2021-10-23 - Out of the Shadows

[doctorchallenger]

Small update.

[doctorchallenger]

ESCHATON, THE AVATAR OF ETERNAL NIGHT (AKA NIGHT)

Inspired by the public domain character: Nightshade (Centaur)

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


Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Renegade for the mesh and Texas Jack, Grenadier, Beyonder and Tommyboy for the pieces.



sYNTHESIS THE ULTIMATE HYBRID.

Based on the public domain character: Dr. Synthe

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Synthe

Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Tommyboy for the mesh and Grenadier for the pieces.

Background:  Like Stardust, Eschaton is a member of the god-like species called the Kirbians, the race that existed before the Big Bang.  Eschaton is aligned with the Corrupters, who see themselves as gods, with the right to subjugate inferior species as they wish.  Eschaton attempted to garner power in the region of spacce now known as the Centauri Protectorate. He was opposed by Stardust, then a member of the Purist sect.  While Stardust possess more power than Eschaton, the latter had created anumber of minions by activating the genetic potential f a few of his subjects.  Stardust felt compelled to match Eschaton's stategy, leading to the creation of Synthesis, the ultimate Hybrid.  Together, they were able to bring Eschaton's tyranny to an end, though at the cost of the seeming destruction of Synthesis.

This event gave rise to two of the major religions embraced by humans within the Centaui Protectorate, the Guardians against the Eternal Night (aka the Night watch) and the Solarians.  The Night Watch worships Eschaton to prevent incurring his wrath, and his return, which will uncleash an apocalypse (by the way, the term "eschaton" is the Latin equivalent for apocalypse).  The Solarians believe that Eschaton will inevitably return; they worship Stardust and Syntehsis, that the pair will return from the Devinity Matrix to defend mortal life from Eschaton's destructive agenda.

Within the Night watch is a secret cult that seeks to bring Eschaton back, and usher in the apocalypse.  Recently member's of this cult uscceeded in bringing a being who bears a close resemblence to Eschaton into being.  Whether this being is actually Eschaton or a the human subject whos was used as a sacrifice with his genetic potential unleashed is unclear.  Thanks to the timely intervention of the Order Batallion, the being, codenamed Night.  was taken into custody.  There are members of the government that hope to use Night's power in the serivce of the Protectorate, however...

Design Notes:  Eschaton/Night's design is inspired by Kirby's original design for the Golden Age Vision (Arkus), with elements form Tommyboy's Mr. Miracle mesh.. Special thanks to Random Days for importing the Modok mesh from one of the Marvel games; I cribbed the face from the standard skin from that mesh.  Dr. Synthe usually appeared in a suit and tie, except for the story from which the picture in the linked article is taken.  My design was insired by Dr. Synthe's "swimsuit" shown in the article.  Much of the design recycles elements from Kirby's Ikarus, which I used for Solarman.  The yellow chest piece was based on one of Kirby's Celestials, though I forget which one at the moment. I recycled the Ikarus elements to create a visual link between Syntesis, and Solaman, who belongs to the Solarian religion.

[Podmark]

These are pretty cool looking, I especially like Eschaton.

[doctorchallenger]

These are pretty cool looking, I especially like Eschaton.

Thanks!

Another Centauri Protectorate concept in progress. One character, two looks. Any guesses?

[doctorchallenger]

MAN OF WAR

Based on public domain character: Man of War

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


Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Texas Jack for the mesh and Grenadier and Tommyboy for the pieces.


I will fill in the character background in follow up post

Comments and feedback welcome.

[deanjo2000]

Your doing some fantastic stuff

[doctorchallenger]

These are pretty cool looking, I especially like Eschaton.

Your doing some fantastic stuff

THANKS!

Going on vacation, so I will be away from the computer for a few days. Any guesses on these 2? FYI: One is NOT a Centaur character.

[Cyber Burn]

Man of War is awesome, I mean, really awesome. The face work is fantastic, and that's an understatement.

As for your two new Characters, I would say that the one in Red could possibly be the Arrow, but the second one has me stumped. Beautiful work on both of them though. 

