2021-10-23 - Out of the Shadows

[doctorchallenger]

An original skin for a larger concept using public domain characers.  This character is Atlas, loosely based on this character:
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/g/gaatlas.htm

Feedback is welcome.

[UnkoMan]

Oh man, that old costume is horrible. Great job on the redesign.
The fist logo is also designed quite well but... I wonder about the choice of black lines to represent all the fingers. Without black lines around the rest of the colours it sticks out as a little funny to me.

Have you thought about delving into the world of seams? Using dark and light lines to represent them? The fingers could be done with these as well.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Great job on the skin, Doc, especially his face.  I'm not a fan of the cape, though...It makes his look a bit too Superman.  BTW:  I agree, the original Atlas costume is hilariously bad.

Dana

[Xenolith]

You know what would really make this costume pop?  Leopard skin trunks.  Just throwing that out there.

[President Raygun]

Nice work, though it looks a lot more like Titan from Dark Horse's failed Comics Greatest World line.

[doctorchallenger]

Thanks for the feedback.  I hope to post more for on this concept.

Great job on the skin, Doc, especially his face.  I'm not a fan of the cape, though...It makes his look a bit too Superman.  BTW:  I agree, the original Atlas costume is hilariously bad.

For purposes of full disclosure, the face is a fusion of Dark Jered's and Googleplex's base faces. It does have the virtue of being different from faces in wide circulations, so thanks for noticing (and thanks to all the skinners who gave me bases from which to crib - this skin also features Zed's old base so it's a real throwback).  I go back and forth on the cape.  I stuck with it because in my concept, this character is kind of a Superman wannabe.

You know what would really make this costume pop?  Leopard skin trunks.  Just throwing that out there.

Ha! I am debating  about doing an adolescent version of the character that is more true to the original design. I can't imagine that I will go full bore, but nothing says youthful indiescrection like leopard skin trunks. Or maybe star-spnagled trunks/pants as he sees himself as an all american boy.

Nice work, though it looks a lot more like Titan from Dark Horse's failed Comics Greatest World line.

There's a reason for that. I cribbed the hand and from Vigilante's Titan skin. I also cribbed the red field from that character as well.  If I get time to skin other characters in the concept, you will see that hands as a costume design element will constitute a motif, and will represent an imporant signifier of character growth for Atlas in particular. It is the major reason that I am thinking about dispensing with the cape, however, as Titan is a Superman wannabe too.

Oh man, that old costume is horrible. Great job on the redesign.
The fist logo is also designed quite well but... I wonder about the choice of black lines to represent all the fingers. Without black lines around the rest of the colours it sticks out as a little funny to me.

Have you thought about delving into the world of seams? Using dark and light lines to represent them? The fingers could be done with these as well.

I tried to make seams using the drop shadow tool, but they are hard to see because of the picture resolution.  They are also obscured by the fact that I had the highligh level for the the blue elements on top of the layers making up the seam work for the  red elements, which I have since corrected.  The tutorial for seams is no longer available, and I wouldn't mind seeing it recreated, so I could possibly addess this issue.

Your kind words are much appreciated. Please keep the feedback coming.

[Outcast]

There are a few tutorials about seams at FR World...and i think one of them was by Unkoman.
http://frworld.wikispaces.com/Simple+Seams, http://frworld.wikispaces.com/Quick+Easy+Logo+Tutorial

And there's also a video tutorial by Murs at FRP2.

Not familiar with the character.....but he looks ok to me.  Nice job in mixing the base faces.   

[laughing paradox]

Great design.. how you got that from the original eyesore is beyond me!

I have to second the suggestion about seams. It really takes a skin up a few notches, with those kind of details.

[UnkoMan]

Ha ha, yes, I totally did those two tutorials. I found that when I started using seams my skins suddenly looked way better.

They are really old, but my technique is still essentially the same. I'm just a bit better at placing everything.

As to using drop shadows, you CAN do this but I don't recommend it. I started with drops but once I began just doing the shadows by hand they looked much nicer. So much more control you have over it. Still, I'd throw in a drop when I got lazy.

Also, little things like your thumbs and the feet/leg edges being different, which I notice is on some of those older bases. Tiny touches that aren't super noticeable.

But, yeah, great job on the face blending.

[Cyber Burn]

Very impressive facial work there.

[doctorchallenger]

Very impressive facial work there.

Crap. now I have to come up with a different face fore  the next one.

