CRIMSON PRIME (more 3D Poser fun)
By
Bradders,
Posted on: 2006-10-28 11:41 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
Wow. That's some serious name dropping! 
Excellent poster! I love your work!
your = Belonging to you.
you're = Contraction meaning "You are."
Ur = The name of an ancient Mesopotamian city.
ur = This is not a word.
Very, very nice.
Wow, small world! Was it kinda weird seeing old characters come to life in a video (albeit with alterations)?
As for the art itself, it's great as usual! Of course, he may want to hit up a store, only seven arrows? 
(I kid, I kid.) One thing I noticed though, his right thumb seems to be a little plump compared to his other fingers. I'm probably just seeing things, so feel free to ignore me.
Holy crap! Are you the 3-D artist for City of Heroes?
Man that is WICKED!
Very nice again DJ
((When I looked at the bow at first I saw that flat round thing and thought it was those suction cup-tipped arrows :P))
[ QUOTE ]
Crimson Prime has been a friend of mine for almost exactly 20 years. We used to play Villains and Vigilantes in his dorm room, and our GM was none other than Sean Fish... a.k.a. Manticore. Many of the bad guys we used to fight on those late college nights have now appeared in COH, including Countess Crey, The Vindicators (the name we used in college), and a hero named Crimson.
Now, 20 years later, Crimson Prime has had to adapt and evolve his character since Manticore borrowed his name and dropped it on an NPC in Peregrine Island. An homage, I'm sure... but no one can replace the ORIGINAL Crimson... now named "CRIMSON PRIME".
CRIMSON PRIME - Poster
CRIMSON PRIME - Detail
[/ QUOTE ]the art is awesome but I found the history lesson even more intresting
agreed...........but also awesome art, Hawkeye is one of my fav heroes, so I have a thing for bowmen........ ahem that did,nt sound to macho did it 
CB
Very, very nice. Well done.
Beautiful piece DJ. As always.
Very nice!
Either I have really poor site or every piece from you looks just superb man!!
Even when PMD picks out something and describes it I can't see it! 
As always Doug, great job!!
Love the bg!
Wow, that's SO COOL DJ!!! How neat that all of you have a CoH connection now too! 
And what a great piece! I just LOVE his face, that's such a great expression.
I love it man. And yeah, I like bowmen too CB.
There is one thing I want to say though... and as always, it's tough to critisize DJ cuz he is the 3D god but...
I feel like your last few pieces have been a little too clean. That is to say, the chracters have stood too far out of the background IMO.
It might just be me but the work you did on Chief Justice and Val Halla was of a little better quality. (and when i say this, I mean the difference between 99% and 100%)
I'm going to explain that more...
I know you've technically gotten a lot better (Juggertha's face for example), and in no way are your pieces lacking... it's just that those two I mention seemed a little more polished. The characters seem like they are actually in the scene, in the environment, and thus more real. Some of the newer ones seem a little removed from their surroundings. Perhaps it's the colors chosen, I'm not sure.
Man, it might just be me, so take it as one comment. But if you look back and notice the same thing.. cool.
-Juggy
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Crimson Prime has been a friend of mine for almost exactly 20 years. We used to play Villains and Vigilantes in his dorm room, and our GM was none other than Sean Fish... a.k.a. Manticore. Many of the bad guys we used to fight on those late college nights have now appeared in COH, including Countess Crey, The Vindicators (the name we used in college), and a hero named Crimson.
Now, 20 years later, Crimson Prime has had to adapt and evolve his character since Manticore borrowed his name and dropped it on an NPC in Peregrine Island. An homage, I'm sure... but no one can replace the ORIGINAL Crimson... now named "CRIMSON PRIME".
CRIMSON PRIME - Poster
CRIMSON PRIME - Detail
[/ QUOTE ]the art is awesome but I found the history lesson even more intresting
[/ QUOTE ]
My sentiments exactly.
Out of the three people mentioned, 2 of them I'm well aware of (DJ - for obvious reasons, including his work on MTG <@.@> doing some of the art I loved that brought me to that game in the first place!)
Sean Fish because frankly, I think without him I'd never have stuck with CoH - because its the stories that *make* the game.
Now we just have to figure out this third individual <. .>
*clue detector on*
<O_O>
(Btw - The pic is great <^_^> I love that bow! (Which means I want one >.>
Actually, weird question DJ - did you wind up with any homages to your old chars? <,< I'm curious! I mean, just a name that's been re-used or something.
Those must have been some wild nights. <;_;> Damn I miss a good PNP session hehe, been too long.
