Spud's Art - (Updated August 17th: Caregiver)

[MJB]

Eyebrows! Glorious eyebrows!!

As for Atom Eve...

Atom Eve is able to manipulate matter at the sub-atomic level by sheer will power. Organic and inorganic matter can be changed into anything she desires. She can augment normally unhealthy food such as cakes and other sweets into nutritious foods as well as re-arrange the environment. Her costume is easily created by altering her clothes to fashion her Atom Eve suit. She can also fly by lowering the density of the air around her as well as creating force fields.

A downside to Atom Eve's transmutation powers is that she absorbs any unused atoms into her body, which must later be eliminated from her system as waste. She claims that on days when she uses her powers a lot she can "go to the bathroom" six or seven times.

-MJB

[captainspud]

This week's pic is a seven-panel side-stacker. Click for full size.

The Guardians of the Globe


These are the seven members of the Guardians killed by Omni-Man. They are, in order: Aquarus, War Woman, Martian Man, Darkwing, Green Ghost, The Immortal, and Red Rush.

I still haven't had a chance to finish the piece I started last week, a painted-style Invincible. The figure's done, but I haven't had time to do the background. I might finish it after next week.

[MJB]

That is fantastic. I love the backgrounds and how they link together. The only thing I don't like are the Immortal's fingers. Way too round IMO.

-MJB

[Mowgli]

I'm not familiar with the characters, but I like the drawings. They have a very animated feel to them. I almost expect them to continue moving after this freeze frame. It's a shame they're all dead. They look pretty interesting. Good job Spud!  :)

[style]

Spud you and MJB is Killin' It!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[UnkoMan]

I agree about Immortal's fingers. They are also a bit chubby lookin', and short. Especially in the further hand.  Green Ghost's pose is a bit silly, but Martian Man makes up for it by looking so... what is it called? "Hardcase" or something.

It looks sweet. Too bad it is either huge or tiny. A mid sized version would be perfect for... something.

PS: Looking back on the past few pictures... whoo boy. Those are some REALLY good work. Geezy louizey.

[captainspud]

Ghost's pose is screwy on purpose. He's intangible, so he can pose however he likes. My inspiration for it was how I stretch around in bed in the morning-- I pull into all kinds of weird poses because I've actually got the freedom of movement to do that when I'm lying down. With him, I extended that another degree or two-- not only doesn't he need to be constrained by a ground plane, but even his own limbs pass through each other.

Basically, I just put him a position that looked really comfy. :)

[MJB]

The pose also makes him look quite jolly.

-MJB

[captainspud]

Still on the Invincible theme (this'll be the last week). Two pics today: One I like, one I hate. They're my latest work on addressing my two biggest problems-- expressing space (my work is too flat and planar, and I'm trying to get my characters to "pop out" more), and composing action shots.

Black Samson


I'm still leaning on my "extreme light/dark contrast" crutch, more because it's easy than because I'm particularly proud of the results. Still, the pic came out okay, even if I'm getting a little frustrated with the colour results of my work lately. I mostly like this one because of the near leg-- I have a lot of trouble with throwing limbs toward the viewing plane (they always look really flat and awkward), but this one worked out quite nicely.

Next up, one I wasn't even going to post:

Angstrom Levy
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Ugh, where do I start... this thing took me all of last weekend, and it just kept getting worse and worse the more I worked on it. It looked great in the sketch stage, and then kinda mediocre once it was inked (probably because I CAN'T INK, and I keep forgetting that), but it really hit the crapper when I coloured it. I tried every colouring style I know, and they all made it look like a steaming turd.

I'm really not happy with how this one turned out... beyond the terrible colours, I'm not making much progress as far as action shots. I just can't draw two tangled bodies without my anatomy going to hell. I always end up with an arm or a leg that I just can't figure out how to place, and it throws the entire thing off. In this case, it was the choking arm-- I spent SIX HOURS trying different poses, and I still hate how it's set up. Ugh.

[captainspud]

After a bit of a break, I'm back and playing with lighting again.

Generation Gap



EDIT: Fixed the figures and added a rudimentary backdrop. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. :)

[captainspud]

Hmmm... I'm not sure if I prefer the ambient light in warm (above) or cool colours:



Which do you guys prefer?

[MJB]

Great picture. I prefer the cooler version but you may want to lighten up the blue a bit so some yellow and green can show through.

-MJB

[captainspud]

Better?



(I also fixed some shading on Danny's shoulder and outstretched foot)

[zuludelta]

I actually prefer the warmer tonal range in the first pic. The update is okay, too, though, but with all that glowing chi throwing off light, I was kind of expecting a lot more saturated greens in the highlighted areas. 

[captainspud]

Orange light on green material makes muddy gray-brown, not bright green.... I think?

[El Condor]

 :o Wow, Spud, you continue to impress!!  The color and shading effects are just spectacular.  The only thing that strikes me a little off is the outstretched leg - it seems a little out of proportion.

EC

[captainspud]

Gday and I are running an event for our card game where we randomly pair up superteams and make them work together, then bracket them up and let the paired decks square off... we're calling it Summer of Love. I figured it could use its own illustration to decorate the bracket page.

Summer of Love

[MJB]

Both funny and a awesome piece. Great work, Spuddles.

-MJB

[Uncle Yuan]

And now we know the true reason for their great rivalry . . .

Great stuff!

[Glitch Girl]

Ah Reed, you never called, you never wrote... what's a dictator to think.  :D

I like the toon shading effect on the swan boat.  Not sure it goes with the very brushy plant life, but I do like that  style.  Nice work on the reflection too. 

[Midnight]

Very modern, it'd look right at home on some internet startup's homepage.

[captainspud]

What kind of internet startups are you visiting that have superhero man-love on their front pages? :P

[Panther_Gunn]

What kind of internet startups are you visiting that have superhero man-love on their front pages? :P

I don't think even you want to know the answer to that.   :wacko:

[UnkoMan]

I think I've seen that site before...

*cough cough* ANYHOW! That picture is just dandy. Is this straight up photoshop work? Are the leaves a custom brush? I am curious.

[captainspud]

It's all Photoshop. The leaves are one of the default "fuzzy" brushes with lots of scattering and other settings cranked.

[electro]

Your Immortal Iron Fist pic is cool - 3rd time this year that i've picked your art for my weekly desktop background - I guess i'm a fan :blink:

[captainspud]

I'm in an Elders of the Universe mood this week.

The Runner

[Zippo]

Nice work Spud. That hand in the foreground is exceptional.

[MJB]

VERY nice pic!

-MJB

[captainspud]

Grandmaster