Ongoing Artistic Challenge - Pyroclasm's "TomCat" - NEW THEME UP!!

[Pyroclasm]

As suggested by Unkoman, I'm starting up an Ongoing Artistic Challenge inspired by our recurring Randomizer.  This challenge is not replacing the regular monthly challenges.

Here's how it goes:
You call dibs on the current theme if you want to do it.
You pick the character you want to draw.  The character can be from anywhere: comic, cartoon, movie, avatar, etc.  You don't have to tell us who it is if you don't want to.
You have one week from the time you call dibs to post your image.
Once you post your image, you also name the next theme for the next participant.
The process repeats indefinitely.

Some stipulations:
1) Once you call dibs, you have one week to deliver.  If you miss your deadline, you forfeit your assignment and someone else gets to call it or I will immediately choose a new theme.
2) You cannot call dibs twice in a row.
3) A character may not be done twice in a row.  (For example if the person prior to you draws Batman, you can't draw Batman.)
3) The same theme cannot be announced twice in a row.
4) If no one calls dibs within one week of a theme being posted, I will either randomly choose a new theme or take on the theme myself.

Theme must be chosen from the following list.  (Updated 4/5/08)  If you want to add a new theme, head over to the Challenge Ideas Thread
[spoiler]1) Horror: Your character has been or is transformed into a creature of darkness.
2) Western: Your character came to be during the height of the Old West.
3) Ultimate: Reimagined for a gritty modern world.  This isn't your 616 kind of hero!
4) Child: Any age from baby to teenager.  Your character either started his adventures at an earlier age or has been de-aged somehow.
5) Pirate: Forget modern times, your character existed durring the age of pirates.
6) Post-Apocalypse:  Some sort of disaster has ruined the world.  Despite that, your character continues to survive.  Conversely, perhaps the character came into being in this harsh new world instead.
7) Alignment Swap:  Good becomes evil.  Evil becomes good.  What would your character be like if he played for an opposing team?
8) Movie: Due to the success of a related comic character's movie, you've been given the task of redesigning this character for a mainstream movie audience.  Think like a production designer, not a fanboy. :P
9) Medieval Fantasy: Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Warcraft, etc.  You know the drill.  The character exists in a medieval world of magic & monsters.
10) Space Opera: Aliens, Space-age knights, Smugglers, etc.  Your character exists in a sci-fi fantasy universe or perhaps just a galaxy far far away...
11) Old: The character is just shy from living in the home of retired superheroes.  Perhaps this is at the tail end of the character's existence, perhaps how he/she would look on his/her last mission...  Maybe he/she just started their career late?
12) Robot: The character was built, not born.  It's abilities are completely artificial, perhaps being a robot, cyborg, android or other construct.
13) Next Generation: A new person has taken on the mantle of the character.  Maybe the character is related, hired, or perhaps just following in the footsteps of a legend...
14) Gender Swap: Make a female version of a male character or vice versa.  Not crossdressing or transgender, but rather what if your character was born of the opposite sex?  Or what would someone else look like if they were mimicking the style?  Think Superman/Supergirl or even Captain America/American Dream.
15) Silver/Golden Age: Totally retro.  The character existed in comic's past.  Part camp, Part innocence, all hero.
16) Pet/Furry: Lycanthrope (Captain America as Wolf), animal hero (Underdog) or perhaps just the character's faithful companion (Krypto)...
17) HEROES: This is a world where the ordinary are extraordinary and vice versa.  Just regular people who come upon powers.  What would their job be like?  What would they look like in a world where the heroes aren't musclebound beefcakes and their identity takes precedence over their abilities?
18) Evolved: The character's abilities have been increasing and adapting.  Think how over the years some comic characters gain new abilities or mutate into new forms.  Perhaps their powers are forced into overdrive making them freaks among freaks...
19) Magic/Supernatural: All heroes in this world derive their abilities from a magical or supernatural source.  Magical items, deals with demons, magical spells, etc.
20) Pro Wrestler: The world has no superpowered people.  But the luchadors are THE most popular form of entertainment.  (Perhaps the only form of entertainment...)  When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room... It's for fun...
21) Pre-Historic: Even before the dawn of history, humankind faced danger.  There are legends... Their details lost to time...
22) Steampunk:  Victorian era sci-fi adventure ala Jules Verne, Alan Quartermain, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...
23) Megalomaniac: Not just a villain, but the uberpowered bast**d that destroys the world's supers for their cause.  If you get this theme and a megalomaniac, just try and push the envelope further.
24) Fascist: Cold and imposing.  Where heroes are enforcers and villains are dictators.  Everything you'd expect for a Cold-War Soviet Union, 1984, Logan's Run, V for Vendetta, Equilibrium, etc.
25) Failed Clone: Whether the result of genetic experiments, a duplication machine or a magical bolt of energy, the character was duplicated.  Only it didn't turn out so well.  The character may be underpowered, overpowered, or just plain ugly.
26) Group Member: Your character has joined the ranks of an established group.  They may still solo, but have recently decided to play with a team.  It doesn't matter what team.  It could be supers, sports, whatever.
27) Historic: The catchall category for other historical time periods not covered in other categories.  Greco-Roman, Viking, Ancient Egypt, etc...
28) Losers: We all know the A-List characters--The guys who have ongoing comic books and are very popular. (Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Wolverine, etc.)  We all know the Losers--The guys that are lucky if they get a single appearance.  (The guys that make you wonder who the heck thought up this dude?)  Either redesign the A-List hero as a loser hero or give an E-List hero a redesign and respect as if he were your company's flagship character.[/spoiler]