[daglob]

I wonder if it's Saber.

[doctorchallenger]

Man of War is awesome, I mean, really awesome. The face work is fantastic, and that's an understatement.

Thanks! I've been trying to give my characters different faces as much as possible. I remember the days when there was a lament about so many skinners relying on C6's bases, which essentially gave a lot of skins the same face.  Not as much of an issue anymore, but I have tried to keep it in mind.
This one, and several other of my Centuri skins are photoskinned for the faces. 



Background on Man of War

In the traditional/aristocratic Centuri military there are three tiers of ranks. The highest is the  overall command tier, consisting of Masters of Combat, Masters of Battle, and the highest rank, Masters of War; this tier is dominated by aristocrats, though has been open to members from the middle classes since the First Great imperial War. The middle tier consists of field commanders, titled Leaders of Combat, Leaders of Battle, and Leaders of War; as with the overall command tier, this tier was traditionally reserved for aristocrats, but now is a mix of classes; humans of different racial stock have obtained field commander rank, but none higher than Leader of Battle; humanoid races are not eligible. The lowest tier is the rank and file (grunt soldier) tier, consisting of Men of Combat, Man of Battle and Men of War (making Men of War the near equivalent of a Sargent on Earth). Men of War are esteemed in the traditional military, as they often have direct combat experience; thus they have the traditional power to countermand orders of field commanders, particularly lower ranked officers, with little risk of court martial.
Mariz Arisin is the latest in a long line of rank and file tier soldiers, most of whom obtained the rank of Man of War. Arisin has, in fact risen to the rank of Challenger level Man of War (think: Master Sargent; also: the title Challenger is a hint to a major influence on the Order Battalion concept), and holds many records on the various field tests needed to obtain Challenger level status. Arisin is viewed by many in the Centuri military as a soldier's soldier, the epitome of courage, discipline, combat awareness, and skills needed in war. Because of his reputation, Arisin was tapped for the Order Battalion, taking his basic rank, Man of War, as his code name. When the Fantom and Agent Anonymous (to be shown later) mysteriously disappeared, Arisin was made field leader of the team, an promoted to Master Challenger Man of War, a title that has only been bestowed a handful of times in the history of the Centuri military.
Arisin is a modest man, who cares little for accolades. He is driven to be the best in order to ensure the safety of those in his command.

[doctorchallenger]

As for your two new Characters, I would say that the one in Red could possibly be the Arrow, but the second one has me stumped. Beautiful work on both of them though. 

We have a winner!

Huntsman, Master of the Order of the Arrow (AKA Huntmaster, Arrowmaster)

Based on public domain character: The Arrow

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



Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Grenadier for the mesh and Grenadier, Vertex and Tommyboy for the pieces.

Bomin Palomar is the second son of an old aristocratic family in the Centuri Protectorate. As is common for aristocrats in his position, Palomar joined the Order of the Arrow, an aristocratic institution originally founded to preserve the skills of traditional hunting which were deemed essential to proper noble masculinity. As many members became officers in the imperial army prior to the First Great Imperial War, the Order was also seen as an important arena to develop skills for military leadership. Since the rise of the Protectorate under Zardi's Regerneration Movement, the Order has taken on more charitable purposes in order to emphasize aristocratic nobility as a polite but loyal counterbalance to what members see as the Regenerators' uncouth incivility.
As one of the oldest of his generation, Palomar was eligible to test for the position of Huntmaster, the titular head of the Order. Having qualified, Palomar now serves in the Order Battalion. The Order of the Arrow deemed it an essential demonstration of loyalty that its leaders participate in the Battalion's activities, where they also can also exert a moderating influence on the Protectorate's most public law enforcement agency. In this capacity, Palomar has grown to be a trusted friend of Man of War, the Battalion's field leader.
Like many Huntsmans, Palomar has as member of the humanoid-animalistic race known as Rodons serving him as tracker-batsman. Farit (to be shown later) is extremely loyal to Palomar, as both have saved each other's lives on several occasions.

