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Avatar design help?

Started by Outcast, February 07, 2012, 04:01:20 PM

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Outcast

Trying to work on a design for my avatar. I don't know much about what makes a good costume or what colors would likely clash and such...so..please bear with any ugliness or mistakes that i may have made. :unsure:

In my initial drawings, (please don't laugh, i don't have any skills at drawing) he looked kinda like this.
Spoiler
Then when i tried using a hero creator website, he ended up looking like this.
Spoiler
Here's a wip on my attempt to skin him.
Spoiler
I wanted to give him a more sinister look but can't think of any ideas and so far...it's not much.
Spoiler

I'll try to work on them some more but if you guys have any suggestions feel free.

juancho

soo, whar are his powers supposed to be?
I like some elements of the hero creator version.
If you give me some background I may be able to do something for you

Outcast

Thanks for offering your help Juancho. ^_^

Initially, his powers were mainly focused on force field generation and concussive force blasts (with strong knock back/slamming power  :P). Then i thought of giving him teleportation or flight (probably thru..meh.. telekinesis? But i think it's too common?) In my hero file of him, i wanted to give him some sort of telepathic invisibility affecting a certain area? (It basically ended up as a mental blank area attack)Eh...not sure if it was right. I also gave him the danger sense ability in his attributes.
In my teleportation idea, in my attempt to make him darker and more sinister version. I had this idea that his powers enabled him to access a portal to a dark dimension. Of which would then become some sort of source for his powers. He could use it to swallow people (hmmm..purgatory? with some energy draining while inside?) or as a shield of sorts? Swallowing projectiles, beams and such?...and manipulation of dark energies to create illusions and alter his appearance. :P

Quick background idea i have of him. He's a mutant who's powers manifested itself, early in childhood. This of course, alienated him from everyone including his family. He had to learn to count on himself and accept his powers/curse. Looking for some sense of purpose, he devoted himself to help others as a hero. But not long, a villain comes along tricking him to kill his own father. Upon realization of this, he is swallowed up by a dark portal underneath him. Time passed inside this dark dimension, where he learned to control the dark energies within it. He made fake images of people to keep his sanity. Finally, when he had mastered enough, he learned that this dark dimension was a latent ability of his...and so was able to open a portal back out. :wacko:

Tomato



Came up with this more or less goofing off with fabrica de herois.

Outcast

 :o That looks pretty cool Tomato. Thanks for the suggestion.:)

Blue and Yellow combination hmmm...and no underpants...hmmm...(just trying to take notes.. :P)

Tomato

Quote from: Outcast on February 08, 2012, 01:05:09 AM
:o That looks pretty cool Tomato. Thanks for the suggestion.:)

Blue and Yellow combination hmmm...and no underpants...hmmm...(just trying to take notes.. :P)

It's still purple, actually, just a darker shade. The main idea I had with it was to streamline the palette of the costume (the visor stood out oddly on the art because it was the only piece that was that color. I tried to incorporate the steel into aspects of the costume, but it clashed with the general scheme), and to do so in a way that it looked a bit more serious. The lack of underoos was originally just an oversight, but I didn't feel like it was necessary enough to add back in... he looks fine without them.

Outcast

(Ctrl + + + to enlarge image) Oh yeah. Now I see that it is indeed kinda...dark..purple.. Sorry for not seeing it clearly. Guess i must have my monitor settings too dark to see clearly. :doh:

vamp

Another good question when designing is if the suit will just be a costume or have uses and functions. For example, the visor isn't necessarily based on the powers listed, but you may like aesthetically. Then again, I am a stickler for functionality. Me and Liefield would not agree.

And is your av a hero, villain or anti-hero.  If he one of the last two, I'd forgo the yellow. But once again, this is my own opinion.

