Character Contest 49: Scorpio!

I've decided that each month I am going to dedicate one character design contest to the Signs of the Zodiac, because I'm all about living your comic book like according to what the stars tell you. And I don't mean just Robert Downey Jr.

So your challenge for this week is to design the coolest character image possible with the theme of "Scorpio". You might design something around a scorpion (traditional animal symbol of the sign), or something based on the 1973 movie featuring Burt Lancaster, or a character that you think exemplifies the astrological profile of those born under the sign, or something completely different. It's up to you so long as it in some way ties into the theme!

The person with the winning entry as selected by our expert panel (i.e. me) will win their choice of a) a portrait to go in HeroMachine 3, b) an item to go in HeroMachine 3, or c) a custom black and white "Sketch of the Day" style drawing (also by me). The rules otherwise are the same as always:

  • All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like ImageShack, PhotoBucket, the UGO Forums, whatever);
  • Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
  • The image cannot have been used in any previous HeroMachine character design contest;
  • Please name your files as [your name]-[character name].[file extension]. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his "Bayou Belle" character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.
  • Please make the link go directly to the image (like this) and not to a hosting jump page (like this). If you see "preview" or "rotate" somewhere in the link you're probably doing it wrong.
  • All entries must be in by next Monday, when I'll choose a winner.

Good luck everyone!

Caption Contest 86 Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of Caption Contest 86: Joshua!

I ultimately went with him as the winner because he had three different entries that were all very good. This one I thought perfectly captured the spirit of most Internet debate.

He was not the only person worth of singling out, however, so forthwith I present your other Honorable Mention Finalist Type People:

  • Joshua: Hulk: IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN!
  • Joshua: Wolverine: I’m the best at what I do, and what I do isn’t pretty– that being a dental hygienist.
  • Ben Trafford: “Hulk is NOT being just like his mother!”
  • Jake: Commentary: And so the Veiny Neck contest began!
  • The Atomic Punk: Hulk: Hulk said “a little off the sides!”
  • Brambles: Wolverine: Staring contest! GO!

Jake's in particular gave me a good snort, but I thought all of those were very funny. Thanks to everyone who entered, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Joshua, let me know what you'd like for your prize either here, via the Contact Us link, or by direct e-mail (afdstudios at the gmail to the com).

RP: Is that a promise or a threat?

(From "Yankee Comics" number 1, 1941.)

RP: How we eventually got to Robin’s scaly panties

(From "Yankee Comics" number 4. If anyone wants to use "Robin's Scaly Panties" as the name of their band, I'm in.)

Comic TWART minimalism

I am sure I've done "Comic TWART" in my Saturday "Things I Like" segment before, but this is "Minimalist Week" and I absolutely love everything they've done. It's well worth a few minutes of your weekend browsing time to check out their creations.

My favorite is probably this "Minimalist Fantastic Four" by Tom Fowler:

All of them inspire me to want to come up with something similar of my own. If you have a creation you think would qualify as "super-hero minimalism", I'd love to see it! Post a link in the comments and we'll all have a jolly time that's exactly the bare amount of jolly and time needed to establish jolliness.

RP: On super-criminal plots, lame

(From "Yankee Comics" number 4.)

META: Moving Open Critique Day

For the duration of Friday Night Fights, I'll be moving Open Critique Day from Fridays to Thursdays. Unfortunately that means no OCD today, but we'll see you next Thursday.

Friday Night Fights 2 Play-in Cage Match!

The hour has arrived, my friends, to see who will be participating in the round-robin head-to-head Friday Night Fights matchups. What you are about to witness is an all-against-all cage match pitting 21 versions of a "Space-Based Robin Hood" character based on the Sheriff of Nottingham. The top 16 vote-getters as of next Thursday at midnight will be slotted into a bracket in the traditional 16-vs-1, 15-vs-2 tournament fashion, with the creator who got the most votes being seeded first, the second-most votes seeded second, etc.

But first, we have to pick the best sixteen character images out of the twenty-one submitted, and that's where you -- yes, you there! -- come in.

I have put each character alongside his or her or its individual story (if the creator provided one) so you can find out a little more about what's behind the concept. I highly encourage you to read those as they are a) entertaining and b) key to understanding what the creator did in some cases.

After that you'll find a poll showing all twenty-one entries; vote for up to sixteen characters you like the most, and you can click on an image to see it at a larger size.

Because this version of Friday Night Fights required a cohesive vision unifying the characters in each set, I am providing the creator's online name with each entry. Last time it was all anonymous, but that just doesn't make sense in this format.

Good luck to everyone, and I hope the rest of you have fun seeing what they've come up with!

Continue reading

RP: DOOM will need your HMO card first, wench!

(From "Yankee Comics" number 4.)

FNF Reminder — Time's almost up!

This is your last chance to get your Friday Night Fights 2 entries in! This is your last chance to get your Friday Night Fights 2 entries in! This is your last chance to get your Friday Night Fights 2 entries in!

So ... yeah. Get 'em in! We've only got 15 so far, so if you're the only new person entering after this, you're guaranteed a spot.