[doctorchallenger]

The Vagabond Prince

Based on public domain character: The Vagabond Prince

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

Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Grenadier for the mesh and Grenadier, Vertex and Tommyboy for the pieces.

I am not going to say too much about this character other than 1) in the Centuri Protectorate, he is an actual prince, 2) He is also a vagabond in a technical sense, 3) I have done an age flip on The Prince and his partner Chief Justice (in development) a la the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripsey, and 4) The Prince will be the leading figure in rag tag rebel band, know at the Vagrants (as in "The Vagabond Prince and the Vagrants." Catchy, huh?); all of the Vagrants are characters that Kirby actually developed (like the Prince) that are now in the public domain.

The Prince is an important character because his costume became the the inspiration for Man of War's and the Huntsman's designs. 

[detourne_me]

I just gotta say that you have such a unique and interesting look with these characters. They are kind of like Flash Gordon meets Kirby, but with the gritty hyperrealism of Alex Ross. Really cool! 

[doctorchallenger]

I just gotta say that you have such a unique and interesting look with these characters. They are kind of like Flash Gordon meets Kirby...

Thanks for the kind words!  When I decided to incorporate vagabond Prince into my Centauri Protectorate concept, the decision really kick started my imagination.  That decision led me to try an infuse the whole concept with a Kirby aesthetic. I have spent a lot of time looking at Kirby design lately, especially those from his silver/bronze age sci-fi heavy concepts to get a handle on his design vocabulary. Huntsman, however, was more about taking the Arrow's original costume and tweaking it so that it could fit more or less seamlessly in the broader concept. The Huntsman costume is essentially the Vagabond Prince uniform in "fall foliage"/camouflage colors.  Once I made that decision, that's when Prince Barin from Flash Gordon popped in my head, leading to the whole Order of the Arrow concept...

... but with the gritty hyperrealism of Alex Ross. Really cool! 

Again, kind words. I am not purposefully trying for realism. I just can't actually draw. Everything I am doing is relying on using others base skins and images from the internet, and all sorts of other short cuts to make up for my inability to create something out of nothing but lines and colors.  Take Man or War's field pack, or the hand gun.  Those are cobbled together from images of old technology, from old fuse boxes, to gauges, to stereo receivers in an effort to make something that has a passing resemblance to how Kirby drew equipment.  If I could actually draw, it would probably look less "realistic." 




Dark Prowler

Inspired by public domain character: Black Panther

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

Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Texas Jack for the mesh and Vertex, 3DMaster, Grenadier, Renegade (via Johnny Patches) and Tommyboy for the pieces.

Remember Countdown from a few pages back?  This is his son and former sidekick (Buzz), grown up and with an identity to get him out of his father's shadow.  As nobody has guessed it yet, another major influence on the concept was the Justice Machine series. In the back of my head, I always wanted to incorporate the original Demon costume into the reboot series Comico published.  My thought was that the first costume was worn by the Demon's father, who also called himself the Demon, and who had served on an earlier iteration of the team.  My idea that Countdown and Buzz were "tv heroes" before joining the Order Battalion recycles my backstory that I had concocted the Justice Machine to explain the two different versions of the Demon.  So Dark Prowler plays a role similar to that of the Demon in the Order Battalion (the Team's resident arrogant jerk), a role which Wolverine played on the X-Men back in the day before he became "the best at what he does." Hence the Wolverine mask to replace the cat's ears of Centaur's Black Panther. The Black elements are pattern after Centaur's Panther costume, but are also supposed to evoke Countdown's cosutme as well.  The whole costumes is intentionally derivative of other designs, suggesting the character lacks imagination.

Comments and feedback welcome.

[doctorchallenger]

Pressing on: My versions of the Vagabond Prince's companions, The Jester and Chief Justice, who are 2 members of my group the Vagrants.



Jastor Linkthorne

Inspired by public domain characters: The Jester (Harvey) and the Flying Fool (Hillman), both originally created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Jester_(Harvey)

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Flying_Fool_(Hillman)

Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Texas Jack for the mesh and Grenadier, Texas Jack, Beyonder, and Tommyboy for the pieces.

