Wogglebug

Que is now closed. I apologize to anyone else who wanted to get a portrait done, but my plate is pretty full as it is.

whiteperegrine
SuperMaoriFulla
Derek_Fayte
DarkLilac
MistressVine
Thors_Assassin
Dark_Kerse
Memphis_Bill

I have no ETA on these, however I will post here with links to them upon each one's completion. As you can see from the long stretches between post times, I'm pretty busy these days, usually getting home around 9 or 10pm and posting on my way out the door.

Farwielder - Cue Flashback

No rush, take as long as you need. And no, they don't know eachother, though it would be possible for them to coexist.

Scarf and Star - I'd love to trade with both of you. If you'd like to wait after the big chain trade thread is finished (or our respective parts anyway), that's cool or we could start whenever.

Feel free to use my costumes in that thread or my main Gibbon Girl as the reference material, she's MA/Regen and moves like a slim, female version of Beast. But really, take as much artistic license as you like.

Que is now closed. I apologize to anyone else who wanted to get a portrait done, but my plate is pretty full as it is.

My new scanner! Here is the first drawing I scanned with it, I think there's a very noticable difference in quality - my hatching addiction is fully apparent, rather than being hidden in a tinted smear. It's a modest HP thingamabob, but I'm happy to have it.

I'm also now taking requests, though it may take a while to fill them as midterms are going on right now. If you would like a drawing of your character, please provide multiple perspectives of their costume (if possible) and their powersets/AT.

[optional] A brief description of their personality, origin story, or whatever you feel is relevant is also welcome, as it would make it easier to capture your character's personality (especially since I'm new and don't know most of you).

By making requests here, you save me the trouble of sorting through my other thread that has gotten kind of messy (I don't mind the derailing, socializing is good).

Cheers.

Now that the order is settled.

1. Luna Ice/EM/Fly blaster.
2. Lark BS/Regen/Fly scrapper.
3. The Genie's Dream Mind/Kind/Fly controller.

Somewhat spammy bio/desc's available upon request. Feel free to take some liberties.

Three new ones.

Secret Origin Of:
Wogglebug!

Once upon a time, Mr. L. Frank Baum, being the creator of Oz, the majority of its inhabitants, including the Wizard Thereof, and being the author of the first series of books concerning that magical land and the auspicious events there that conspired therein, sat on the beach with a friend's little girl, watching over her while the friends did their business.

A hermit crab starts waddling slowly by, and the little girl becomes very curious, inquiring as to its name, function, why it wanders beneath a blue sky, and other relevant facts.

Mr. Baum, distractedly, his mind on other matters, offhandedly makes up a nonsensical name for it, telling the girl it's a "wogglebug." She runs off, happily screaming to her parents that, "Mr. Baum and I saw a wogglebug!"

It later became a starring character in many books from the series, but I chose it because how silly it sounds, and the arbitrary, absent-minded way we define the world around us. My character was born a mutant, and, having seen all the Y-People movies, her parents sent her off to what they thought was a "school for the gifted" after reading an advertisement for it in the paper. In reality, it was a circus that displays mutants based on their powers or appearance.

She finally escaped and looked for a more beneficial use for her powers. When asked what her hero registration name was, she absentmindedly threw out the word "Wogglebug."

"Mutant." "Dirty mutie." "Wogglebug." Any word would be equally defining. A hero by any other name would smell as... well, nevermind.

Later a Bone Daddy hears a noise down the hallway and demands that his lieutenant go explore it. A short time later, the gunner returns, screaming happily, "I just saw a Wogglebug!"

Browsed your work, it's pretty incredible.

I could almost hear the old time radio soundman hurriedly inventing the thunder, gunshots, and creaking doors while looking at some of your drawings. The poses and overall compositions are just great.

Your inking is incredible.

Alright, I lied and did two more sketches. Couldn't fall asleep, which is probably related to my caffeine intake but, you know.

Here are two sketches of my main character on Triumph, named Gibbon Girl.

One - Two

I'm totally new here, but I'll join.

Now, which of my 70+ alts to choose from...

I suppose we could post several characters (if applicable) so that the artist has their choice between various looks, for those who are allergic to armor, billowy bosoms or bare feet.

Wicked Angel perching on top of a giant neon cowboy. I tried adding color in a graphics program, but it got ugly *fast*.

I'll slow down production now, not every day can be Sunday.

Disclaimer: I have nothing against kittens, in fact I love them.

That said, here's Enforcer Gnome in mortal battle with one. This was so fun to draw.

Definitely going to get a scanner soon, setting up with multiple lamps and using the auto timer and tripod just to get these blurry images is frustrating. I'm losing a lot of the sharpness on these. Just had to prove to myself I'd use the scanner before spending on it, and... it certainly looks like I will.

[ QUOTE ]
If you want practice, you can try BAS...Link in sig "Reference Pics"...Only if you want to. =]

[/ QUOTE ]
Oook, I ended up doing this, couldn't think of a pose for him so he ended up playing an accordion (I always listen to music while drawing, so I blame that... it's silly but I didn't mean offense by its silliness). Same lousy uploading situation as the previous sketch, similar minimal "coloring" as well. I didn't know where to stick the sword, or if to include it at all, but it seems he's BS/Invuln so I tried to involve it somehow (don't think it was needed in the end but ah well).