Outcast

#8
Good call Vamp. I'm trying to decide whether he should be a villain with a split personality...like perhaps Man E Faces(He Man)? Or Two Face? Or...An anti-hero like Punisher or Lunatic(Tiger and Bunny) who just wants to punish/kill the guilty. If i was to make him an anti-hero, i was thinking what black and white design could work for him? :huh: Edit: or maybe black and red? hmm...
As for the visor...yeah..i was thinking he could have developed a sensitivity to light during his time in the dark dimension. So the visor could be still used for protection? I don't know.. :unsure:

Tomato

Don't take Vamp as a design expert... he's not altogether wrong, but he's stating opinion, not fact. After all, what's practical about a Tomato head for a guy with fire powers?

vamp

#10
Quote from: Tomato on February 08, 2012, 03:05:40 AM
Don't take Vamp as a design expert... he's not altogether wrong, but he's stating opinion, not fact. After all, what's practical about a Tomato head for a guy with fire powers?
Very True. I am nothing of the sort. Heck, I am color blind. It was just friendly, amateur advice.

They were more of suggestions or how my mind works. Though as far as practicality goes for things, maybe you like something aesthetically so you can make a reason for it. My avatar started as a Batman clone and ended up more like banshee.

But once again, this is just the ramblings of a crazy man. Ignore the man behind the curtain.

Btw, I love Lunatic. Not a bad example.

Previsionary

Quote from: vamp on February 08, 2012, 03:49:36 AM

But once again, this is just the ramblings of a crazy man.

The result of self-defenestration. Take it as a warning, kids. *flash fowards out of thread, returning it to its previous train of thought*
Disappear when you least expe--

naitvalis

only a little suggest for the mask, sorry  for the very quick sketch, hope the concept is described at least  ;).



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Outcast

Quote from: Tomato on February 08, 2012, 03:05:40 AM
Don't take Vamp as a design expert... he's not altogether wrong, but he's stating opinion, not fact. After all, what's practical about a Tomato head for a guy with fire powers?
Quote from: vamp on February 08, 2012, 03:49:36 AM
Quote from: Tomato on February 08, 2012, 03:05:40 AM
Don't take Vamp as a design expert... he's not altogether wrong, but he's stating opinion, not fact. After all, what's practical about a Tomato head for a guy with fire powers?
Very True. I am nothing of the sort. Heck, I am color blind. It was just friendly, amateur advice.

They were more of suggestions or how my mind works. Though as far as practicality goes for things, maybe you like something aesthetically so you can make a reason for it. My avatar started as a Batman clone and ended up more like banshee.
Point and advices well taken, and appreciated.  :)

Quote from: Previsionary on February 08, 2012, 04:05:59 AM
Quote from: vamp on February 08, 2012, 03:49:36 AM

But once again, this is just the ramblings of a crazy man.

The result of self-defenestration. Take it as a warning, kids. *flash fowards out of thread, returning it to its previous train of thought*

:P Thanks for the warning Prev. I'll be extra careful from now on. :D

@Naitvalis: Wow, I'm honored that you took the time to make a quick sketch for a mask design Nait. A demon or monster mask? (like Green Goblin's from the Spider-man movie) would certainly look sinister and intimidating. But i'll have to think about the cannon blast coming from the mouth. Appreciate the suggestions Nait. Thanks. ^_^


juancho

I'll see if I can work on something tonight.
No yellow or purple though, I'm not really thrilled about the color choices now that I know he controls darknes and dimensional portals

Outcast

#15
Quote from: juancho on February 08, 2012, 09:44:44 AM
I'll see if I can work on something tonight.
No yellow or purple though, I'm not really thrilled about the color choices now that I know he controls darknes and dimensional portals

Gotcha...Juancho. Thanks a lot! ^_^

Actually the yellow and purple design was before i decided to give him the power of dark portals (He was a telekinetic empath of sorts; having empathy and danger sense i sorta used purple to suggest emotions? :doh:). :) So yeah, i know it just won't work. But i didn't know how to design another one much suited for it..see 3rd design. :wacko:

juancho

#16
ok
this is a very simple design. But I'm really glad how it turned out. I'm not too much into gadgety looking characters, except the powers deand so.
I decided to go for a very sleek and dark look, more like a villan itself than a hero.

