Once Upon a Tokyo

Disney-Marvel Mash-Up

Okay, here is as timely as get around here-- the internet has already broke in half with the whole Disney buying Marvel Comics thing but it takes me a couple of days to find time to sketch and color. There's been a lot of art floating around about it, but in my case I wanted to take the actual villains from both companies and mash-em up together--in this case, Marvel's big bad villain Dr. Doom with Mickey Mouse's perennial baddie, Pete:

 

CBRunway: McSherlock the P.I. Pup

Welcome to the Runway! The judges liked my initial designs, and I'm in! Yay! So this is what it feels like to be let in to Hollywood on American Idol. Uh, or on Project Runway. (Do they even go to Hollywood? Ulp! Don't show ignorance! Just draw!)

The first challenge is to "create and design an original and memorable non-powered, human, plain-clothes detective or private investigator."  

I thought long about this. To me, just having a trenchcoated, fedora-sporting guy would just be to wrong way to go. He'd need a gimmick. I came up with many intriguing ideas-- without boring you with details, let's just say that at various times the following were involved: a fat man, a giant eyeball, a Santa man, Roy G. Biv, and Reese Witherspoon. (That actually sounds like it would make for a great party.)

Instead, what I couldn't stay away from was the idea of a giant plush company mascot thrown into a world of film noir. Perhaps a company symbol engaging in corporate espionage? Or maybe a Magic Kingdom analogue? What I couldn't figure out is how would the guy actually get into the suit in the first place. Until I figured out the story behind the mask....

"He sniffs out the clues, and crooks get locked up! He saves the day, he's our own P.I. Pup!"
McSherlock the P.I. Pup, everyone's favorite public service announcement who encourages us to "Yip, Yip! Chomp Down on Crime!", is always available for parties and school assemblies-- or, at least, the three police officers who are tasked with public appearances that day will be available. Two in uniform, one in the Pup, that's how it goes.

Until Officers Kate, Lyle, and Arman went missing. They were supposed to perform at the birthday party for Congressman Vanko's li'l daughter, but something went horribly wrong. The Russian mob attacked the party, accusing Vanko of being a rival gang leader. The officers were caught in the middle, and believed to have died-- because no one saw any of them again.

That is, until McSherlock showed up at a similar crime scene a week later. McSherlock is helping the police uncover the truth about the Russian gangs, Vanko, and possible police corruption. But is McSherlock really Kate, Lyle, or Arman? Or all three at different times? One thing's for sure-- when your only safety in the world revolves around your anonymity behind a furry anthropomorphic dog suit, you know you're in trouble!

The McSherlock costume is based on the "walk-around characters" popular at theme parks. It's a full-body costume made of synthetic fur (body) and nylon (ears and clothing) with special padding to create the desired shape. The head, hands and feet are separate from the main costume, although the other elements like the deerskin cap, bowtie, and cape are sewn onto their respective parts. The nose is a special fine mesh that allows the wearer to look out while keeping his/her identity hidden. In the rare case when McSherlock actually speaks (he usually acts in pantomime), the wearer's voice is also sufficiently muffled, and the wearer also affects a mock-McSherlock cartoony voice. McSherlock's signature oversized magnifying glass is freely removeable. 

Comic Book Runway

One of the things I've been looking forward to is the possibility of entering CBR's message board version of Project: Runway. It's redesigns of superheroes! How could I *not* do this?

Here's my audition entry.
The requirements for this audition entry were simply "superhero, superheroine." Nothing fancy, I'll admit, but I wanted to stay true to the pure essence of that idea-- the hero. I wanted a costume that a citizen in their world would look at with awe and respect and hope-- a costume that couldn't be construed as anything but a heroic champion's by visuals alone.

The lady's has some Greek overtones, with a cape coming from one shoulder and a motif of white and yellow (two-sided colors), accentuated by the headpiece and leg bands of gold. The black torso keeps a contrast and helps accentuate the golden velvet texture of her upper torso and the same color, but transparent, of the golden arms. Notice the silk leaves the shoulders bare and extends to the base of the fingers. Imagine a modern-day Artemis with long, flowing blonde hair.

