking. By the way, is there a possibility to fit clothes, hair and so on on characters you show from the side-perspective? Because until now I can only create characters from a frontal perspective…

Shadows, sideways clothes, fitting objects, all of that becomes possible with masking and special ‘constructions.’ You can build legs and fingers and such out of heads, for example. If you need examples of such ‘misuses,’ you can also check out the OPMC, started by ams. We do that a lot over there. You’re probably already ready for a ‘movie poster’ contest if it comes back to the blog.

[Herr D]

DiCicatriz wrote:

Druid is so badass. The leaf-cape, the antlers, the skirt. Ugh. So good.

. . . yeahhhh, you can keep using gold . . . [sends gold thoughts]

[Herr D]

Tiberius wrote:

Great job on Electron. The costume is very creative (I especially like the way you did the insignia). Nice colors on him. The backstory is interesting. Glad he put his abilities to good use outside of fighting supervillains.

Agreed. Like that backstory especially . . . btw, my joke was “getting a gold star” . . . now I’m not sure that was obvious . . .

[Herr D]

“Crawlers” is amusing. Next step for you is learning masking. “Sam Steele” has a cigarette that would look much better if it’s cut off the right way to ‘fit’ in his mouth better.  There are tutorials if you want them.

Proper format for decades can vary, one of them is: 80’s and 90’s. Your English is better than many native speakers, or at least better than they bother with. Keep at it.

[Herr D]

“Esther On Routine”

“–I don’t understand this clause. We’ll own the condo, but aren’t allowed to accept packages or move things we find right outside the door or change the hanger on the doorknob. That makes no sense to me. This is the sixtieth floor. No one can even get up here.”

“That, sir, is part of the ownership contract. Not negotiable. You will rescind your membership and be evicted immediately if you are found non-compliant.”

“I’m not saying I won’t agree. I very much want to own this condominium. The Cloud is wonderful and surprisingly inexpensive on this floor.”

“Indeed, sir. Please sign this non-disclosure agreement.”

“Uchhh. Fine.” [signs] “But seriously, what is this for?”

“The previous owner of The Cloud had a granddaughter named Esther. The building wasn’t called that then, and this was quite some time ago.”

“Yes?”

“Esther is deformed and disabled, has the mentality and disposition of a sweet, dutiful, and productive four-year-old. She collects the dirty towels and leaves clean ones. The staff puts out the dirty ones for her.”

“Wait, what?”

“She checks the door hangers to know how many to leave. She’s very quiet. She makes her rounds between three and four a.m. If you see her, the clauses on how to conduct yourself around her are in the section marked “Rules Of Conduct.” These rules DO apply to your visitors and guests.”

[flips pages] “This? No saying anything to her but these phrases?”

“Thank you, Hello, Goodbye, and Good Job. You may also call her Esther. She has a routine. She wears a maid’s uniform, carries an old feather duster behind her ear.”

“Are there other maids I could confuse her with?”

“No, she is rather, DISTINCTIVE, we say, sir. Slightly deformed, warty, thick glasses, barely four feet tall. Our regular maids wear street clothes when on the sixtieth floor so as not to worry her. You must understand, this is how she is.”

“So she doesn’t actually clean the rooms?”

“Oh, no sir. Her keys to the rooms don’t even fit. She has no elevator pass, and she wears an alarm belt to alert us if she ever does attempt to leave. She passes between doing laundry, watching recorded cartoons on a loop, eating the meals we leave for her, sleeping, hygiene, and her rounds. We think she thinks her family is on vacation instead of deceased these fifty-odd years now.”

“How old is she now?”

“Ninety-six, sir. If this is a problem, there are other floors. They are more expensive, but you understand. The sixtieth floor is exclusive to people known for behaving themselves, sticking to routine, and following rules. I’ll be in my office when you decide. Take your time.”

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2015hm/HerrD-EstherOnRoutine_zpsehleqkmg.png

*The shoulder pad makes a great door tag and Esther’s braids. The hair is her ancient duster and the odd bits of hair sticking out of the end of her right braid. The glasses are her hair bow.

 

[Herr D]

[attempting innocent look] Whatever do you mean by THAT, Cliff?  It’s just an obvious blend of cricket, earthworm, and human . . . it should’ve been thought of YEARS ago . . . [looks at chronometer] Thank you, though–from our perspective, orig. Star Trek did stick to too many regular humanoids . . .

********

“Behind every archvillain facing down a superhero is a sidekick ready to make a name for themselves.”–Camo

Camo took down, restrained, and on rare occasions killed opponents for his mentor while his mentor drew all their fire and most of the media attention. Avastro discovered that the antennae on his supersuit were fake and broadcast that information before being, well, SILENCED. There are some secrets the public might not be ready for, right?

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2015hm/HerrD-CamoHurdlingIntoFray_zpsqwlrxvac.png

*sides

********

“Esther On Routine”

“–I don’t understand this clause. We’ll own the condo, but aren’t allowed to accept packages or move things we find right outside the door or change the hanger on the doorknob. That makes no sense to me. This is the sixtieth floor. No one can even get up here.”

“That, sir, is part of the ownership contract. Not negotiable. You will rescind your membership and be evicted immediately if you are found non-compliant.”