Rules: (New stuff in bold)
1) Virtually any style--  Drawing, painting, CG, sculpture, sprites, action figures/dioramas, etc.
2) It must be your art.  No reposting or plagiarizing other people's art.  Obviously it's an honor system, but you don't wanna get called out on it and end up ruining it for others.  This includes "dollmakers" like Heromachine and City of heroes/Villains.
3) You can post a skin/model from Freedom Force, but your image has to be more than just a model viewer shot.  Put them in a situation or something to make it interesting.  Post the skin in the Skins section and post your picture here.
4) As soon as you post any art you also need to call the next theme.
5) Forum rules still govern subject matter.

Remember this is open to artists of all levels and all styles!  You could be a professional or draw like a two year-old.  We don't care!  The point is to participate.

I will start this by announcing the first theme:
Next Generation

PS: I'd like to try out some new ideas for the monthly challenges beyond what we've been doing.  Have a non-randomizer idea you'd want considered?  Have an additional theme idea you want added to the list?  Just head over to the Challenge Ideas Thread.

[UnkoMan]

If this isn't called in one week I'm taking the first dibs. But, for now, I'm leaving it open. Come on folks. This is a wonderful challenge. And, by the by, if anybody has any other theme ideas, I encourage you to add them in the appropriate thread.

[Blkcasanova247]

I'll get on board for this...soon. As soon as my other commitments clear up a bit of my other commitments I'm all over doing this challenge. :thumbup:

[Pyroclasm]

New theme is
Alignment Swap
Good becomes evil.  Evil becomes good.  What would your character be like if he played for an opposing team?

[Carravaggio]

Callin' it :) This ones mine.
Nice idea Pyro :) Thanks for keeping the drawn side of things rolling here at FR. I'm sure they would have died out long ago without your help.

[UnkoMan]

Just in time Carr! Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Pyroclasm]

2 more days, Carr. ;)

[Carravaggio]

it's cool i got it under control. check back for an update soon :D

The Grimm!

Caught in cosmic rays during a flight on a stolen spacecraft, Ben Grimm was transformed, like his teammates, into something inhuman. The cosmic rays caused the unchecked growth of alien crystals in Grimm's bloodstream. They ossified his body and eventually pierced the skin, leaving him in constant torment. Accompanying his prodigious strength and resilience to injury, the Grimm is virtually indestructible, able to be regenerated from only a few cells of his original body. His ally Mr. Fantastic claims to be searching for a way to permanently kill Grimm to end his suffering, but truth be known he prolongs the creature's agony so long as Grimm's attributes prove useful in Fantastic's nefarious world conquering plans.



I'd like to draw the other FF members as well, eventually. One idea was that Mr. fantastic has a tiny, but complete, universe in his head from which he draws his incredible intellect and reality altering powers.

[Pyroclasm]

Abso-freakin'-tastic!
Love that image so much.  Great job, Carr!
Now you just need to identify the new theme so someone can call dibs. ;)

[Carravaggio]

I'm really on the ball, huh?
I swear once i get this cotton outta my head...
anyway I elect...

Evolved
The character's abilities have been increasing and adapting.  Think how over the years some comic characters gain new abilities or mutate into new forms.  Perhaps their powers are forced into overdrive making them freaks among freaks...

[Pyroclasm]

I call dibs on this one!

