Airheaded Vision

I have a few commissions brewing, so I thought I'd start a thread about Airhead.

Airhead is a character from a NaNoWriMo novel. Before that, he was a City of Heroes character. And before that, he gestated over years of idle thoughts, as I pondered what kind of non-violent superhero might somehow still make for interesting reading. Airhead evolved to be a smart young man with a toggle power of 'radiant gullibility' that also affects himself. This tends to cause chaos. As he learns more about the source and application of his power, he struggles to figure out how he might use it for good. Meanwhile, others seek to use him for their own gain.

Airhead's bleached hair and washed-out skin is at odds with his aboriginal DNA, which puts him on a quest to find out more about his past and his power. His story finds him in Moscow fairly early on, where he is given a double-breasted vest and pants modeled on a statue of Pushkin. This was constructed in City of Heroes as:
(yes, image has been manipulated)
I've never tried to explain the tattoos on his hands, those just looked cool.

I had a sudden opportunity to write about Airhead in action when Bayani created a review competition around his martial arts mission arc. I wrote a review from Airhead's point of view, and lo and behold, the review won a prize. The award was a character sketch more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. Based purely on screen captures, came this work by Shaun:
Image links to DeviantArt. Thanks to Bayani, I have the original proudly displayed on my wall.

This kept me happy for quite a while before I finally succumbed to commission lust. First up, I got a sketch from Bokuman. While more famous for his scantily-clad women, Bokuman had drawn a male character in a vest that I liked. What I got in the end was far, far better than expected, particularly with respect to Airhead's personality:
Image link to DeviantArt.

Now his face and hair have excellent precedents and other elements are correct too. The vest is very close to ideal. But I wanted more. More! I wanted to create some scenes from Airhead's story. But I decided to get a model image done first, to refine Airhead's collar, sleeve heads, vest buttons, tie symbol and skin tone. The result is now in a colouring queue, and will eventually be posted here. I'm also pursuing three other scenes. Stay tuned!

Cheers, airhead

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Keep on rockin', Fairgo!

Another addict born!

And so it begins lol.
Gratz on the two you have received so far, they are very well done.

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Very nice!

Congrats on the commission! You'll never be the same again....

Unfortunately, I never was the same. Consistency is for whipped cream. But I'm glad the character is enjoyable so far!

Here's another (well, four more) Airhead(s). This is just a model sheet. So he's just standing there, which is what models do. Brandon also did a mugshot, which much better captures the spirit of Airhead. Er, airheadedness. I'm trying to figure out how to ink that myself in spite of my incompetence, so it might be a little while yet.

<-- Clickable!

Thanks to Eddy Swan for the final result! Both Brandon and Eddy were very nice to work with, and were willing to update the picture towards the image in my head that was never actually there. Now it is!

Cheers, airhead

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I finally came up with a way to ink the portrait half of my sketch by Brandon McKinney, but I still haven't figured out how to ink eyes in a way that works at high and low resolution. I'll just have to keep looking for examples, and this is a work in progress.

I tried to give him tightly-curled hair, but it reminded me of something else...

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An Airhead scene is finished, and I am over the moon with it! For those who're watching the City of Heroes group on deviantArt, sorry for the spam of seeing it again here, but just in case there's anyone who'd miss out... the picture here links to dA.

I submitted a slightly larger version for Download if anyone was curious about the details, or wanted it as a desktop background... as if you want a backdrop of someone else's OC Even better, commission Wakabee for a picture of your own!

Cheers, airhead

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Another Airhead!

I'm getting the hang of the commission process, perhaps it is time to come up with a competition and do some gift art. But meanwhile, here's another Airhead!

<-- links to big version on deviantArt

I've combined Celtic Bolt's brilliance with my own amateurish bubble to give him a personal force field, to explain why the scene is not as gory as it might first appear. To appreciate CB's art on its own, follow the link to his dA page (check out the CityofHeroes group on dA).

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Cool. I like the job you did on the bubble and the idea behind it is very intriguing as well.
I didn't notice anything on the globe indicating the assassin's origin though, I thought there would be a marker of some kind... maybe I need to use the download button to see the large version to find it.

One --> Artz Giveaway <-- To Rule Them ALL!

I will settle this. ORANGE FTW! - Ex Libris

Oops! I lost track of my own thread! Sorry CR. To answer your question, the lines on the bubble are meant to mark it as a globe, and the assassin is in Southern China.