Another credit note: The "padded" texture in the outfit was from City of Heroes.  Some kind FR member made the costume generator resources from CoH available for use, but theire are no "read me" files in any ot e zips, so I  cna't properly credit that person. Anybody remember who that was?

Jastor Linkthorne is the son of a close advisor to the Royal Imperial family, and therefore had close connections with the royal court. Linkthorne's ambition was to be a pilot, but his father disapproved, forcing him to pursue a career in Behaviorial studies and Management, so that he might follow the family tradition of advising the Royal family.  Linkthorne served as tutor to the children of the Emperor, including the boy who would become the Vagabond Prince.  However, Linkthorne's carousing with the Emperor's ne'er-do-well borther forced him out of the court, causing his father to disown him. Since then Linkthorne has pursued a living as a pilot operating in the grey market of the Centauri Protectorate.
Design notes:  I amde Jastor into a little person, as a nod to the tradition of dwaves being used as Justers in Medieval European courts, and to the Kirby character Oberon.  The character's personality is influenced by the characters Lando Calrissian (I used Billy Dee Williams for his face), and Tyrion Lannister (as portrayed by Peter Dinklage) from Game of Thrones.

Chief Justice (WIP)



Based on public domain character: Chief Justice

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

Thanks to Grenadier for the mesh and Grenadier, Vertex, Gni, Beyonder, and Tommyboy for the pieces.

I will fill in the character background in follow up post

Comments and feedback welcome.

[doctorchallenger]

Chief Justice WIP 2

[doctorchallenger]

Coming out of the shadows...



Part of a larger project. Details to follow.

[Randomdays]

Now THIS, makes me happy.

[BentonGrey]

Welcome back, DC!  That's a lovely skin.  What's the character?

[doctorchallenger]

Now THIS, makes me happy.

Thank you and I hope this update adds to that.

Welcome back, DC!  That's a lovely skin.  What's the character?

Thank you and ask and ye shall receive.





Back after an absence. This skin is dedicated to DaGlob. The skope is dedicated to Cyber Burn. Two of the best of all. I will not claim to have been close to either, but their... departure... impacted me. I decided that the best way to honor their memories would be to shake off my lethargy. So that is what I am trying to here.

Lord Orlok

Inspired by public domain character: Count Orlok (from the film Nosferatu).

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Orlok

Thanks to Murs, Gryphon, Tomato, Courtnal6, DarkJered, and Zed for bases, Texas Jack for the mesh and Grenadier, Ink, and Tommyboy for the pieces.

Lord Orlok recasts the character as a vampire in the Centauri Protectorate, my imagined galactic empire with a Jack Kirby aesthetic.

The design with the helmet was the original inspiration. The design is based on Kirby's  design for Mantis, who was conceived as an "energy vampire" (Kirby simplified the design a bit for the comics). This design serves as Orloks battle armor.

A word about the cape. Kirbys Mantis has this cape that attached at the arms and ankles. Dramatic looking but totally impractical in the real world. I think I came close using Inks Storm and Manta capes. The Manta cape distorts a bit, but in a way that works. I like how they form a bat wing like shape in the flight and hover animations.

The second look is supposed to be evocative of Orlok's original overcoat look from the film. The design is basically a recoloring of Kirby Ikarus design, but I like how it came out. It looks good with the cape too.

[UnkoMan]

I would totally buy this as a Kirby energy vampire New God. This is cool!
This whole character universe you are creating is really fascinating! Keep it up!

[BentonGrey]

That's awesome, DC!  Thanks for sharing this.

[doctorchallenger]

I would totally buy this as a Kirby energy vampire New God. This is cool!
This whole character universe you are creating is really fascinating! Keep it up!

That's awesome, DC!  Thanks for sharing this.

Thank you both!

[windblown]

Those skins look fantastic, I really like the face. Skoping wise, I really like what you got with the capes on the second one.

[crosspotts1.0]

Any Chance these got releases I'd love to use them

[eluvium]

same