Also, thanks for the welcomes everyone.

It was supposed to be a veil. It had a clearer read before I did the swirly thing over it... was going to add the spiral mez effect with a graphic program after uploading the image, but then I saw the pink pen lying there, and it was too hard to resist.

Alliteration for the win!

Anyway, lately I've been browsing this board and it's made me want to try sketching out some characters myself.

Here is my first attempt, an ink sketch of my mind/kin controller, The Genie's Dream. I don't have access to a scanner right now, so it was taken with my ancient 3 megapixel digital camera.

Any comments are welcome. I'm used to harsh critiques, so that's fine as long as it's constructive. If you just want to call me a poopoo head, it's not really helpful (if arguably insightful). I'm not sure about the proportions, especially that bent leg...

Ah well, let me know what you think.

Chapter II

Which tells of the first sally of our hero and his sidekick and the adventure of the pillbox.

After traveling for a time in the renowned, treacherous zone known as Bloody Bay, they came in sight of seven or eight turrets that rise from a rough hewn installation, and no sooner did Don Terr1fic see them than he said in team chat: “Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Gud, thirty or forty afk stalkers? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich, for this is righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service Statesman will bless.”

“wut stakers,” asked Teh Gud Healor.

“Those you see over there,” replied his mentor, “with their stacked stealth powers; some of them have them well-nigh three layers in depth.”
“wut r u sying,” cried Gud. “tohse r not stakers but tureds n tehy dun have sords… tehy r conans wihc shot u f u get 2 cose.”
“It is clear,” replied Don Terr1fic angrily, “that you are not experienced in PvP. Those are stalkers, and if you are afraid, turn aside and pray whilst I enter into fierce and honorable combat with them.”

Uttering these words, he toggled on group fly, without heeding the cries of his sidekick, Gud, who warned him that he was not going to attack stalkers but turrets. But so convinced was he that they were stalkers that he neither saw his sidekick’s tells nor did he notice what they were, though he was very near them. Instead, he rushed on, spamming on broadcast: “Fly not, cowards and vile caitiffs; one hero alone attacks you!” At that moment he entered agro range and the great cannons began to move. When Don Terr1fic saw this, he shouted again: “Although you flourish more swords than the villain Scirocco, you shall pay for it!”

Saying this and commending himself most devoutly to his super group leader, whom he begged to help him in his peril, he toggled on maneuvers, set flurry to autofire, flew as fast as group fly would take him, and rammed the first turret in his way. He stood there valiantly performing the flurry animation, but at that very moment a genuine stalker struck him with assassin’s strike with such violence that it knocked three red enhancements from their slots and dropped their owner flat on the ground, the ragdoll corpse tumbling over and over towards the coast until it landed softly in the water.

“d00d!!11” cried Gud. “i tol u 2 b carfull… no1 cud hav thot tehy wur stakers unles he had staker n his brane.”

“Hold your peace, good Gud,” replied Don Terr1fic. “The affairs of PvP are, above all others, subject to continual change. Moreover, I am convinced, and that is the truth, that the super villain Arachnos, the one who robbed me of my base and guides, has changed those stalkers into turrets and used recall friend to bring in that reinforcing knave to deprive me of victory; such is the enmity he bears against me. But in the end his evil arts will be of little avail against my doughty sword.”

“mabe teh devs wil fix taht,” cried Gud as he handed his mentor an awaken, and waited for him to turn group fly back on, his endurance yet to be fully recovered.

Gud then bade his mentor consider that it was now time to buy more inspirations, but the latter told him to do so whenever he fancied. As for himself, he still had several respites. Gud had no sooner obtained leave of his mentor than they both suffered a map server disconnect, the valiant hero raining blows upon his keyboard in vain and cursing the villainous Arachnos.

((As a belated disclaimer, this satire was meant in fun. My personal stance on the eternal “PvP elite vs. carebears” debate is fairly neutral. My characters sacrifice a lot to their themes and generally aren’t able to survive against the elite in PvP zones. I go in knowing this, and just try to have fun there. As far as my politically incorrect criticism of certain powers which in practice do have an actual use, especially in the character development department (flurry for example), it’s all in good fun. I even have jumpkick on one character.))

[edited for clarity in some places]

((What follows is a satire of Don Quixote, in a CoX context. Much thanks to Cervantes for the original Don Quixote, and Walter Starkie for the monstrously thick, unabridged translation this was roughly based off of. I started working on this after reading about “PvP honor“ and it grew longer than originally expected.))

Chapter I

Which tells of the madness and beginning of the quest of the famous hero Don Terr1fic of Atlas Park.

In a zone of Paragon City, whose name I do not wish to remember, there lived a little while ago one of those heroes who are wont to keep a broadsword in the rack, a red damage resistance enhancement, a suppressible travel power, and a collection of badges. They say his surname was -Amazing or .Fantastlc (for there is much dispute on this matter, and whether his name included in it a period or a hyphen), but we may reasonably conjecture that his name was Terr1fic.

