Pop Quiz Results – Chimera

Posted on October 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on Pop Quiz Results – Chimera

Many thanks to all you talented creators who submitted an entry for the last Pop Quiz, which challenged you to create a creature using at least two items from Head-Animals. And they are:

I think this was possibly the strongest set of submissions yet for one of these Pop Quizzes, congratulations to all of you. It's very impressive and fun work.

Picking just one as my personal overall favorite is hard, but I'm going to go with Atomic Punk this week. I like the scene, the perspective, and the sense of curiosity it evokes for me to want to find out what's going on.

Great job, everyone, and thanks as always for sharing your creativity with us!

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Posted in Challenge Favorites

Pop Quiz: Chimera

Posted on October 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on Pop Quiz: Chimera

Happy Saturday, folks! Your one-day challenge is to create a chimera, a creature formed by combining two other creatures. The classic Greek mythological example was the Chimera, a lion's body with eagle's wings and the heads of a dragon, a goat, and a lion:

Your goal is not to recreate this specific monster, but to take at least two items from the Head-Animals set and combine them onto one creature. It could be humanoid like a minotaur with an extra head or entirely animalistic like the classic chimera.

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!

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Posted in Challenges, Pop Quiz

Bucky took to Cap's unorthodox combat methods with vigor

Posted on October 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on Bucky took to Cap's unorthodox combat methods with vigor

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

Sharing Day: Best Tip

Posted on October 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Sharing Day: Best Tip

I have a lot going on this week and unfortunately I just don't have the time for an Open Critique Day. Instead, I'd like to ask you all to help each other:

Give us your one "Best Tip" for creating characters with HeroMachine.

Maybe it's how you use "Zypping" to add highlights, or your recipe for simple but effective backgrounds, or the process you use to envision a character before ever committing it to paper. It could be something as simple as how to save a color or as complicated as a link to the awesome scene you created. Whatever it is, post it here and maybe it'll help someone else down the line who's stuck.

Thanks!

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Posted in Sharing Day

Using Windows 7's Snipping Tool to get a Character Image

Posted on October 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Using Windows 7's Snipping Tool to get a Character Image

(Many thanks to Forum Moderator and all-around great guy Hammerknight for the following tip! -- Jeff)

Hi all,

I'm not the best with the computer, so when I find something that makes things easier on me I like to share. The other day I was looking for a cropping tool to use on my lap top, so I went to Yahoo search and entered "cropping tool". What I found was great. There was a how-to article about the free Windows 7 Snipping Tool. I don't care much for Windows 7 but the Snipping Tool is great. I didn't even know that it was already on my computer. I went to search for it in the program search bar and it came right up. I hit the button and cropped my picture and saved it in less time then it takes me to use print screen. I tried it out with HM3 and it worked. It is one of the easiest things to use on the computer. You have a few choices to save in. No more, print screen, paste in Paint, crop it, copy it, paste again, and then save it.

Thanks,
Hammerknight

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Posted in Tips & Tricks

Professional Super Villain Tip: If your enemy's name is "Lightning", don't throw lightning at him.

Posted on October 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Professional Super Villain Tip: If your enemy's name is "Lightning", don't throw lightning at him.

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

META: Out today

Posted on October 11, 2012 by | Comments Off on META: Out today

Sorry guys, I'm having a rough day. No "You're Going to Die" update today.

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Posted in Meta

Has Wonder Woman ever SEEN a woman's figure!?

Posted on October 11, 2012 by | Comments Off on Has Wonder Woman ever SEEN a woman's figure!?

(via TheMarySue.com)

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Posted in Daily Random Panel

MacGyver Returns…Sort Of

Posted on October 11, 2012 by | Comments Off on MacGyver Returns…Sort Of

MacGyver Returns...Sort Of

By: Andrew Hines

I'm a huge MacGyver fan, born two years into the show's amazing 7 year run. Part of why I'm such a fan is because Mac always struck me as being a sort of Batman without the cape and tights. He's the everyman with a lot of know-how and more than a few aces up his rolled-up sleeves. I've been waiting for 20 years for anyone to do the series justice, though it never occurred to me to do it as a comic mini-series. Oh and I should mention, 20 imaginary points for anyone who can give me Mac's name plus the season and episode it was first mentioned.

The two writers for this piece of literary history are  longtime Doctor Who comics author, Tony Lee and a man who needs no introduction, Lee David Zlotoff, the creator of MacGyver way back in 1987. The writing is wonderful and starts off with the same narration as every episode in the television series. The dialogue is wonderful, the pacing fits and the recipes for "MacGyverisms" are pretty much exactly as they were in the series. Yeah, "MacGyverism," it's a real thing. The writing makes it feel just like the series I grew up watching.

The art from Will Sliney, who covers everything from pencils to the colors, isn't bad. Well, mostly not bad. Ciaran Lucas' cover captures Mac's look well enough, but doesn't get him looking close enough to Richard Dean Anderson as I'd like him to. That's pretty much what's wrong with Sliney's work. They've got everything around him looking great, even the hair and the stubble, but the face just isn't quite right. The effects look good, but they're not the star of the show.

In all, this ranks as a "B+." The script is fantastic and I can't wait to see where it takes us, but without the art to fully help it along, it doesn't live up to its full potential. If the face were "right", it'd be an "A+," 100%, out-of-the-park home-run. It's a good book, but just not a great book.

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Posted in Cool Characters, Super-Hero Stuff

Un-burning Bridges

Posted on October 10, 2012 by | Comments Off on Un-burning Bridges

Un-burning Bridges

By: Andrew Hines

This is the Avengers that we should have had the whole way through. A mix of the first-stringers and those that have been lost in the background for years. The greatest part of this book is exactly what has made the other teams so awesome, the way they interact. The team has almost never seen completely seen eye-to-eye and that's not going to change anytime soon, especially following the events of AvX. As in times past, they come together to get the job done despite their differences. With that being said, I have a feeling this is gonna be a great series.

Writer Rick Remender has had his hands on some great titles in the last few years, such as Venom, Uncanny X-Force and Secret Avengers. Just the intro into this comic, by itself, is fantastic. He gives long-time fans and newbies alike a great place to pick up from where AvX left off. Aside from reintroducing Havok into the comics, Remender also gives us our first look at the S-Men, a group of Red Skull acolytes. Aside from these little goodies, we get to see some good character interaction and above all are reminded what the X-Men were supposed to stand for. Remender's pacing, casting and dialogue are pretty good. My favorite bit, however, has to be Logan's speech at the very beginning. Simply wonderful.

John Cassaday's art (yeah, pencils, inks and colors) is great. It's very new and very good. I love the designs, the flashback panels and the transitions. Every bit of it feels different from a normal Avengers book and that's exactly how it's supposed to be. There are some great action panels here and some really in-your-face moments as well. The art is good throughout and I love the take on the new takes on Thor's and Havok's costumes. Havok's feels classic, yet refined, which is a step up from some of his stuff during the 90s. Then there's Thor's new costume and the biker gloves. Overall, a good issue for art.

This earns an "A" for being better than I really thought it would be. The only thing keeping it from being an "A+" is the weird cliff-hanger at the end of the issue.

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Posted in Cool Characters, Super-Hero Stuff