The man's costume took a life of its own. I went through many variations, but wanted to keep a more iconic motif centered around a theme. In this case, an animal. Big, bold colors keep it classic, but some slight touches keep some modern touches-- a gradient in the cape, tapered stripes on the tips of his gloves and boots, simulating claws without being threatening. Similarly, the costume is classic spandex and synthetics but with a more "realistic" style that is more of a modern military costume. Most notable for this guy is the mylar eyes, shaped as a catseye, and the wild mane of snythetic hair. 

UPDATE:

Here's what the judges thought of my entry:

Quote: Originally Posted by atoningunifex
I am very torn on this one. I like the male design. I think the animal touches are fun without being overdone. I like that the "mane" is part of the collar of the cape and not a headpiece. I like the way it gives off a Thundercats-meets-Sky Captain kinda vibe.
I do not like the female design as much. It has too many things going on. It's very overdesigned.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dazzler
These are pretty busy designs, but I like busy designs. Love the man’s cape and the top/sleeves for the female. Nice colors.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pro
You’ve succeeded in capturing the royal aspect of a superhero as was your intent.

Quote: Originally Posted by Vegetarian Goat
Where is my son Akim? I am prepared to compensate.

Quote: Originally Posted by bakla
Very 70s Perez feel to the woman, very 70s Don Heck Villain to the man.

Trust me, bakla's comments make me feel very happy. And V-Goat's comments make me very confused.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just ... please! Don't roast your turkey in a gamma-wave oven!

 

Mickey Carlo

A message boards for comic-lovin' artists often has specially-themed contests. This one was to take classic Disney characters and twist them into "Vertigo" versions of themselves. Vertigo Comics is an edgy, ultra-modern comic line that allows for more mature stories, crime genre/noir, hard core sci-fi, and the like.   

So here's my take: Mickey Carlo. If Toontown meets Vegas, is there any doubt who'd try to be on top?

More Art Stuff

Here's my final submission for the Project: Rooftop contest to redesign Superman! Wish me luck!

Some Art Stuff

In some ways, I'm more productive than I've ever been. I'm drawing a lot more than I used to, not sure why. It could be that there's no pressure to still think that I could get into the "industry," that was a time that has come and gone. Now I can just enjoy it without thinking that there has to be a reason for it, you know? That, and I guess I have a lot more free time now that I'm not hanging out with high schoolers anymore. (I kind of miss that, tho. I try to help out at church still, but it isn't the same.)

Anyway, one of the message boards I frequent has a long-running contest Comic Book Runway, where competitors' designs for comic book characters are voted on, reality-tv style. I've long since missed the sign-up for the contest, but sometimes I like to play along at home. One such design is this one: Hot-Headed Harley. The category was "In the Mix," where you mix up the designs of two characters from different comic book companies, DC (Superman, etc.) and Marvel (Spider-Man, etc.) In this case, I mixed up Harley Quinn (the Joker's sidekick) and Firestar (one of Spider-Man's 'Amazing Friends.') The in-joke is that both characters were created just for their respective animated shows, and only later appeared in actual comic books.

Here's another design for a similar contest, run by Project: Rooftop. This is a more legit contest, actually, since there's actual honest-to-goodness prizes involved. The challenge is to redesign nothing less than Superman himself. Let me tell you, it's a hard challenge! I took the design in a direction that suggests a more mythic-type hero, a real "strange visitor" beyond the mortal ken. In fact, that probably means that I won't get many points for it, since I'll bet the best design will be one that incorporates BOTH a mythical feel AND a small-town Kansas home-boy feel. I'm working on that, too, but in the meantime, I'm happy with this design. The pictures after it are some other concepts that I think might be worth exploring. They're a bit more inspired by football/sports uniforms, but I think that's why they end up more appropriate for SuperBOY. Which do you think I should submit for the contest?