Design Workshop: Jeremiah Goldson on The Lunar Colony Auditions

Jeremiah Goldson and I have worked together on a couple of different comics, Rogue Agent Zed and Monica Furious: SuperDestroyer.  It's been a very rewarding partnership, so we both decided it might be fun to take a shot at a third project.  It's our most ambitious title to date, a 90-page graphic novel titled, The Lunar Colony Auditions.

Here's Jeremiah's first sketches of the characters that populate the book.  Enjoy!

Design Workshop: Fabio Nahon and the characters of Black Axe

Fabio Nahon designs some of the major characters for the Hypersmash title, Black Axe.

Design Workshop: Marco D. Carillo works his magic on Battle Team Omega

When Marco signed up to work on Battle Team Omega, he asked whether he could re-design the look and costumes of all the main characters. I immediately gave him full approval without hesitation because I knew from looking at his portfolio that he had a prolific and stylish design sense. Let’s check out a few of the highlights:

Velocity Hawk:

Korrgar Rex:

Silverbolt:Danger Ace:

Devil of Destruction:

I am completely knocked out by the designs. I really love the Danger Ace costume, in particular. (Somehow, it looks both retro and modern at the same time.) And it's great that Marco also happens to be a talented colorist -- because it's nice to see them in color!

In addition to his excellent design sense, Marco is also the fastest artist I have worked with, and that is truly an invaluable skill. The book is speeding towards completion (note to self: remember to find a letterer to put words into comic), and I'll keep everyone posted on the news as it approaches publication. Stay tuned.

Progress Report: Lightning Girl Loves Rocket Boy

I thought that today's post would be a great time to look at Scott Arnold's excellent designs for the cast of the Hypersmash comic, Lightning Girl Loves Rocket Boy! Allow me to introduce this lovable bunch:


This is Marcus Joseph Marshall, also known as the teenage crime-fighting hero, Rocket Boy!

In real life, I'm a little old-fashioned so, at first, I wasn't all that crazy about his sideburns. But then I gave it some thought, and decided that I'm basically out of touch with the youth culture of today, so it's fine if he has a hairstyle that I don't really understand.

(Click on each image to enlarge.)







Here's a model sheet for Marcus, in and out of costume. He's got a fin on his head and a jetpack strapped to his back. That, my friends, is pure, classic Superhero Design 101!

(And please note: in case you are wondering what to get me for my birthday, I have just added "Rocket Jetpack" to my Amazon wishlist. Hint, hint. Thank you in advance!)






Here we have a look at some preliminary colors for Rocket Boy. Both Scott and I have taken a couple of shots at picking out his costume colors. We haven't really settled on anything yet. Stay tuned.






This is Jodie, also known as the power-packed dynamo, Lightning Girl! She's your typical college sophomore. She runs track, practices yoga, and has brilliant instincts as a tutor. Oh, and she flies around and shoots lightning bolts out of either hand. Like I said, typical college sophomore.

In a tribute to surefire comic book logic, Jodie hides her secret identity by letting her hair down and putting on a pair of transparent goggles when she's in superhero mode. Foolproof, right? (Take that, Clark Kent!)

Here's the first sketch Scott ever sent me of Lightning Girl's costume. I liked it, but I thought she needed a chest insignia to help make the costume more dynamic visually. And I also pointed out that those big, mitten-type gloves seemed a little impractical if she wanted to do something esoteric like -- oh, I dunno -- write down some notes, or use a keyboard while surfing the net, or something.

And Voila! Problem solved.

Chest insignia, brilliant.

And big, clunky mittens -- gone.

Spiffy, no?

(Note: Scott has a decidedly different approach to designing a costume than fellow Hypersmash Studios artist, Jason Hoagland.)

This is Owen, Rocket Boy's best friend. When the comic gets published, we'll make sure to experiment with some grayscaling options to properly indicate Owen's skin tone.

And what kind of a superhero comic book would we have without a good villain? This is the mad scientist known as Dr. Straitjacket! Jason came up with the cool name. And it was Scott's idea to indicate that our doc would probably perform some type of radical home surgery on his own brain. (I think both ideas are awesome.)

And, of course -- Madbots! Everyone's mad about Madbots! Indestructible combat machines, they pose a challenge for any hero that has the misfortune of running into their path.

Madbots!





And there you have it! I hope you get the same jolt of excitement that I do when looking at Scott's work. I can't wait until we can finally publish copies of this book and get it into the hands of you, the faithful reader. This has truly been a labor of love, and I think that it's a story people out there will really enjoy.

Lightning Girl Loves Rocket Boy one-shot (52 pages) by Roel Torres and Scott Arnold is scheduled for release from Hypersmash Studios in 2008.

Design Workshop: Jason Hoagland creates a Hypersmash Universe character (2nd in a series)

CHARACTER DESIGN: THE MYTH



Today's featured character is the Valyrie Warrior, The Myth! She's a member of the premiere supergroup in the Hypersmash Universe, Battle Team Omega. Click on each image to enlarge to get a better appreciation of Jason's detailed art.

Jason and I are still trying to lock down some of the fundamental aspects of her character. In many ways, she's still a work in progress.


Jason has made an effort to incorporate authentic Norse armor into her costume, to help distinguish her from other characters wearing your standard superhero gear.




I like the way Jason spots blacks on the image to the right, using dramatic lighting to give the character a very solid feel. The strong use of shadows makes this pic look different from the rest of his work.

This modern-day Valkyrie is a character with a strong sense of mystery to her, and she has many layers still waiting to be revealed. (Even to me and Jason. And we're the guys who created her...)

Hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into Jason's different design ideas for The Myth. I'm just as curious as you are as to what she eventually looks like!

Design Workshop: Jason Hoagland creates a Hypersmash Universe character (first in a series)

CHARACTER DESIGN: VELOCITY HAWK

I wanted to take a moment to examine the visual evolution of an original Hypersmash Universe character -- in this case, the speedster known as Velocity Hawk. Sitting in my office at Harvard, I have a stack of designs with literally hundreds of variations of the hero, with some interpretations looking wildly divergent from the others. This is Jason Hoagland's approach to creating a character: he strives for perfection. And it's a fascinating process to witness firsthand. (Click image to enlarge.)

This is intended to show the chronological development of the character's look. But you'll have to forgive me if the order isn't completely accurate, because it can be pretty hard to keep track of all the changes.

Jason and I are both fans of the iconic Japanese hero, Ultraman. At this stage of development, the costume borrowed heavily from that influence.

The original art for the costumes above are done in color with markers, trying out different color combinations for each one.

Some logo ideas.

Because he's a speedster, it's important to take Velocity Hawk's footwear into consideration.

Can't forget the gloves, the back, and the side of the costume.
That's a very nice model turnaround sheet, isn't it?

And this is what the character looks like today. more or less.

Man, Velocity Hawk has a killer booty. Huh. Who knew?

And that wraps things up for now. In a couple of posts, we'll have a more abbreviated look at Jason designing a different character -- our Valkyrie Warrior, The Myth! Hope you enjoyed this exclusive first look.

And coming up next? A look at some of Scott Arnold's rockin' sequential work. Definitely check back for that because Scott does some amazing work on those pages (which isn't surprising in the least, since he's one talented dude!)