Art Thread

God dammit. I posted this , suggesting k-pop star Taeyeon as a model for Summer, and posted this , where Summer says she has no musical talent.... But then on a whim, I actually go to Youtube to see a video of this woman, click on this  one at random, and it's like Summer Newman: The Music Video. Girl works at a food service joint, loves hanging out in bright natural surroundings, leaves the familiar behind on a journey of joy, and even meets another self. Lyrics are somewhat on point ( here for the curious). So yeah, I'm sold, this is her.

I like it. Make it so.

Oh hell yes.

So while I confess my initial impression of Agent Parker was modeled after a combo of Helen Mirren's character Victoria Winslow in RED / RED 2 (esp. her final Butch & Sundance gig in the parallel-world-fic I did the other day) (of course, we never actually seen her yet, except in that bit of fiction, wielding any weapon, but I can certainly imagine her doing so*) ...     ... and, of course, Judy Dench as "M" in the most recent generation (literally; she started the role in 1995 ) of Bond films ...       ... my current headmodel for her is Laila Robins from the late, lamented mid-season ABC replacement, Deception, where she played the intelligent, no-nonsense FBI Special Agent Deakin, who's forced to deal with an eccentric talent who might be a tremendous asset to the agency, or a horrible security risk, or both. Why it occurred to me that she'd make a great Parker I have no idea.       (That would make Cameron/Jonathan Black, the self-focused, somewhat obsessive-compulsive, deception-driven geniuses -- whose father set all sorts of terrible machinations in motion, not to mention ruined their lives -- as the Alycia Chin analog. Huh. Good thing the show premiered in March, or I might be suddenly doubting myself ...) So ... anyway, just wanted to get that out there. And have an excuse for some fun images. ------ * It suddenly occurs to me that there is a wealth of Agent Parker backstory I could cobble together the next interval we're delayed. :-D

Oh nice.  This is not the references I was looking at for my previous Parker portrait ( ah-ha,alliteration! ) but I think I might do a second draft with these.  And it's not like I don't have time... ( I start my vacation Wednesday )

As long as it is relaxing and and enjoyable and recharging and vacationy, I fully encourage such a course. :-)

*** Dave H. said: As long as it is relaxing and and enjoyable and recharging and vacationy, I fully encourage such a course. :-) Pssh, getting to wake up, not worry about anything going on at the office, and then making comics until I don't feel like it anymore?  I can't think of anything more enjoyable.

I've collected a lot of cool-looking Radiance-related images, but nothing that really summed up her attitude as a superhero better than this one:

So with all the Summer stuff going on, I figured I'd take another stab at designing an outfit for her. 5 is definitely my favorite.  Nothing quite says "help from on high" quite like that look.  The rest have elements I like, but 5 is my favorite overall. Unrelated, I also did another pass on Charade, though mostly just working out those lighting gauntlets.  Think they have a much better look about them than my previous attempt. Finally, I was working on a picture with Adam but didn't like how it looked but I really liked how Adam's face looked and colored it.

With Concord taking up the sword, so to speak, I wanted to avoid overlapping with his thing - unless he (and/or you) think it's cool to have someone else with a similar deal. Any opinions on that? That aside, yeah, I really like all of these. If it's almost all just projected light, she doesn't have to worry about restricted mobility.

Bill G. said: With Concord taking up the sword, so to speak, I wanted to avoid overlapping with his thing - unless he (and/or you) think it's cool to have someone else with a similar deal. Any opinions on that? Actually, I've had the fun idea of an image of the whole team lined up with swords in the  en garde stance (or her baton in Alycia's case [and chips for Harry, because of course it's chips]).  It's a fun mental image.  But yeah, those are just me thinking "man, energy swords without handles would be cool."  Whatever attack of choice you have in mind for Radiance is cool with me.  Although, now that I think of it ....

