How to draw Batman quick and dirty

Posted on January 2, 2008 by | 1 comment

Batman Doodle - completeHeroMachine is meant for people who can’t draw very well themselves, but I always encourage people to try! Having fun, quick little doodles you can knock out is a good way to improve your confidence and impress your friends. Well, maybe not your friends, because they probably know you too well to be impressed, but you get the idea. Like drawing Killroy or knowing how to make a barn-door farmhouse without picking up your pencil, this quick and simple Batman doodle should be something fun for you. As much as possible, I tried to make it so that anyone who can draw letters can draw the figure. Enjoy!

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Posted in Digital Illustration Lessons, Super-Hero Stuff

The Clock Turns

Posted on January 1, 2008 by | Comments Off on The Clock Turns

A new year has dawned, and it’s a good time to reflect on what has passed, what may be yet to come, and to take a few precious moments to mock super-hero costumes that don’t know when they, too, should just let their theme slip quietly into that good night:

Clock King

Clock King found a niche and by gum he’s going to fill it. I get the feeling he found clock-patterned spandex on sale at Wal-Mart and just couldn’t say no. This is the kind of guy who wallpapers his entire house with the exact same print, and then gets throw pillows to match. Other, lesser villains with a time theme might have stopped at just an hourglass insignia, or maybe some arrows on the gloves, but we’re talking about chronological royalty here!

I assume the glass faceplate is opaque on the outside and transparent from the inside so he can see, but what about when the time is 9:15 or 3:45 and the hands are covering his eyes? And don’t think for a minute that a guy with this kind of theme mania is going to have a non-functional clock on his kisser! I don’t even want to think about how he sets the time for the clock in his belt …

Image and character are ©1985, DC Comics, Inc., “Who’s Who”, Volume V.

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Super-Hero Stuff

The Crossdressing Power of Deimos!

Posted on December 28, 2007 by | 5 comments

I say, if you’re a man about to take on the world in a masterful plot of pure evil, why not put on a sexy red velvet, midriff-baring, slit-up-to-the-hips, wide-sleeved dress, with matching pointy slippers? And heck, while you’re at it, get yourself a nice, long-nailed manicure, because if you look good, you’ll defeat good.

Deimos

Image and character © DC Comics, Inc., 1985, from “Who’s Who” volume VI.

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes

Cool Hero: Copperskin

Posted on December 27, 2007 by | Comments Off on Cool Hero: Copperskin

Thanks to Pesky for this characer, posted on the UGO Forums:

Copperskin

I think he uses transparency well here, making the green part of the wings look translucent, for example, without going quite too far. I also like the use of the new Expansion hover-platform beneath the character to ground it a bit more, and the diamond background gives it all the feeling of a real character illustration.

Nice job, Pesky, keep up the good work!

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Posted in Cool Characters

Cool Character: Spectre

Posted on December 21, 2007 by | 4 comments

Over on the UGO Forums, “thedoompixel” has a thread showing off some characters he’s made. One in particular jumped out at me and I thought you might enjoy seeing what he’s done:

Spectre

One of the things I like about this character is the way he’s made the “skin” component completely transparent, allowing the clothing items to take the weight of giving the figure form. I also like the clean and simple color palette, with just the eyes in a bold red against black and white. This is a really innovative design, an excellent example of “less is more”. You don’t have to load your character down with an item from every single component, sometimes (usually!) it’s better to rely on a few simple choices to carry the narrative forward.

There are several other characters in that thread that are well worth your time, so head on over and take a gander when you get a chance.

Well done, thedoompixel!

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Posted in Cool Characters, Tips & Tricks

Good costuming

Posted on December 21, 2007 by | 1 comment

I certainly have written enough words at this point about bad super-hero costumes, but I wanted to take advantage of the tidings of joy in the air at this time of year to point you to a site that features nothing but great design — Project Rooftop. From their “About” section:

Project Rooftop is where cartoonists and illustrators bring their costume design skills to task in tribute to the superheroes and villains we’ve grown up with. This site is intended to promote excellence in costume design as well as foster continued interest for these amazing characters.

All characters are copyrights and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. All of the designs here were created not for profit and this site is used solely for artistic enjoyment.

Whenever you feel the urge to see what other really creative, talented people can do with super-heroes, I urge you to browse through the Rooftop archives. They’re really something special.

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Suggestions & Ideas, Super-Hero Stuff

Super Bad Breasts

Posted on December 20, 2007 by | 16 comments

Look, I like a full-figured gal as much as any red-blooded heterosexual American male, but super-hero breasts are just too ridiculous for words. You’re flying around at high rates of speed without benefit of an airplane. The wind gusts are incredible. And all you have between your quadruple-D cups and two bloody black eyes is spandex. Not a good design.

The latest example that got me irritated is from the pages of Marvel’s execrable “Ultimates 3, Issue 1”. Out of nowhere a teenage Valkyrie leaps from her flying horse, sword held high, to slash at Venom. Look at this photo and see if there’s anything amiss here:

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Super-Hero Stuff

Interest in Making Your Own HM Items?

Posted on December 19, 2007 by | 11 comments

I was wondering if there would be interest out there in making your own actual HeroMachine items, which would be Flash objects just like everything else — colorable, selectable, and usable on any of the six bodies. The idea is that I would release the Flash source files (like m1-RightHand-Expansion1.fla for instance) and write up some instructions for how to create your own items. People would draw their own items and send me their versions of the source files, and I’d compile them up into further expansion pack releases for others to use.

The source file for the main engine, heromachine.fla, would not be released.

The thing is, you’d have to own Flash and know how to use it. The code on the item files is very simple, all you have to do basically is change the name of the item in three places and you’re good to go. What I don’t know is how many people would be interested in something like that, and then how many would follow through and actually do something.

Thoughts?

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Posted in News & Updates, Suggestions & Ideas

Night Girl

Posted on December 18, 2007 by | 4 comments

Sometimes a good idea, a good costume design, and a good logo can all combine in an unexpected way to make something that is, if not exactly “bad”, at least worthy of junior high jokes about boobies. Case in point, DC Comics’ “Night Girl” from the “Legion of Super-Heroes”:

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes

Desktop Inspiration

Posted on December 17, 2007 by | 2 comments

Sometimes when inspiration strikes from your immediate surroundings, it strikes you upside the head and knocks you silly. This is particularly dangerous for comic book creators, who work in a fairly silly field already and whose immediate environment is pretty much their desk:

Calculator and Calendar Man

Yes, you’re reading that right — this is “The Calculator” and “Calendar Man”, deliciously featured on the same DC “Who’s Who” page. I anxiously await the introduction of “Blotter”, “The Stapler”, and the ever-intrepid “The Mouse”, usually found in his secret hideout, named (inevitably ) “The Mouse Pad”.

(All images and characters ©DC Comics, Inc., from “Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe” #4, 1985.)

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Posted in Bad Super Costumes