[Pyroclasm]

I wanted to do Evolved because I've had an idea floating in my head about a possible "upgrade" to Nightcrawler.  His father is a demon-like mutant (Azazel) and his mother is a shapeshifter (Mystique).  And since some other mutants have gotten expansions of powers, I thought what about Nightcrawler?  What if he started to exhibit a greater number of powers beyond the Teleportation he exhibited from his father?  So in this version, Nightcrawler has started sprouting scales like movie Mystique and a set of small horns (like a Neophym sp?).  He gains the ability to hurl energy blasts (one of his father's abilities) and gains some shapeshifting (a power shared by both his parents).  Since this is the redesign thread, I had to give him a new costume, though it is one that still gives a nod to his original.  Pardon the crappy colors on my crappy sketch, but I just had to show what it could look like.  Red, Black & White like his original.


The new theme is
GOLDEN/SILVER AGE

[UnkoMan]

I totally call this one!

This Nightcrawler is cool... it's a neat expansion of powers. The costume doesn't stray too much, and has an even more "Team X" feel to it. It's something I could see being used, honestly.

[Pyroclasm]

2 more days, Unkoman ;)

[UnkoMan]

Ack! I was going to do a whole team, but I only got two done THEN discovered my scanner was broken.

Expect both of them, at least, and maybe one more. We'll call it a work in progress.

[UnkoMan]

Yikes! Problems galore in my world of digital...

Here's what I've got so far.


I thought to myself, "What is the complete opposite from a golden age/silver age style?" The answer... awful '90s comics. Liefeld, being one of the "greats" of this era, I chose his wonderfully awful team Young Blood.

Badrock was an easy design. Just like him, I ripped off the Thing. For Shaft, I combined golden age Green Arrow with some elements from Bucky and others. And then Vogue. I just immediately thought... mime.

So there you have it. I'll probably work on it more, later.

EDIT: Whoops! Forgot to add...

Fascist
Cold and imposing.  Where heroes are enforcers and villains are dictators.  Everything you'd expect for a Cold-War Soviet Union, 1984, Logan's Run, V for Vendetta, Equilibrium, etc.

[Carravaggio]

While I'm not familiar with vogue, the sight of a big rock guy and an archer immediately had me thinking Youngblood. I suppose diehard would be a simple once piece android like Jim Hammond, and chapel would be a skull face pulp like adventurer/gun for hire?
any chance of a coloured pic in the near future?
I think you have to nominate the next theme as well.

[UnkoMan]

As I said, I will be doing more (and that does include colour). I think I'll just keep the designs secret for now, though. Besides Die Hard and Chapel, who else was in the original Youngblood? Some dude with a beard? I can't quite recall it all.

[AfghanAnt]

I love Vogue's redesign.

[Pyroclasm]

The color really adds a lot.  Never thought I'd say that I actually liked a picture of "Youngblood".  :lol:  Great job, Unko!
Now we just need someone to take on the new theme.  Afghan Ant?  Want to give it a go?

BTW, I'd like to point out these challenges are not limited to hand drawn art!

[Pyroclasm]

I will be switching the theme tomorrow unless someone grabs this one today!

[Carravaggio]

I'll nab this one since no-one else stepped up...I can do that right?
Got a neat idea for it.

[Pyroclasm]

I'll nab this one since no-one else stepped up...I can do that right?
Got a neat idea for it.

Yes you can.

[Pyroclasm]

Times up...So it falls upon me to reset the theme.
The new theme is
Next Generation
A new person has taken on the mantle of the character.  Maybe the character is related, hired, or perhaps just following in the footsteps of a legend...

[Pyroclasm]

Seventh day and no one grabbed this one, so instead of resetting, I'm going to take this one.  Shouldn't be too difficult. (I hope.)

[UnkoMan]

Not enough people checking out the art section these days. Dissapointing, really...

Hmm, I just realized I never finished the entire team. Whoops! But can't concern myself with that now.. Good luck, Pyro!

[style]

Hey I check it out every day! And I Love it! :wub: Just dont have the resources to participate. :(

[Pyroclasm]

Ok, I took the "Next Generation" assignment.

I do like the character of Black Cat, so I wanted to take something on related to her.  Instead of the obvious choice, I did not just put another gal in the sexy black suit.  Instead I decided to make her successor her son:
Felix Hardy, aka TomCat

The result of a doomed relationship, Felix Hardy is blessed with superhuman agility, enhanced strength & resilience, and an uncanny "sixth" sense.  Taught to do right even if it means "bending" the law, he fights crime in the New York City of tomorrow.

Instead of dressing him all in black, I decided that the back of his costume was black, while the front would be an urban grey.

New theme is
Space Opera
Aliens, Space-age knights, Smugglers, etc.  Your character exists in a sci-fi fantasy universe or perhaps just a galaxy far far away...

[UnkoMan]

That's pretty cool. I like the big furry boots, and the two toned thing is a good idea. I image he can blend in with buildings fairly well in grey. I like this a lot, actually.

[Pyroclasm]

Theme reset in two days...
Bumpity bump!