Darkjedi

Very cool.

*wonders how they'd look in 3D*

EDIT - My only critique is that the fishnet doesn't follow the contours of the leg, but I didn't see that til my third look (so it's clearly not a big deal).

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"...Oh, and Dark, if yer reading this, I have one thing to say, and that is:

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I'm reading...

"...for the them..."?

Is that a typo?

Comics take a bit of time to produce. This reply isn't meant to discourage in any way... just explain a few characteristics of comic creation. The following is a small breakdown to give you a quick overview (keeping in mind that every artist is different);

In general, pencillers like to have about a day per page to create their pencils. That gives them about a month to draw (in pencil only) a 28 page story. Some are certainly faster, but a tight pencil page is the inker's best friend and there's little benefit to taking shortcuts unless the penciller will also be doing the inks. After a month on the pencils, the pages are shipped to the inker...

The inker ALSO likes to have about a day per page for the aforementioned 28 page story, so we're at the two-month mark. When the inker is done, he mails his stuff to the colorist...

The colorist ALSO likes to have a month to scan the art and color everything. This is an incredibly intensive stage and dozens of professional companies have sprouted up that assign multiple colorists per project. So really, coloring an issue is more than a month of man-labor. When they're done, they send it to the letterer...

The letter is given a month, but it usually only takes a week or so. The rest of the time is spent on getting the files in order and ready for the press, plus a little flex-time in case someone is behind. The entire process for a 28 page story is a 4-month turnaround and is dependant on everyone keeping to their tight deadlines. If even one step fails, everyone down the chain is impacted.

Now, how does this apply to you?

13 pages would take someone an average of 13 days to pencil. Now, there are people who can go a lot faster if they use shorthand, or know the inker, or just don't do a lot of detail. Certainly 13 pages *could* be done in 2 days, but you'd probably get some rushed work and the product would suffer. If you use the same artist to ink his own pencils, you could shave additional time because he might not even need to do more than a few chicken-scratches before he started to ink his own work. Whenever I ink my own stuff, I'm able to read my own pencil shorthand and get right into a finished piece with a minimal of time.

In a nutshell, I'd think 2 weeks at a minimum for an artist to pencil, ink, and letter 13 full pages, and that's assuming he's working a fairly solid schedule... maybe 6 hours a day?

It sounds like an intriguing project and I'd love to see what you come up with.

My recommendation is to ink the old way, scan the black and white, and color it digitally. IMO, digital inking is way more trouble than it's worth.

What, no Jomaro Kindred??!?

Oh well... looks like I'm staying home.

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I'm considering becoming one. It might generate more traffic to my website.

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I really need to win the lottery so I can afford to commission some work from you.

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That reminds me. I need to talk to Doug about a commish. Oh, and I need to win the lottery.

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For a few years now I've had this image in my head of Gladius smashing through a door, shoulder first, surprising a room full of criminals. After seeing quite a few artists around here, Doug is on the short list of people I feel could do justice to the image.

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Thanks =)

I'll be around for a while yet, so maybe we can make it happen.

I'm considering becoming one. It might generate more traffic to my website.

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"...I don't have any professional tools..."

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Never, EVER think that someone needs professional tools to become an artist. Never believe that professional tools are necessary to make good art. Draw what you love. Draw all the time. Draw wherever you are. Eventually you'll find tools you prefer.

And whatever else, never quit.

Art is typically done in Photoshop, but I think the panels and text is all imported into Illustrator and taken from there. Illustrator is a lot more forgiving than Photoshop when it comes to text and such.

I'm loving these art trades. It's cool to see what artists do for each other... especially in this community.

Gratz Celtic!!

The updated version is a VAST improvement. I'm really diggin' that strong chin of his - it has tons of character.

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"... In any case its phenomenal as is so I'm happy

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And really, that's what matters. If the player of the hero is happy, then the piece is a success.

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Looking good DJ! Definitely looking forward to our near future art trade!

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Thanks Gill. Speaking of which, I've begun modelling Lush and Gill won't be far behind. Hopefully you'll start seeing roughs shortly.

Changing the bow color would cettainly help it stand out, but the player is adamant that the bow needs to be the same color as the costume, so that's no longer an option.