I was pretty proud of the Link Suit's economy: it did two things (combine with other stuff, and grappling hooks), and literally every other ability came from another robot. Summer is all over the map in terms of what she's got, what she wants to use, and so on. It's the difference between those two characters. Leo's a very direct, charge-in, no-weapons kind of guy. Summer's still on a journey of self-discovery, so she's got armor, a docked drone, hard light, cables, and probably nanotech and some other stuff in her future. Swords are on the menu. So in the short term, it makes perfect sense to me that she'd be like "oh yeah, energy swords, of course, because Concord's doing it and he knows how to be a hero". She might even be a useful sparring partner if he takes lessons from JC, and Armiger isn't around. But there'll come a time when she realizes (or decides) "THIS is me", whatever 'this' happens to be.

Ahh, those days when you think to yourself "Man, this would be a cool picture.  But damn, that layout would be weird.  Oh well, guess I need to make a 3d model to help set this up."

And then you sketch things out.  Still need to add some personality to people (Harry needs a bag of chips somewhere, obviously) but at least I know I have enough room for everyone (Any maybe Phoenix in the background?  Is Phoenix coming back from the future or did it just lay an egg and now it's coming back with us?  I wasn't clear on that point). Opinions or thoughts before I spend the rest of the weekend trying to put this together?

The Phoenix egg will have hatched by now - that's coming in Summer's hero intro, but this is early access since you asked.

Hmm, I might put this off slightly just so I can see how that shakes out in game. Buh, wanting to be accurate details...

Mike said: Hmm, I might put this off slightly just so I can see how that shakes out in game. It won't take any part in the plot, it's just there to indicate that the team isn't back yet. The Phoenix is designed to always reproduce itself and awaken if there isn't one already: "there must always be a Phoenix" is Leo's promise to the world, that his tech will never be gone or misused. The fact that one is flying around gives Summer brief hope, but then she realizes this is the one that hatched. So draw it if you want, and however you want. :) Unrelated, I swear I came up with Phoenix before I ever heard of this show. Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan is the story of girl pilots chosen to partner with dragons who turn into jet fighters (or at least disguise themselves as jets). It looks weird, but this clip will give you the idea.

Damn if that isn't a cool design.  Well, time for some design work for Phoenix.

So I took a stab at a design for Phoenix.  I don't know if you had a particular plane in mind for Phoenix's transformed state, but I went for a F14.  From there, I just channeled "dragon" trying to use existing parts.  I am slightly tempted to go for the Starscream-style nose fold down onto the chest , but figured I'd try the "nose becomes the head" sort of like with Dragon Pilot.  Still sort of iffy with the wings design, though.  But all folded out, it does look fairly nice.

A couple alternatives if you want to play around: the Nier Automata flight units and the MOSPEADA Legioss designs. The former are basically big exoframes around a single pilot. The latter definitely has that rough, angular 80's mecha look. For our purposes what you have here looks really cool. As long as it's big, fierce, and fast, it's good. :)

Okay, I am literally a out to head out to sea, but I want to say there is a lot of faboo stuff here. I like the gauntlets, and the hover raft model is huge  but awesome. More later! 

*** Dave H. said: the hover raft model is huge  but awesome. Amazingly, that hovercraft is only slightly wider than a normal ground vehicle.

Mike said: So I took a stab at a design for Phoenix.  I don't know if you had a particular plane in mind for Phoenix's transformed state, but I went for a F14.   As far as I'm concerned you can never go wrong starting with an F14. 

Mike said: *** Dave H. said: the hover raft model is huge  but awesome. Amazingly, that hovercraft is only slightly wider than a normal ground vehicle. I need to look up my amazingly in-depth research from some issue or another on the matter, but that feels off. Who h pro a ly means I did something wrong, but we're pulling out of port and researching it on my phone right now seems unlikely. :-) 

So based on this post , I figured I'd do some butterfly-themed costumes for Summer (though they turned out slightly more mothy than butterfly-ish, but that's splitting hairs). I like B3 quite a bit, though I think it can be improved.  I also have at least one more idea in mind that I want to see on (digital) paper, but unfortunately my vacation ends basically whenever I post this and leave for work so that'll have to wait until this afternoon.  Meanwhile, as always I am open to suggestions, thoughts, and whatever general musings you folks have.

