Magoo_NA

I came across this and I was wondering if there was something similar for CO*. Barring an actual utility, is there a was to do this manually?

I'd like to create my own comics in a better way than just using screenshots I manage to get while adventuring. I know this has probably come up somewhere already, but I thought I'd jump in and ask instead of using the search, my ADD kicking in and then I get distracted and start reading about something else.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

There's some talk in the General Discussion forum about shields being in a future release.

To that end, my creative gears started turning and I came up with this. I know that costume and shield design are a bit derivative, but I'll do better next time. I've got some other shield-related ideas I want to explore...

I thought it was amusing how they're talking about "stretching the genre". Traveling back in time has been a staple of super-hero comics since they first started! Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have done it! The Fantastic Four have done it! Iron Man's done it! The Avengers and Defenders have done it!

Marvel's Hercules is the original Greek hero and the Avengers have traveled to Olympus to save his butt plenty of times.

Iron Man's been to King Arthur's court to battle Doctor Doom.

DC's Etrigan the Demon comes from King Arthur's time.

and so on and so on...

Maybe in terms of video games, Issue 12 is stretching the genre. If so, it's nice to see COH catching up to 60 years' worth of superhero stories!

Now as far as where to go next, I'd love an extension to the Croatoa storyline where we visit the land of the Tuatha de Danaan. More monsters based on Celtic mythology! Celtic faerie princes and princesses that need saving! More costume options! More goblins and hobgoblins to battle! More dwarves and gnomes to hang out with! Plus a sinister plot by the Council of Thorns that involves using Troll gang members as their minions!

Superheroes are a wonderful jumping off point to really any genre. There's no reason to limit it to urban crime. But if you need more ideas, how about:

- More aliens and alien body types for players to use.

- Dinosaurs. Seriously, dinosaurs and superheroes are a perfect match!

- Dragons! Think "Dragon Wars" or "Reign of Fire" but with superheroes!

- Gothic horror! Superheroes versus vampires! Scary castles in Transylvania! Secret experiments by The Council!

Sorry for the rambling post. Issue 12 just has me pretty jazzed for the future!

Mark Midnight

Boom!! featuring Lady Thor

Vince Domino

Armstrong O'Neill

I have other ones there at deviantArt but not all of them are my characters. Feel free to look around!

Well, his Forum Bio does list him as a "Creative Genius"!

I thought it was pretty cool (as a Poser user myself ), but if you go here you can check out a thread where he uses Poser to create a comic book based on COH.

That does it! I'm going to try and join the UK COH boards! Hopefully being an American won't hold me back...

Here's another COV-based villain I made up. I based him on the Bone Daddy leaders of the Skulls. I've got a mini explanation for him there.

The funniest COH-based web comic is back!

Go here!

Thanks for the comments. I was afraid someone would quip that he looks like a streetwalker or something...

Here's another one of my characters, Mark Midnight. He's a hero on the Liberty server.

To The Foo -

Would you prefer a different celebrity instead?

(Actually, I've been meaning to change the "Jeff Daniels" face on the previous skintight metallic design only because I think he looks a bit cross-eyed. Plus the glowy effect looks a bit amateurish and too "Oooo! Look what I can do with Photoshop plug-ins!"-y. )

Well, better than, say, Jack Black in a skintight, metallic leotard.

Dang straight!

Here's another wishful thinking image: Steeds!!

I used a griffin for this one based off a commission request I saw a while ago in this forum. I know that steeds could be regarded as just so much eye candy and could duplicate travel abilities already in game, but the same could be said about cape and wing designs. Comics characters like the Black Knight, Valkyrie and the Shining Knight all have flying horses, so there is a precedent. I'm not suggesting how they could be implemented in-game, I just think they would be cool!

There's a bunch of stuff I'd like to see in CO* so I thought that maybe I'd start a thread of my own work based on things I'd like to see in-game.

Here's my first such image. It's based off of a design seen on this page. I liked the idea of reflective surfaces for costumes so I thought I'd try a Poser version. This is the result.

Let me know what you think!

DarkJedi's stated goal is to be able to use Poser figures in MAYA to be able to create comics. By using all of the bells and whistles available to him in MAYA, he could make some really amazing images but the cost would be at huge render times that might make it hard to maintain a regular deadline. The trick is to maintain a balance between hyper-realism and the constraints of time.

While the zBrush gallery is filled with amazing artwork, I don't think that zBrush would offer the flexibility or resources needed to create a monthly comic book that using Poser would offer.