“I’m not saying I won’t agree. I very much want to own this condominium. The Cloud is wonderful and surprisingly inexpensive on this floor.”

“Indeed, sir. Please sign this non-disclosure agreement.”

“Uchhh. Fine.” [signs] “But seriously, what is this for?”

“The previous owner of The Cloud had a granddaughter named Esther. The building wasn’t called that then, and this was quite some time ago.”

“Yes?”

“Esther is deformed and disabled, has the mentality and disposition of a sweet, dutiful, and productive four-year-old. She collects the dirty towels and leaves clean ones. The staff puts out the dirty ones for her.”

“Wait, what?”

“She checks the door hangers to know how many to leave. She’s very quiet. She makes her rounds between three and four a.m. If you see her, the clauses on how to conduct yourself around her are in the section marked “Rules Of Conduct.” These rules DO apply to your visitors and guests.”

[flips pages] “This? No saying anything to her but these phrases?”

“Thank you, Hello, Goodbye, and Good Job. You may also call her Esther. She has a routine. She wears a maid’s uniform, carries an old feather duster behind her ear.”

“Are there other maids I could confuse her with?”

“No, she is rather, DISTINCTIVE, we say, sir. Slightly deformed, warty, thick glasses, barely four feet tall. Our regular maids wear street clothes when on the sixtieth floor so as not to worry her. You must understand, this is how she is.”

“So she doesn’t actually clean the rooms?”

“Oh, no sir. Her keys to the rooms don’t even fit. She has no elevator pass, and she wears an alarm belt to alert us if she ever does attempt to leave. She passes between doing laundry, watching recorded cartoons on a loop, eating the meals we leave for her, sleeping, hygiene, and her rounds. We think she thinks her family is on vacation instead of deceased these fifty-odd years now.”

“How old is she now?”

“Ninety-six, sir. If this is a problem, there are other floors. They are more expensive, but you understand. The sixtieth floor is exclusive to people known for behaving themselves, sticking to routine, and following rules. I’ll be in my office when you decide. Take your time.”

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2015hm/HerrD-EstherOnRoutine_zpsehleqkmg.png

*OPMC

[Herr D]

[licks own beak] Stor-rrreeeey. So the relic probably empowers London Fog’s eventual archenemy, if it’s not the cause of his own power by injustice transference. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Herr D]

Vengeance wrote:

Design is good back story is even better , makes me want to get back into writing my characters back story again

Good indeed. Your summary seems like it’s based on the first novel of an author who likely bungled it, making it way too long so the screenplay turned out much better. I’ve seen a lot of that.

[Herr D]

Is Gold Star the hero who bails you out if your good deed went horribly awry? Nice work on him and Charcoal.

[Herr D]

‘Snack’ and ‘Target’ made me laugh. Not many people on here manage that. I forsee great stuff from you.

[Herr D]

Thank you, Cliff & Lull-C. The hard part was doubling the sleeve on the companion, believe-it-or-not!

********

The only BLIND spacefaring race to have reached outside their solar system before first contact. The ‘Brikker’ make sounds through their ‘nostrils’ and by rubbing appendages together. They tunnel for food, normally, eating glacial mud. They hibernate in a folded position which allows surprising compactness of personal quarters. They make good money setting up colony buildings and mining equipment on pre-scouted planets and asteroids.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2015hm/HerrD-Brikker_zpsq2kf9nej.png

*50thS.T.

*

[Herr D]

The way black market surgery was handled in “Minority Report,” the ‘superantibiotics’ make sterile rooms irrelevant. From there it’s really wherever the surgeon will be able to work well, right? Nervous types and rage addicts would maybe do better on shag rugs and comfy couches with the smell of cookies baking. Drug addicts might do better in a place that holds meetings. Some of the more ornery types would just thrive on rickety tables and broken walls as long as their favorite caviar was on hand in sufficient quantity. Then again, maybe they put up tents inside so they can’t see the men who will kill them if they botch? Amputation is nothing short of dangerous. Fitting prosthetics NON-invasively can be botched to a dangerous degree. Good luck with the story.

[Herr D]

Here’s to you and Guitarzan! [toasts upside-down mug of air bubbles] And your Jungle Band! [toasts upside-down mug of air bubbles] They’re all you can stand; give ’em a ha–aannd . . . may your lives together be grand and full of heromachine ideas. (BTW, I enjoy Ray Stevens.)

Your pic looks like an etched mirror. Nice.

[Herr D]

I did get that you intended Jerrik and Synnove to be rednecks. Of course, there’s something somewhat redneck-y about prosthetics that might be billions, rather than millions in our setting, used though they don’t fit right. Like the ‘$600-an-hour safety pin’ conversation in Pretty Woman. And resistances in general have to tend that way without an overall economic plan except ‘keep it cheap.’ I find myself wanting a few maps or digital displays of their setting / battle plans. Good stuff.

[Herr D]

Thonn, Snow Angel, Sunburst are my faves in that order. Hawk7’s suggestion calls to mind a suggestion from the only person who ever gave me advice on carving stone. You should probably find an excuse to do a ‘cartwheel’ pose soon with shading from a point light source from above. Forcing yourself to work upside-down on posing and shading simultaneously may very likely improve your art.

[Author]

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