This is just an initial idea, of course I'm willing to add any specific details you may consider a must have for your av.
I decided to avoid the visor and make him blinded by darknes. The same darknes he controls and lets him "see"(more like feel, since I consuder he lost his sight during all that time lost in the void) the world around him
Let me know what you think about him.

Outcast

The purple and black color combination seems  just right Juancho. I'm cool with the idea of him being blind and all. (Have to think of a good explanation on how he senses the things around him though.)

Hmm...i'm thinking i would still like for him to have some sort of mask though.  The mask would represent his view of himself as a monster/demon (for killing his own father).  Not that the mask necessarily needs to look like a monster or a demon.  Do you think that would work?

The Hitman

Maybe a slight hint of green as an accent color to compliment the purple and black. Old school Marvel folks used green and purple to denote sinister or eerie characters and settings. Just throwing that out there.

juancho

#19
Quote from: Outcast on February 09, 2012, 03:12:58 AM
Hmm...i'm thinking i would still like for him to have some sort of mask though.  The mask would represent his view of himself as a monster/demon (for killing his own father).  Not that the mask necessarily needs to look like a monster or a demon.  Do you think that would work?

Sure, I'll see what I can come up with tonight. I'll post something as soon as I have it

Edit: One sugestion though Outcast. Never save micros in jpg. Work either with gif or png, jpg makes it blurry, and of course you'll get that awfull white background ;)

Figure Fan

That micro Juancho made is great. From what you've described of your character, I think it fits. If you wanted to add something to the head, you could go with a hood or an open face mask like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20021223062538/http://myfreedomforce.com/downloads/media/dtop_mentor_1024.jpg

juancho

Quote from: Figure Fan on February 09, 2012, 08:44:08 AM
That micro Juancho made is great. From what you've described of your character, I think it fits. If you wanted to add something to the head, you could go with a hood or an open face mask like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20021223062538/http://myfreedomforce.com/downloads/media/dtop_mentor_1024.jpg

My thoughts exactly.

I've been thinking while on my way to the office that I was going to try 3 different variants. Helmet, open face mask and small mask.
ILet's see how they turn out

PreRaphaelite

I concur on the hood or open face mask idea. Naturally, it's more opinion than fact, but it seems to me that his (bald, fleshy, human) head comes across a little exposed against the full-blown full-body costume. My first thought was open face mask, though a hood and small mask would probably work just as well to help ease the costume to flesh transition. If the character was more heroic, I'd instead suggest revealing a bit more flesh in the costume to balance out the skinhead. Since villainy has become dominant, a more concealled/fleshless character seems logical, especially with the powerset chosen, in order to enhance the sense of foreboding, inhuman menace.

Personally, I'm on the wall about the green accent, though it might help you to break up the purple/black a bit. If I were to add any, it would probably be a thin line between the black 'V' shape of the chest and the purple of the abdomen. Then again, that might be a bit distracting... Who knows? Perhaps I'm just jaded to the whole black/purple/green colour combination after checking out Juancho's awesome Unkoman redesign!  :P

And to be honest, I do like the design how it is. There's something simple but compelling about it. It's bold, and you've pinned down a sense of the character as something familiar but ultimately alien/out of this world. So, good job as always, Mister J.
Yours sincerely, Judi Dench.

juancho

#23
thanks for the feedback guys.

Adding green to the costume, mmm, I'm not too sold about it, it would either remind me too much of unko or it would remind me too much of brainiac 5. I was thinking of adding a 1 pixel silver trim between the v shaped black and purple, I guess I'll see how it looks and decide then.

The idea of bald showing face, acutally, was because I wanted his face to look a bit more "damaged" I was thinking of tatooing his scalp or giving him some scars (you know, from his crazy deluded time in the void) but since I wanted to post something yesterday I just decided to go with the emptiness black eyes and leave the other details out.

As I've alredy mentioned, I'll try mask/helmet, but hood IMHO will cover his face a bit too much, and I want people to be able to see his deranged face a bit at least eheheh.