Having thought about this long and hard myself, I think that Poser is an excellent tool for DarkJedi's goal. As he goes along, I think that DarkJedi will find that he will always be tweaking and improving his figures as he discovers new lighting and texture settings and as new clothing, figure or prop pieces are released or built. Two years from now, his work will show a noticeable improvement from his work now. This work so far is excellent and shows the promise of great things to come.

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I'm already making several action shots. I want to get more motion into the pieces, plus adding emotion to their faces. Poser is SO bad at expressions that I'm taking more time than usual to get it right.

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JoelGecko's got some really good facial poses available over at DAZ's website. They're more than just the regular set of symmetrical facial expressions that most people seem to make. You might want to check them out if you haven't seen them yet. Here's a link. The 3rd Generation set might be particularly useful.

I hope this helps. Keep up the excellent work!

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I've long thought that if one could get enough of the base elements together, it would be a much more efficient process to create a comic with a 3D program over drawing it...

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BINGO!

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The only problem is that currently programs like Poser aren't as good at rendering images and scenes as traditional art, at least to my mind...

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Believe me, you're not the only one that feels that way. My own brother wants me to go back to traditional methods... but I prefer to push the envelope. I learn something with every 3D piece, and it's exciting for me to get results I didn't have to meticulously plan out and hand-draw.

But as you said, digital art isn't quite mature enough. I want to be the pioneer that makes it happen.

Here's the problem; if I were to try to enter the comics world, I'd probably succeed. I'd probably do pretty well at is... but I'd be one of a hundred-thousand others that can all do just as well. Some even better. But with digital, I'm trying to accomplish things no one else has succeeded at yet. The few forrays into digital comics have all pretty much failed, so if I can make it work, I'll have something unique. Something special. Something different.

Besides, if we can have cartoons AND live-action versions of Batman (for example), why can't we have traditional AND digital versions in print? I think they can co-exist. One does not need to replace the other.

So I push forward.

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That's a cool picture and a worthy goal.

If I may offer one suggestion for your image... have you tried an image where all the heroes are looking directly at the camera/viewer? I think the image might have more impact if the heroes aren't looking at my gut. It might be more of an update of the JL covers done by Kevin Maguire.

Once you get the heroes' looks down, will you do other poses and group shots to show them off?

Oh! One more thing that might help with Batman to help differentiate his look...

Here's a link from the DAZ Forums where I asked about performing a Rim Light effect in Poser. It's a way to create a look as used in the Batman animated series. Check the link to see, but it might be something that could be used on Batman to give him a different look. I think I read that you use Maya, but I was able to create a similar effect in Carrara and in Lightwave.

Here's a sample in Carrara that offers one non-tooned look. The edges and colors could be tweaked and the specularity brought down for our Dark Knight, but it gives an idea of how it looks on a semi-realistic figure.

I hope this helps!

When I was in art school one of my first 3D pieces was a Green Lantern, and here you've got him almost 12 years later with the same pose and ring effect! Holy time loop, Batman!

These are excellent! You've really done a wonderful job on them. Red Arrow, Black Canary and Vixen deserve some praise because you've done a great job with them. The skin textures work really well on them.

The only one that sticks out for me is Red Tornado. I know he's not depicted as being very robotic or "android-y", but maybe a sharper specular highlight could help set his look off slightly from the other spandex costumes? Plus I'm not sure... is he wearing gauntlets anymore or is he all spandex like Black Lightning nowadays?

I love that bug with the walls. I used to RP that with my main character by saying that her enhanced senses were detecting for enemy combatants.

... who would be interested in paying a commission based on the links below?

I'm considering opening up shop and accepting commissions for COH/V characters, but I'd like to see if there'd be any interest first.

Consider this as a cheap exploratory committee kind of thing...

Totally agree with Aidalyn's statements.

I sense a lot of old-timers being put off by some of the statements, but I run across each of Aidalyn's issues every time I generate a new character. For a solo player like myself who plays sporadically and at odd hours, it's not always easy to team up with someone to take on a mission or two.

Looking forward already to more packs in the future. Maybe something with more variety in Beast heads, maybe with a decent gorilla head and a tiger head. And a Roman set would be cool. But I echo the cautionary comments about getting nickel and dimed for game content. For example, I think I'd get upset if I found out I'd have to pay for new powersets 2 or 3 times a year.

The tux fits the female??? Nice! I was worried it would only fit the male! Hopefully the dresses don't fit the male...

I've got an idea after watching "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"...

How about some toon-based weapons?
- A mallet with a boxing glove that pops out of it. The mallet is good for close-up melees but is also good for clobbering someone at a distance.
- An oversized handgun with magic bullets.
- A Martian Disintegrator Ray Pistol (as opposed to a Disintegrating Gun which just sort of... well, you know...)
- Bundled sticks of dynamite.
And so on.