B2 looks like the basic suit, with B3 adding a wing-cape type effect. I really dig the idea of wings folding and unfolding into the classic superhero cape. Going back to this post , specifically image 5, I like that lighter/glowing color you had going on, but I dig the aesthetic here too. Maybe something in the middle, sort of like the Mary Marvel look (but with the body-suit instead of skirt)? Going back to an  earlier post , all of which I liked for their own reasons, it looks like most of these things are carrying forward from image 4 there. I think you're going in a cool direction. I've changed courses a couple times, but I think it's settling into a neat middle ground.

So here's some takes on that thread.  C2 is kind of an abortive attempt at something a little more tech-y and street clothes-y, but it just sort of floundered.  But, we learn as much from our successes as we do our failures.

C2 is the 90's Anti-Hero Summer, who packs twin squirt guns with soapy water, two foam sword props over her shoulders, and equips pouches full of candy corn and other treats. She is not good at this. :( C3 looks really neat. I like the open-face look from C1b and C2, but the wings on C3 seem to have a lot of flexibility in position, size, etc. I like the visual accent of the mini-skirt + the scarf type deal.

Trying to clean up some of these elements and give them a slightly different look.

Finally for the evening, a sudden burst of inspiration struck.  I don't think the overall design works, but I think elements of it can be scavenged.

From this post : This looks like what she'd wear coming back from our visit to the Savage Land or some similar place. I see where you're going with the wings/opera-cape thing and I like it. I'm not a fan of the highly textured costume - I think plainer and simpler is probably the way to go there. I also much prefer the uncovered face. On that note, I think you've got a solid grip on how to do her face and hair here. The hair feels light and free, not as artificial as it did before. From this post : This is really neat in that can create the illusion of the miniskirt, but isn't actually one. The overall effect feels like stuff you've already been working toward, basically a shorty unitard that isn't quite as form-fitting, I guess? The lit-up arms and legs take it in a more technological direction than I think she'd prefer in the long run, but as accessories they look neat. If you like the glowy look, a suggestion: since that's where her thrusters currently emanate from, just a holographic indicator (a la Doctor Strange's time magic ), a glow around the forearms and lower legs, might work? I'm not sold on the raccoon look for her face, but as an alternative to the traditional hero mask (or to some of your other stuff, like the goggle/face-shield type stuff), it's a neat experiment and I'm glad you tried it.

So I'm reviewing the feedback I've already given, here , here , here , to make sure I'm not changing gears on you too much. Mask or holographic alterations to face: the mask is the obvious thematic choice for a Janus, I just have't seen anything that really sold me on it. I keep thinking of Summer as smiling and comforting and you need to see someone's face for that to work. She might start with a mask, but I can't see her sticking with it for long. Halo, wings, miniskirts, and other accessories: I think the halo has to be something she earns down the road. The wings are a consistent feature I like. I'm still not fond of a skirt, unless she's got something below it (like a leotard) or when it's not really a skirt, which you've been consistent about doing, so good work there. :) Keeping the arms and legs bare still works for me. Reading this, one option I'm now curious about is halo-as-mask - a holographic band of light around the face, obscuring the eyes, basically taking the place of a trad superhero domino mask or cowl. Would it still give the visual impression of a halo? Maybe.

Bah, change gears if the direction we're heading towards isn't working.  Fail faster is generally my go-to strategy when doing iterative design like this. Anyway, I took to that idea of leaving Summer's features exposed enough that she can still emote.  So here is some designs on that theme (if a couple different halos thrown in as well).  This eventually devolved into just a lot of face paint designs (though this is much more practical when you can holographically project those designs). 11 is striking and simple (always a good combination) but I don't feel like it fits the theme for Radiance very well.  A good design, but not good for this. 4 is interesting, but I feel like it is missing something.  Or it might just be that it reminds me of Geordie's visor too much. 7 follows the insect design of a butterfly, but maybe just a little too much. I'll let this percolate in the back of my brain and see what I can come up with on a second pass.