Sorry Outcast, I know it is your avatar, so stop me if you think I'm going too far :D

Outcast

Quote from: juancho on February 09, 2012, 09:14:13 AM
Quote from: Figure Fan on February 09, 2012, 08:44:08 AM
That micro Juancho made is great. From what you've described of your character, I think it fits. If you wanted to add something to the head, you could go with a hood or an open face mask like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20021223062538/http://myfreedomforce.com/downloads/media/dtop_mentor_1024.jpg
My thoughts exactly.

You know...after you mentioned this, i thought about it for a while and slowly i think i am starting to understand how not having a mask and being bald would fit. Since i mentioned before that he had this power of empathy,danger sense, telekinesis, telepathic invisibility and such. These are mental powers, which characters like Professor X and Mentor have. And having stated the fact that he is a villain/anti hero, villains such as the Kingpin, Vulture, Lex Luthor, Dr. Evil came to mind. Villains don't usually need to hide their secret identities, so having no mask is also understandable. Besides, if he had the ability/power to alter his appearance...it would be...i don't know...useless? But the Chameleon had a mask, while the Question is faceless.

Quote from: juancho on February 09, 2012, 11:06:37 AM
The idea of bald showing face, acutally, was because I wanted his face to look a bit more "damaged" I was thinking of tatooing his scalp or giving him some scars (you know, from his crazy deluded time in the void) but since I wanted to post something yesterday I just decided to go with the emptiness black eyes and leave the other details out.

As I've alredy mentioned, I'll try mask/helmet, but hood IMHO will cover his face a bit too much, and I want people to be able to see his deranged face a bit at least eheheh.

When i thought about not having a mask, like you Juancho, i've thought about having scars on his face or perhaps a different skin color (like the shapechanger Mystique or the teleportation powers of Nightcrawler)...a pale skin perhaps....to...get that sense of foreboding like Preraphaelite mentioned....cold and emotionless? I kinda want him to have that affect on people who see him...but a bald blind man might also have that affect to some. So i think that could also work. :P :wacko:

Not sure about where to add the color green...but i do remember villains like Diablo having green, purple and black. I appreciate the suggestion and feedback as well Hitman. :)

Quote from: juancho on February 09, 2012, 11:06:37 AM
Sorry Outcast, I know it is your avatar, so stop me if you think I'm going too far :D

It's Ok Juancho, I kinda like this...brainstorming.  ^_^




juancho

I'm kinda in a hurry but I wanted to post my peogress on Outcast av
Helmet and open face mask.


Outcast

#26
 :blink: Wow....i didn't expect the open face mask to look so.....good.  :drool:

I'm glad you and Figure Fan thought of that. :thumbup:

The helmet....i'm not so sure...i kinda look like Magneto or a knight....or a villain from the future?

Oh and that lining that Preraphaelite suggested looks great as well. I would like to thank him as well. : ^_^

Edit: Ok...maybe i was a little hasty on the helmet...i think it's starting to grow on me as well....uh..decisions decisions... :doh:


juancho

Quote from: Outcast on February 10, 2012, 09:40:15 AM
Edit: Ok...maybe i was a little hasty on the helmet...i think it's starting to grow on me as well....uh..decisions decisions... :doh:

You can always put this up for a vote :D


Baldie, mask or helmet. Cast your votes people :P

PreRaphaelite

#28
I had the same "helmet growing on me" reaction, but I must admit, I think the open mask won me over for good reason. I think part of it is the lines: the sharp lines and acute angles of the face mask compliment the angles of the costume and lends it a little extra sense of danger. Also the open mask is a lot more otherworldly than a helmet or a skinhead, giving him a sense of being an enigmatic, dangerous stranger rather than the more authoritarian vibe given by the helmet. And yeah, I think the lining works quite nicely.  :) Nicely done, Juancho.
Yours sincerely, Judi Dench.

Figure Fan

I'm definitely liking the mask. The sharp lines just look too cool.