I'm waking up this thread with another picture of my hero. It's the same guy every time so far, but I do have some sidekicks and enemies in the pipeline too. I've gotten a few pictures since I last posted, but this is the first new one in a comic style:


Lines by Snareser at DeviantArt and his colourist-colaborator SpidermanFan2099. Having this guy leaping out of my PC's desktop helps me stay focussed.

Other recent arts include lines by Tim Kelly at DeviantArt, colours by the forum's own Eddy Swan.. The lineart made Airhead look almost tank-like, which reminded me of Ned Kelly, Australia's infamous bushranger. Eddy then was the perfect choice for colourist, and he did a fantastic job of capturing an armoured-outback mood.



And finally, one from Clap-san also at DeviantArt. I liked his lithe style and excellent work with drawing fabrics, and I was happy with the result. Although Airhead's nose is suddenly less flat than usual



I wonder if I can get an art-patch to wean me from this addiction. Tis fun tho!

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Those are nice pieces!

As beautiful as the artwork is, let me set it aside a moment to say that your OP description of Airhead makes him one of the most intriguing CoH characters I heard about in quite a while. Its fascinating to read his power affects him as well. How is his "radiant gullibility" power played in-game? Psionic, mind control, illusion? Do you RP his affliction as well?

Thanks DarkEther and Rodoan!

Airhead's powersets are Mind Control (not the telekinetic ones) and Force Field. Mass Confuse is his favorite. I haven't had much chance to roleplay him in-game, as it takes quite a bit of make-believe to 'win' just by making everyone 'open-minded' (naive), in the inherently violent world of City of Heroes. Also, I play mostly Pick Up Groups, so there isn't much room for roleplaying a complicated interpretation of my powers. I find this kind of make-believe is easier in writing. But I still roleplay in my mind. My toon is telling folks to "please lie on the floor and activate your medicom beacons". Long battles represent a 'discussion'.

If such a power did exist (and wasn't used for evil) it would lead to very boring adventures, since conflict could be defused before it got visually appealing. That's subverted by having the power affect Airhead as well, so he doesn't always win in City of Heroes.

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Very nice additions... And sorry but no, there is no patch to help you through art withdrawal. You have to go cold turkey or nothing! (And I suspect cold turkey only is effective when you're bankrupt, destitute and carry a sign saying Will Work for Artz!)

All three are cool but I think the Snareser/Spidermanfan collab is the best of them as (to me at least) it's the one that most catches the characters look and personality in the piece.

Thanks Caemgen. I agree, the first stands out. Personality for sure, but also it's the only dynamic one.

So I went in pursuit of another dynamic pose. Not exactly... this next one was my very first commission, just arrived! I worried a little bit about that over the months, but the artist did let me know he was still alive, and I kept myself amused with other pictures. In the end, I am thrilled with the result:



The makeshift bungee cord might not hold (if the paper is not already on fire) but fear not, for Airhead's powers will ensure they're rubbery when they hit the ground. The kid will live, and he'll have an awesome body bruise to show the kids at school. The style is loose, and I like that. If anything, Airhead's hair could be curlier, but I can put that down to the headwind. Jet Amago is getting his commissions under control now, and I'd commission him again if I had another concept.

The second piece is a painter-ly one, but also dynamic. Lines are by Rhardo, colours are by Lanceville:



The pose is exactly what I requested, which was difficult as I had no reference image. It felt like it might be a skater's jump pose, but I couldn't find an example. Rhardo did a great job of that in the end. The face is craggy, but that fits Airhead's ancestry. Lanceville's painting is very good. But I swapped out the background (and lightened the image to match) due to motion blur being up instead of down.

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I like that cover mock-up. Might have to do Bayani/Airhead team-up some time.

I'd like a go at this one... brb!

Umm I didn't mean you're idea... I meant, I'd like to draw the character. You have a problem with me drawing the character? Isn't it someone else's character? Or were you confused by me posting after you mentioned the team up? Which I wasn't intending to draw.

Hi Bayani, a double sounds like a great idea! Airhead definitely needs to socialise more.

Hi Lady Judgement, feel free to use Airhead as your model! Here's a quick list of things that have been left out of Airhead pictures before (most are caught early). They are little things, but they help to keep Airhead from looking like just another office worker in a vest.
[list redacted, now on attached image]



Nobody gets all of this to match, and there are good reasons for breaking the rules in a particular artist's style or scene. But apply many of these, and you should end up with Airhead. Good luck drawing him! Please don't spend money on him alone though, I can afford to do that Which reminds me, I need to come up with a competition...

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Nevermind, my original post made no sense so I'll just sit here and wait for LJ's take on Airhead...