This may sound odd, but can Summer just re on figure her face, the same way she flips stuff around for armor mode? No explicit mask, just what seems to her to be an heroic face in lieu of her own. The Capt. Marvel Shazam option. 

*** Dave H. said: This may sound odd, but can Summer just re on figure her face, the same way she flips stuff around for armor mode? No explicit mask, just what seems to her to be an heroic face in lieu of her own. The Capt. Marvel Shazam option.  Oh, I figure this is totally an option, but I also want to save it for the last option unless Bill said "screw it, she just has a slightly difference face as Radiance." Fun story: On the so-called "heroic face", I've called this the Princess face for the last couple of years, due to the sample character of the same name from Mutants and Masterminds Third Edition who has a similar heroic countenance (which is purchased as a 1-pt Feature on the character and is fairly ridiculous when you think about it).

Well, it goes right with a pair of glasses as a disguise (even if you believe the Super-hypnotism story). 

<a href="https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c</a>

Hmm, all this talking has lead me down a whole different train of thought on this.&nbsp; I'm going to try and put something together after work today to see if it is viable but I have a good feeling about this (which probably means it is going to be horrible). Yeah, this doesn't explain anything, but I mostly am leaving it as a note for myself so I don't forget.

Bill G. said: <a href="https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c</a> <a href="http://www.thedevilseyes.com/2015/12/no-one-recognizes-clark-kent-as-superman-answered.html?m=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.thedevilseyes.com/2015/12/no-one-recognizes-clark-kent-as-superman-answered.html?m=1</a>

*** Dave H. said: Bill G. said: <a href="https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/BIaF0QKtY0c</a> <a href="http://www.thedevilseyes.com/2015/12/no-one-recognizes-clark-kent-as-superman-answered.html?m=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.thedevilseyes.com/2015/12/no-one-recognizes-clark-kent-as-superman-answered.html?m=1</a> Yeah, I remember seeing that (and quite a few other explanations for why it works). I guess I have a fondness for unconventional explanations, or ones (like Christopher Reeve's acting) that are just awesome because you can see it work . So what keeps a secret ID intact? Admiration:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOJr4EyUH8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOJr4EyUH8</a> Fear:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z6o1GIEsQE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z6o1GIEsQE</a> Stupidity:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DJWMVR_yfM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DJWMVR_yfM</a> I'll give it some more thought.

Reeves is truly awesome in that scene.&nbsp; Superman 1 and 2 have a remarkable mix of fantastic and awful moments.&nbsp;

Okay, mask pictures feedback! They feel like they're on a range between "artistic" and "concealing" What does the halo (4) look like if it extends from the forehead to the tip of the nose, rather than being a narrow eye-high band? 5 looks like she's attending an Eyes Wide Shut party? 7 is an interesting halo alternative, looking somewhere between a crown and a visor while it's at it Some of these have that sort of Jem/glam-rocker glitter girl look Also derp, I know I've seen that eye-covering halo type look before, but I still can't find it. Here's a couple conceptually similar Digimon characters, while I keep hunting: Angewomon (left), and Kazemon ( full and face ).