You must know that the above-mentioned gentleman in his leisure moments (which was most of the year) gave himself up with so much delight and gusto to reading guides to archetypes that he almost entirely neglected the exercise of the patrol and even the management of his coalition affairs. Indeed his craze for this kind of literature became so extravagant that he sold many of his base’s decorative items to purchase guides to badge locations, and he carried to his base as many as he could possibly find. Above all, he preferred those player guides written with perfect diction, syntax and grammar, and when he found the tactics within lacking in the arena against his fellow heroes, he would often utter expressions such as: “The reason for your unreasonable treatment of my reason so enfeebles my reason that I have reason to complain of your honor.”

These and similar player guides bewildered the poor gentleman’s understanding, for he racked his brain day and night to unbowel their meaning, which not even Atlas himself could have done if he had been raised from the dead for the very purpose. In short, he so immersed himself in those guides that he spent whole days and nights over the forums; and thus with little sleeping and much reading, his brains dried up to such a degree that he lost the use of his reason.

At last, having lost his wits completely, he stumbled upon the oddest fancy that ever entered a madman’s brain. He believed that it was necessary, both for his honor and the service of Paragon City, that he should become a hero-errant, roaming the PvP zones with his group fly and flurry in quest of adventures and practicing all that had been performed by the heroes-errant of whom he had read. And thus excited by these agreeable delusions, he hastened to put his plans into operation.

Before boarding the tram to Skyway City, Don Terr1fic made overtures to a certain struggling n00b, a neighbor of his and an honest fellow, but with very little wit in his pate. In effect, he broadcasted and spammed invitations to him and made so many promises that the poor wight resolved to set out with him and serve him as sidekick. Among other things Don Terr1fic told him that he should be willing to go with him because some time or another he might meet with a contact that would earn for him, in the twinkling of an eye, some Hammi-O, and he would find himself owner of it. With those and other promises, Teh Gud Healor (for that was the fellow’s name) left his team and engaged himself as sidekick to his neighbor.

Oops, forgot to list another possible naming resource which might not be immediately apparent - glossaries. If your character is radioactive, then google "radiation terms" or if they're a gravity or kinetics character, try "physics terms." Often your search results will be for college course online sections which will have a long list of potential names (or words which can be retooled into names). Cool sounding words like Entropy and Inertia!

There are many other online resource possibilities, such as slang dictionaries if your character is from a specific place or time period (after all, if they were naming themselves they'd use words and phrases they knew). I relied heavily on a western slang phrase list from some wagon repair site when writing my fire/fire/superspeed blaster, Trail Blazer's bio.

Here are some of my naming tricks. Some of my characters are listed later on, so you can judge the viability of these tactics.

One resource I use - pet name sites. You'd be surprised how many cat, dog, and especially horse names can be easily retrofitted or used in their entirety as a plausible hero name. I sometimes cruise the human name sites as mentioned in the first post when constructing my character's identity (sites like www.cool-baby-names.com let you search by nationality, which is very helpful for this part).

Some examples of my characters I play using that and other research sources - Alacrity, Bandicoot, Red Zephyr, Special Effects, Starduster, Swallow, Tailspin, Trail Blazer, and of course Wogglebug. All names obtained within the last couple of months or so, with a little persistence. All the good names are not taken, it just takes more of a struggle today than it did at release.

You may also wish to try adding a color or possibly material (such as iron, copper, etc. for robots) to your character's name. In my case, Zephyr was already taken, but Red Zephyr was not. Did your potential robotic electric blaster want the name Conductor but it was taken? Try Copper Conductor. YMMV, of course, as in the case of honorifics.

Speaking of honorifics - try gender-related suffixes as well as prefixes. If there's already a "Mr. Amazing" there still might not be an Amazing Man, or Amazing Boy, Amazing Lad, etc. Girl and Woman may be the obvious female equivalents, but you might also try Damsel, Mistress, and other exotics.

Try using alliteration! If you haven't decided on powers, origin, or the basic theme of your character yet but you at least know what sex you'd like them to be, then start there. Take the word you'd like and then find a word that begins with the same letter to stick on the front. Might sound crazy, so let's take an example, the most popular sex-related suffix of all comic lore - Man.

Crack open your dictionary or find a word list somewhere and get to the M section. Now try saying the M words followed by man until one strikes you as particularly good for your hero (even better if the name created makes a vision pop into your head of a particular hero concept).

Examples: Mighty Man (probably taken), Money Man (working on his bling badge?), Monkey Man, Midnight Man (dark/dark?), Moonlight Man, Mister Man (hehe), Marshmallow Man, Mermaid Man (???), Monopoly Man (this one did the vision-concept thing for me, he'd make a great character with tophat and little goatee).

This is the method I used to create my character Gibbon Girl, who was bitten by a magical gibbon at an exotic petting zoo and now has "gibbon powers"... how embarrassing.

This may seem a little backwards from selecting your powers before your name, but with a little creative effort you can bend the game mechanics to your thematic will.

Alliteration is also great to use for the color/material trick when possible - imagine Silver Spider, Red Ranger, or Golden Gasher, just off the top of my head.

Good luck out there.