Some character design help?

[Gremlin]

Hey, all.  So, I have this character of mine named Patriotman, and I've never been able to get a decent design for him in my head.  I always imagine Captain America without the shield and with a Robin-style facemask on a guy with brown hair.  Which is lame.  So, I was wondering if anybody had any ideas for an American-themed costume for a guy who is pretty much a Cap ripoff with better powers (instead of peak physical level he's actually mildly super strong, super fast, regenerative, etc.), no shield, and a variety of themed weapons in his belt/"Liefield's everywhere pouches^TM" (you know, like Ultimate Cap, except he actually uses his all the time?).  I swear, he doesn't come across as Steve Rogers at all when I'm writing him.  He's kind of a dick.  I mean, not really, but still.

IT'S NOT A CAP RIPOFF I SWEAR! *cries in a corner*

[UnkoMan]

How about something like this?

Yes, that is a tiny off the shoulder cape.

[Gremlin]

Thanks, Unko.  I like everything waist down.  ...that sounded a lot dirtier than I meant it to sound.

Seriously, I love the tonfa on the leg, and the belt and boots.  That's really cool.  And putting gold in it is a good idea.  I think the gloves would be cool if they were similar to the boots...hmm.  Maybe not, I'm not sure.

I'm trying to go for functionality.  I think I'll stick with the face mask.  And no capes! =P  And I'm trying to think of a chest emblem...a white A's kinda plain, and so's a white star.  What about an A combined with a star?  Too corny?  Hmm.  Ring of stars?  A stylized eagle?

And, I'm gonna be a jerk and say the character has to be white.  I've written several stories about him already, and he's super right-wing, and his best friend (the ultra-liberal Gadgeteer) always says he's racist when they argue.

[UnkoMan]

Hey, I understand. It was just the very first thing that came to mind when I thought "patriotic hero." I just went with it.

I think an A combined with a star could look pretty sweet, actually. It's a bit corny, but it's pretty easy to do. Play with that. Maybe put it in a circle. I'm going to actually think about this a bit more, and come up with something better. More utalitarian. I'll see if I can whip up something later tonight, after I get back from shooting. A video, not a gun.

[Gremlin]

Well, you'd probably come up with something a bajillion times cooler than I ever could, so if you mixed an A and a star, it would rock, whereas if I did the same thing, it would suck. =p  Yeah, a circle would be cool...one of the things I thought of was a white star, blue background in a red circle, but I've seen it somewhere before and don't remember where and once somebody tells me where I've seen it I'm going to smack myself in the head for taking it.

[UnkoMan]

Something like this perhaps? Darker, more realistic tones. More jumpsuit than spandex. The shoulder straps I just saw on Ult Cap in WWII and thought they were cool.

[YoungHeros]

These new designs have inspired me now ^_^

Great work!

[Outcast]

How about something like this?

Yes, that is a tiny off the shoulder cape.

Something like this perhaps? Darker, more realistic tones. More jumpsuit than spandex. The shoulder straps I just saw on Ult Cap in WWII and thought they were cool.

Very cool designs the both of them. Unkoman. I like em. Now all they need now is a mesh, a skin and their all set and ready to go.  :thumbup:

Great job!

[Gremlin]

Unkoman, you are my favorite.  These rock. :thumbup:  I'd never really considered tonfas before, but I've definitely been inspired to make him a cop as well as a former Marine.  They shall be his signature weapon of awesome.

I like the shoulder straps.  I can definitely see Patriotman having some kinda emergency parachute with his logo on it.  Maybe if he didn't have a chest logo and it was on his parachute instead?  Would that look cool, or lame?  And I like the kneepads, but the logos on it seem a bit...gaudy?  That's definitely not the right word.  It's too much, I think, but I don't know how to say it.

I'm not sure about the mask.  He looks kinda like Daredevil, especially with the tonfas.  I think the best look would be...well, now that I think about it, it looks pretty much exactly like Bucky.  Hmm.  I don't want him to be a Winter Soldier knockoff, either.  Hmm.

Actually, after thinking about it, I can use the original design, since the character had three incarnations: Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern Age.  The first design would be great for a 60's character.

[UnkoMan]

Yeah, it'd be a good '60s/'70s character. If doing that, make it so at first he has spandex over his exposed skin (so nobody knows he's black) and eventually it gets ripped in a fight. People find out he's black. They can react however. The new guy takes the mantle to right the former glory that he thinks the black guy tarnished? Unless that doesn't fit your story.

As for the new costumes, feel free to change them however you like. I'll agree the logo knee pads are a bit of overkill. Personally, I like the mask, but I admit having it red does remind of daredevil. I was going to colour it black originally. But if you don't like it, toss it. I don't think he'd look too Winter Soldier with a tiny mask.

As for logo on parachute, that's cool but not as a replacement. How often would he use the parachute anyhow? If you don't like it dead centre you could move it to one or both shoulders, which I also almost did. Or you could try it as a breast badge.

Anyhow, glad you like them. It was actually neat to do, since I never draw patriotic supers. I should do one for my own country some day.

[Gremlin]

Well, the new guy isn't actually racist.  He's just very right wing, and sometimes comes across as...racially insensitive, shall we say?

Okies, I'll just go with the original mask.  Glad it isn't too WS-y.  (Heh.  Wussy.)

Dunno.  Not too often, but you never can be too careful, ya know? :p  I like the idea of shoulder or brest emblem.

Chuckles sent me a cool logo in a PM:   I'll mess around with colors a bit, throw it in a circle.  It'll be nice.

Thanks a bunch for your help, Unkoman.  It's spiffy keen.  :thumbup:  And what country are you from?

[UnkoMan]

I'm just a hop above, in good ole' Canada.