[BentonGrey]

Very nice work Doc.  I agree with Unko, though.  The fist could use a bit more definition, and the contrast between the outline of the fingers and the lack of outline on the hand itself is a bit much.  The dominant color being white is interesting.  Nice design!  Wow, the others are right, that original costume is just hideous....however, I have to say, those leapord skin trunks are certainly...unique.

[doctorchallenger]

Work in Porgess. Same character as above, years later. New skope, new skin. All extras are place holders. Gloves? No gloves? Skin tight gloves or flared? Bracers instead of gloves?
Thanks to Murs, Googleplx, DarkJered, and Zed for bases. genadier for mesh and pieces.



Part of a larger concept using public domain characers.  This character is Atlas, loosely based on this character:
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/g/gaatlas.htm

[hoss20]

Very nice update. It's really looking good. 

As for your question; with the bare arms, I'd go with bracers.

[Cyber Burn]

Hmmm, any relation to the "Atlas" Character from the old "Protectors" comic?

Very nice update. It's really looking good. 

As for your question; with the bare arms, I'd go with bracers.

I think if the bracers matched the belt, it would add a little more balance to the overall design. But I will say that the current version looks quite nice.

[laughing paradox]

Nice update to the skin.

I agree with Hoss and Cyber, bracers similar to the belt would look great.

[daglob]

Yeah the original costume is awful, but it's on my list. Vigilante, I believe, did a slightly different version of that abomination.


But the re-designs are GREAT. Especially the second one.

[windblown]

Nice update, I especially like the new logo. I agree with the rest about the bracers.

[doctorchallenger]

Thanks for the Kind words.  Went with the bracers. haven't finished the skin yet.

In the meantime, another skin from the same project.  This time I'm going to let people guess which public domain character I am redesigning here.



As with Atlas, the extras do not have final skins.

Thanks to Murs, Googleplx, Tomato, DarkJered, and Zed for bases. Vertex for the mesh and Beyonder, Tommyboy, and Grenadier for the pieces.

[Outcast]

Not really sure who that character is. But i think it's a nice redesigned costume. The skin looks great too. I like it.

[daglob]

Lash (sometimes Flash) Lightning never looked better.

[doctorchallenger]

Lash (sometimes Flash) Lightning,,,

We have a winner! (I thought dalob would get it).

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Lash_Lightning

... never looked better.

I take this as high praise.

Thanks, too, to Outcast for the kind words.

[Outcast]

Well, i was thinking something along those lines...With the gray hair on the side and a lightning logo. Golden Age Flash came to my mind.     

[daglob]

Yeah, but I haunt sites about all these old forgotten characters. Vigilante did a skin for Lash some time back.

Maybe you could check out any of the Blue Streaks, The Rainbow, or dozens of other golden age character who REALLY need a new costume.

[doctorchallenger]

Maybe you could check out... The Rainbow... [a] golden age character who REALLY need a new costume.

You mean this guy?

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_(Centaur)

Well, I didn't create a NEW costume. But I have a back story in mind which explains this costume.



But your request inspired me to bump up my work on this character, and also I have developed a concept for a legacy character which will have different - hopefully better - costume.

Thanks to Murs, Googleplex, Tomato, DarkJered, and Zed for bases. Grenadier for the mesh and Tommyboy, and Grenadier for the pieces.

[daglob]

That's him, alright. Gotta hand it to a hero who decides to become a comic book crime fighter after reading a comic book.

[doctorchallenger]

Still lurking. Still toying with skinning and skoping to develop my personal superhero universe.

Here is my latest. Obviously Elvis Presley inspired (No, it is not Elvis as a superhero).

Anybody up for a guessing game?  The character is named American Spirit. He conceived as a legacy character to a Golden Age Character. His hero name is not the same as the original character, but a reference to how the original got his powers. The original character is now in the public domain.  The original character is a patriotic character.  The original character has appeared in both Terra Obscura and Project Superpowers revival of Public Domain heroes.  American Spirit's scarf color is a reference to the original hero's cape color

WHO IS THE GOLDEN AGE HERO?



Some extras currently kitbashed.
Thanks to Murs, Googleplex, Tomato, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Renegade for the mesh and Crusader/Saracen, Tommyboy, and Grenadier for the pieces.

[Outcast]

Very nice skope and design. But i haven't got a clue. Captain Marvel Jr? 

[Podmark]

Not sure who he is, but looks fantastic. Very neat design.
Although the boot cuffs at the bottom still seem to be in wireframe.

[doctorchallenger]

Although the boot cuffs at the bottom still seem to be in wireframe.

True. It is a Work in progress. I am trying to get the boot cuffs right still. I amnot happy with the hair either right now.