Scary Character Challenge Results

Many thanks to everyone who took on the "Scary" character challenge last week. We had some great entries and I encourage you to check out the comments of the original post to see them all.

I went through and picked out some of my favorites to share with you here:

I was pretty selective this time, so all of these are really great in my opinion. Picking just one is particularly difficult, which surprises me because, frankly, horror stuff isn't really my thing. But especially among djuby, Marquis Samedi, dblade, Thundersong, nha247 & jr19759 (both of which I think might have been entered before?) and Iscarioto, I had a tough time picking just one overall favorite to highlight.

It might be because my first few "30 Character" submissions have leaned towards the Steampunk end of things, but I find myself ultimately selecting djuby's way cool "Steam Ripper". Both in concept and execution I think it's stellar:

Sincere thanks again to everyone who entered for sharing your creativity and time with us!

The Secret Origins of Names

Clown Pop Quiz Results

Thanks to everyone who took up the last Pop Quiz, which challenged you to come up with a cool clown. Unfortunately the entries by Kellkin and Shadowmancer weren't named properly and won't count. But, here they all are:

There are some great ones in there, but I'm going with Harlequin's on this one.

Thanks again, everyone!

30 Characters Challenge #4: Tommy Two-Top and Tripod

"30 Characters in 30 Days Challenge" number 4, Tommy Two-Top and Tripod:

30 Characters Challenge #3: Madame Brouillard

Day 3 of the "30 Characters in 30 Days Challenge", Madame Brouillard:

Pop Quiz: Clowning Around

Quit clowning around and get busy!

I thought after Halloween we could use a little cheering up, so your one-day challenge this week is:

Make an awesome clown in HeroMachine 3!

Happy clown, funny clown, scary clown, evil clown, you name it, just make it great. You can do just a face, just a head, just the clown, or a whole scene, whatever you like.

You only get one entry -- that's right, just one! So make it your best. Most of the other rules are the same as for a regular challenge, but instead of a whole week I'll announce my favorites some time tomorrow. Here's how to make an entry:


(Click to embiggen.)

I'll pick one entry as my personal favorite, which will get to be featured in the side bar to the right for ultimate glory! As a bonus you're allowed to say you won the Internet for a few days.

Good luck!

Meals are a lot less fun when you can communicate with them telepathically

30 Characters Challenge #2: Space Soldier On Break

I can't say I like this one as much as the first, but it is what it is. Here it is on the challenge site, and here's the original:

Earning the Mantle

Earning the Mantle

By: Andrew Hines

Holy salted anchovies, there's been a lot of stuff going on for Arthur and company. This has been a much darker, more aggressive book than most in the New 52. It's not as dark as others like I, Vampire or Swamp Thing, but it's a hell of a change for Aquaman. This is a wrap up of the Others story arc. Bringing together Arthur's original team, this has been a wonderful run. We see Arthur finally confronting Black Manta and getting to the root of his anger. Before I start sounding like Dr. Phil, after that comment, I want to get into the actual review.

Geoff Johns has continued to do the unthinkable by making Aquaman a true badass and a hero of his own accord. The first part I should tackle was the pacing, which was perfect. Usually we see it go close to what the story should be or it'll sort of ebb and flow. Here, however, the story hits every marker right on time. The dialogue is great, without having too much or too little. The character interaction, especially between Aquaman and Black Manta is awesome. Everyone seems to play their parts perfectly and no expository stone is left unturned. Thankfully he didn't use a bulldozer to do the turning, though. The story is a fantastic conclusion to The Others storyline.

The usual art team is intact for this issue, with Ivan Reis on pencils, Joe Prado taking care of inks and Rod Reis doing the coloring here. The art is spectacular. It may seem like I'm being overly optimistic, but this team makes my definition of fine art. You can see it on the cover just as well as on the interior pages, such as the one at right. How many other art teams can capture the emotion and inherent danger of the storm raging on this page? The effects, such as the rain hitting Arthur's back and shoulders, are brilliant. It feels like a still from an action movie. The only way it could be more picturesque is if it were illustrated by Alex Ross. I really can't say much more about this, except that the colors are as fantastic as the line work.

This deserves an "A+". I have trouble finding anything wrong with this and looked through this with a fine-toothed comb. It's Aquaman. I wanted to find something that didn't work, but there was nothing. The ending was great and really made it seem more like a movie. I can't wait for the trade so I can read/watch the story in its entirety. Go out and buy the whole series if you haven't started on this.

Open Critique Day #49

My full-time (non-HeroMachine) job might keep me from actually getting to these before this evening, but it's time 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 guidelines:

  • 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.