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
[ QUOTE ]
I feel like your last few pieces have been a little too clean. That is to say, the chracters have stood too far out of the background IMO.
It might just be me but the work you did on Chief Justice and Val Halla was of a little better quality. (and when i say this, I mean the difference between 99% and 100%)
[/ QUOTE ]
I have the exact opposite reaction. I think the intergration with the background has gotten much better SINCE those two. The background on Chief Justice especially bothered me. I mentioned it and Doug made it better, but I still think that the background is coming up to the foreground too much. Especially when you compare it to the more recent works. The first one where I thought Doug nailed the background was Plasma Stream. It has a great amount of detail in it, but the space of the piece feels right, like there's the right amount of distance between things. Raydey Ayte (sp) was also an excellent background.
This one is excellent, and I like the background, but there's something about it that bugs me. The color is all very localized, which I think is kind of pulling the piece apart a little. Not sure what to do about that, given the monochromatic nature of your friend's hero.
[ QUOTE ]
"...The color is all very localized, which I think is kind of pulling the piece apart a little. Not sure what to do about that, given the monochromatic nature of your friend's hero.
[/ QUOTE ]
On this point, I completely agree with you. His name is 'Crimson Prime' and he wears an entirely crimson-colored suit... so I had to keep him, well... crimson. But the character is described as being a cross between Green Arrow and Batman. In other words, he's an archery-master with a dark, gothic side.
Now, in regards to this piece, I wanted to do a night scene to capture the dark side of the character. I also wanted to make the city look stark since I've done several 'happy' cities (Val Halla, White Peregrine, Great Briton). I therefore chose to use moonlight blues for the background which, after rendering, I found didn't mix well with the reds of his costume.
To soften the issue, I added moonlight to Crimson Prime and gave it a soft glow to help mesh the blues and reds.
Good eye, PMD.
Now...in regards to the character looking removed from the scene, I think that's a function of the poses not having a direct connection. In Juggertha and Crimson Prime, both characters stand atop a detail that ISN'T connected to the background. But in Val Halla, you can see her feet on the building and statue.
Possibly, it's that direct connection that places them in the scene? Fire Fily is clearly placed on the bridge (for example).
For the record, I really like that people can critique my pieces and that we're engaged in this type of analysis. I read each comment (both good and bad) and they *do* affect future pieces.
Someday... I'll be doing these for Marvel and DC. Mark my words...
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"...The color is all very localized, which I think is kind of pulling the piece apart a little. Not sure what to do about that, given the monochromatic nature of your friend's hero.
[/ QUOTE ]
On this point, I completely agree with you. His name is 'Crimson Prime' and he wears an entirely crimson-colored suit... so I had to keep him, well... crimson. But the character is described as being a cross between Green Arrow and Batman. In other words, he's an archery-master with a dark, gothic side.
Now, in regards to this piece, I wanted to do a night scene to capture the dark side of the character. I also wanted to make the city look stark since I've done several 'happy' cities (Val Halla, White Peregrine, Great Briton). I therefore chose to use moonlight blues for the background which, after rendering, I found didn't mix well with the reds of his costume.
To soften the issue, I added moonlight to Crimson Prime and gave it a soft glow to help mesh the blues and reds.
Good eye, PMD.
Now...in regards to the character looking removed from the scene, I think that's a function of the poses not having a direct connection. In Juggertha and Crimson Prime, both characters stand atop a detail that ISN'T connected to the background. But in Val Halla, you can see her feet on the building and statue.
Possibly, it's that direct connection that places them in the scene? Fire Fily is clearly placed on the bridge (for example).
For the record, I really like that people can critique my pieces and that we're engaged in this type of analysis. I read each comment (both good and bad) and they *do* affect future pieces.
Someday... I'll be doing these for Marvel and DC. Mark my words...
[/ QUOTE ]
<. .>
At the risk of being a blatant fanboi (Then again, I think I've become the fansquirrel of the artforum... so I guess it works)
I'd just like to say both A) You will. You've definitely got the ability. B) Its always good to see someone so talented and skilled be able to take constructive criticism into consideration.
Yeah, I know, that sounded like brownnosing of the nth degree - but its the damn truth.
If more people would listen rather than get defensive, we'd have better politicians, better writers, better directors (Uwe Boll I'm looking at you...).
I dunno - its a refreshing thing >_< I see it regularly in this forum and on the NaNoWriMo forum for writing... I just wish it translated better into the rest of the world.
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
[ QUOTE ]
We used to play Villains and Vigilantes in his dorm room, and our GM was none other than Sean Fish... a.k.a. Manticore.