So this is a complete diversion from everything we've talked about previously, but I wanted to see how it worked through the concept phase and it's not bad. So, you can blame this whole design on an Overwatch blind box someone bought yesterday that included a golden Reinhardt (At least I think so.&nbsp; That did occur, but there might have been additional factors, but that was like 6am is this morning and my memory is shoddy with details about purely mental subjects).&nbsp; My thought eventually turned to "How would this design even come up in-universe?"&nbsp; Accidents of course. Summer and Jason (or Leo, or Aria, or insert anyone else) load up a new holograph onto the projector and it loads the wrong texture for everything.&nbsp; What was supposed to be like a ring or necklace or something else, instead covers the whole body.&nbsp; "Opps, loaded the wrong texture.&nbsp; I'll have it fixed in a second."&nbsp; "Well hold on now, this might be something..."&nbsp; Not a bad look for someone whom is named for emitted light.&nbsp; The rest was just playing around with the solid light wings and how they look while not in use (faking the skirt design a little). Not a great design, but definitely an interesting idea. Next: different halo designs!

It needn't even be holographic. Her outer layer is capable of flipping in place, module by module, to give her an armored appearance. Right now it's painted white, but maybe she wants to distinguish herself from Leo (prior to any other shell improvements). And she definitely will. I'll let these two guys discuss the artistic merits:

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/MegaBurritoZilla/posts/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/pg/MegaBurritoZilla/posts/</a> Some neat concept art and links.

A cool alternate take on the Teen Titans' Raven.&nbsp;<a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/BJcFGjb" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/BJcFGjb</a>

Was going to post this last night, but I got frustrated with the forum lock up on every third image I tried to upload and decided to put it off until today.&nbsp; For now, you guys get links because I'm still a little bitter at the site. Did some more work on designs for Radiance's mask and outfit .&nbsp; D is a particular favorite from that sheet, though I do like all of them--except for B, which is a bit like a worse retread of C from this sheet .&nbsp; I feel like we've got a lot of good stuff, it's just a matter of figuring out what alchemy of elements will create a good final product. So I made a Roll20 game for my 47.2 thread (which I really should get back to at some point) to keep track of things, but since I hate not having artwork to go with things, I made a player icon and character sheet image for Keri in more street clothes.&nbsp; I do like that jacket.

Mask : the overall idea of 17, plus the height (brow to nose) of 12/13, is basically what I had in mind, yeah. 15, 16, 18, and 19 feel pretty elaborate. 14 has that whole Sailor Mercury thing going on. Outfit : A2 and C2 capture that "wings collapsed as cloak/cape" look that I like for a casual/relaxed pose. I think D and F are the outfits we've been driving toward, with C and D being the two wing alternatives. The ringlets on E's wrists look neat. Keri : pictures look cool, but I'm the wrong person to provide specific feedback. :)

Keri stuff all looks cool. Lots of interesting ideas for Radiance. Good work as always.&nbsp;

MOAR Phoenix stuff. F22 Raptor maintenance:&nbsp; <a href="https://i.imgur.com/ajEngt9.png" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/ajEngt9.png</a> Tornado GR4:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-technicians-work-on-a-tornado-gr4-fighter-jet-in-maintenance-hanger-2262022.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-technicians-work-on-a-tornado-gr4-fighter-jet-in-maintenance-hanger-2262022.html</a> F35:&nbsp; <a href="https://media.defenceindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_F-35_Manufacture_Aft_lg.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://media.defenceindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_F-35_Manufacture_Aft_lg.jpg</a> Dragon Pilot:&nbsp; <a href="https://i.imgur.com/NtdskdW.gif" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/NtdskdW.gif</a> Macross:&nbsp; <a href="https://78.media.tumblr.com/f70d825b620838cba5778e47601d6790/tumblr_n09oddVu761s5oxc0o1_500.gif" rel="nofollow">https://78.media.tumblr.com/f70d825b620838cba5778e47601d6790/tumblr_n09oddVu761s5oxc0o1_500.gif</a> More Macross:&nbsp; <a href="https://78.media.tumblr.com/97f488674a009062c5565229595d9622/tumblr_o0ccjkZSir1s40tcxo1_500.gif" rel="nofollow">https://78.media.tumblr.com/97f488674a009062c5565229595d9622/tumblr_o0ccjkZSir1s40tcxo1_500.gif</a>