I might consider re-rendering the costume under softer, coler lights to help integrate them into the back more... but they look great on the skin and I'll leave that part alone.

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Yup, I htink Graver is right. I'd like to see a red somewhere welse. even if it's just a residual reflection from his uniform, it needs to be in this pic.

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Well... I *could* change the background lighting to be warmish tones instead of the blues... but I'm afraid I might lose the moonlight effect. Maybe warm tones down low by the streets and fade to blues up near the sky...

*brain-gears whir softly*

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"...The color is all very localized, which I think is kind of pulling the piece apart a little. Not sure what to do about that, given the monochromatic nature of your friend's hero.

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On this point, I completely agree with you. His name is 'Crimson Prime' and he wears an entirely crimson-colored suit... so I had to keep him, well... crimson. But the character is described as being a cross between Green Arrow and Batman. In other words, he's an archery-master with a dark, gothic side.

Now, in regards to this piece, I wanted to do a night scene to capture the dark side of the character. I also wanted to make the city look stark since I've done several 'happy' cities (Val Halla, White Peregrine, Great Briton). I therefore chose to use moonlight blues for the background which, after rendering, I found didn't mix well with the reds of his costume.

To soften the issue, I added moonlight to Crimson Prime and gave it a soft glow to help mesh the blues and reds.

Good eye, PMD.

Now...in regards to the character looking removed from the scene, I think that's a function of the poses not having a direct connection. In Juggertha and Crimson Prime, both characters stand atop a detail that ISN'T connected to the background. But in Val Halla, you can see her feet on the building and statue.

Possibly, it's that direct connection that places them in the scene? Fire Fily is clearly placed on the bridge (for example).

For the record, I really like that people can critique my pieces and that we're engaged in this type of analysis. I read each comment (both good and bad) and they *do* affect future pieces.

Someday... I'll be doing these for Marvel and DC. Mark my words...

Crimson Prime has been a friend of mine for almost exactly 20 years. We used to play Villains and Vigilantes in his dorm room, and our GM was none other than Sean Fish... a.k.a. Manticore. Many of the bad guys we used to fight on those late college nights have now appeared in COH, including Countess Crey, The Vindicators (the name we used in college), and a hero named Crimson.

Now, 20 years later, Crimson Prime has had to adapt and evolve his character since Manticore borrowed his name and dropped it on an NPC in Peregrine Island. An homage, I'm sure... but no one can replace the ORIGINAL Crimson... now named "CRIMSON PRIME".

CRIMSON PRIME - Poster

CRIMSON PRIME - Detail

I disagree with Alex about buying the largest you can afford. I've used Wacoms for 15 years and have come to prefer mid-size to smaller ones. I use a 6" x 8" and love it because a smaller stroke can cover the surface from one side to another. The larger ones require more arm motion and I prefer wrist and finger control. For small details, you just zoom in.

Besides, the smaller ones fit on my lap/desk easier, and are easy to store. My large one is a beast and was hard to manage around my desk setup.

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Last question I promise! What program do you use to model the static objects anyways?

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Maya.

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*blink*

You've been.... busy...

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No no no... I mean stuff I've either bought or downloaded. I've been a Poser person for over 10 years and regularly search sites for freebies. Lots of my collection is out of date because it was crafted for earlier versions of Poser, but I've also found some real gems.

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How the heck do you make or even find so many awesome outfits and textures and stuff for poser? Geez.

And so quickly too...

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Thanks to everyone on the feedback.

Hex, I have about 20 gigs worth of Poser stuff on file, but whenever I can't find that perfect piece, I often end up modelling it. I don't make anything that conforms for time reasons, but I can model static objects in my sleep and parent them to the figure within an hour or two. In a pinch, I photoshop smaller details.

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Nice. But if you could show his axe, it will be SUPER NICE.

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He doesn't use an axe. He's holding a random piece of pipe.

This piece really evolved from my initial concept to the final. I had originally pictured Juggertha in the middle of a clean street with nice cars and stuff, but the more I worked on it, the more I felt anger and destruction was the key theme. So, Juggertha moved from Steel Canyon to Baumton.. which worked out well since the color scheme of green/tan on his outfit worked better with the browns of Boomtown.

Here he is in all his 3D glory.

JUGGERTHA - Poster

JUGGERTHA - Detail