[/ QUOTE ]
Weird!!
I could be wrong, but didnt you also do the cover for the Deadlands: Hell on Earth book Children O the Atom?
I only ask because of the huge City of connection with that book.
This is yet another great peice, DJ - bravo! Great, classic pose.
My Deviant Art page link-link
CoH/V Fan Videos
Y-you teamed with Manticore? THE Manticore? *faintshealplz*
"Take the Yuan-Ti, bash them with a club made of frozen stupidity, then rip out their sense of subtlety with a rusty spoon, and then you have the Snakes of Mercy Isle" -Taltha Widowfang, drow stalker
Now playing at an MA near you: Dragonslayers #335375
COOL!!! Thanks Doug!!! I love it. I'm truly honored. I appreciate your friendship beyond words.
[ QUOTE ]
Now we just have to figure out this third individual <. .>
*clue detector on*
<O_O>
[/ QUOTE ]
Hi all, that would be me. The whole story is even more humorous because I had no clue that Sean was working on COH when I started back in beta. I couldn't get the name Crimson in beta so I created Dopplershift (who inspired Doug to create Light-Speed). I remember first seeing the acrostics for the various hero organizations, E.L.I.T.E., D.A.T.A., and M.A.G.I., etc. and it took me back to VnV days back in college. Then I kept seeing these NPCs like Countess Crey and Rick Davies and Professor St. John Smythe (pronounced with a British accent, "sin jin", of course), and the whole city seemed so familiar. However, I still didn't make the connection that Sean might be behind it. It all just "fit" the superhero genre.
I was able to get the name Crimson when COH first shipped (sorry about that to whoever had it in beta). The premise behind VnV was that you played yourself as a superhero. So the original character was a cross between me, Green Arrow, Batman and Daredevil. Since Archery wasn't available, I tried different builds to recreate the original character including AR/Dev and MA/SR. I had heard Archery was coming but when it wasn't in Issue 1, I decided to make this version an Nrg/Nrg blaster. I deleted him and I couldn't get the name back!!! I was ticked. I submitted the problem to tech support, because if you recall, there was an problem with some names after Issue 1. They couldn't figure it out. I started scanning the blue boards to see if others might have had the same problem. I saw a post where Statesman thanked the writers for their work and mentioned Sean Fish. So I'm like, "Is this the same Sean Fish that I knew 20 years ago?". After a series of PMs, I find out yes indeed, Sean is Manticore and was the lead writer for COH. So I chat with him and catch up and tell him how I was bummed that I lost the name Crimson. He says "Oh. You can blame that on me." For the last 20 years, in his various PNP super campaigns, Crimson has had several incarnations and he put a version of Crimson in the game as a secret agent contact for Malta missions, which was introduced in Issue 1. I was all "COOL! Immortalized in video game history!!!" So since I couldn't get the name Crimson, I created a place holder Crimson Prime, and brought the original Crimson out of retirement when Archery became available.
Thanks again to Doug for the art! Thanks to Manticore for immortalizing Crimson and writing such an in depth story for us to take part. Thanks to Statesman and the rest of Cryptic for creating and implementing an awesome game.
Gawd I love cool behind the scenes things like this
Man, that has to be trippy to run into familiar fictional characters from your old gaming days, I can only imagine. And damn you people with your name dropping! The best I can say about my old gaming group is one of them is a lawyer now... that's... um... something
But, as usual, great work there Doug! I, again, really do dig the background, especially that statue rising up along side of the building... great work!
As for the background / figure problems... I really think it's simply the fact that no red appears anywhere in the background. Next time, maybe make sure you duplicate the main overriding colors of the character somewhere in the background. That will keep the colors from feeling as localized and trick the eye into accepting the figure and the background a lot easier.
Still, fantastic work... though seeing a man more realistically wear a mask like that does make me wonder who well he can aim that bow
Crimson Prime has been a friend of mine for almost exactly 20 years. We used to play Villains and Vigilantes in his dorm room, and our GM was none other than Sean Fish... a.k.a. Manticore. Many of the bad guys we used to fight on those late college nights have now appeared in COH, including Countess Crey, The Vindicators (the name we used in college), and a hero named Crimson.
Now, 20 years later, Crimson Prime has had to adapt and evolve his character since Manticore borrowed his name and dropped it on an NPC in Peregrine Island. An homage, I'm sure... but no one can replace the ORIGINAL Crimson... now named "CRIMSON PRIME".
CRIMSON PRIME - Poster
CRIMSON PRIME - Detail