TRDL 2012 Series, No. 11 – Emma Frost, X-Men First Class Version [TRDL Redesign]

The TRDL R3 Challenge this week was to redesign a character from a comic adaption show or film that you specifically didn’t like. I chose to do Emma Frost from the X-Men: First Class film. Setting aside my frustration with how January Jones either played the role, or acts in general, depending on your opinion of her I guess. I’m focusing here on the costuming. They were after a 60′s influenced version of Emma Frost’s well-known duds, generally being white tall boots, long gloves, and white undies and corset, like an S&M maven inverted. What they delivered, however, was confusing to me. Now, I now full well from my experience as a designer that editorial changes can push a great design into dubious territory fast, but I was lost on this. Big furry shoulder puffs at the perimeter of a white cape, OK. Kind of a snow queen russian thing happening there. Then, a plain brazier (which looks like a bra), bare midriff, a plain white miniskirt, and thigh high boots with makeshift garter attachments. I don’t know if the costume execution failed or the concept as a whole. This is my take on what I’d have done.

I liked the massing of the shoulders but I made them glittering crystal, to allude to her ‘secondary mutation’ as we saw in the film, transforming to diamond. The cape is actually a draping over the arms that falls long but split open at the bottom. I used a white corset with lacing, and a blouse matched to the cape. I have briefs instead of a mini-skirt, and I used a silver ring detail for the garter attachment points as well as to affix a silver necklace from … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: Emma Frost 2
2. TRDL 2012 Series No. 09 – Baroness
3. TRDL 2012 Series No. 10 – Nightcrawler [TRDL Redesign]

TRDL 2012 Series, No. 09 – Baroness [GI Joe]

This was done for the 2nd Cobra Art Jam Projecton the #Cobrafanclub group on dA. In this case, the jam is an aggregate of all the art submitted in a line-up. We got to pick who we wanted to draw, and frankly, while I have no time for extra projects right now, I can’t get Baroness out of the midbrain, so i joined the project. This also, sort of as a stretch, but was included in the Assassins Challenge on the TRDL R3 Forum.

My task specifically was to draw the black uniform version of Baroness. I was thisclose to drawing her classic cartoon version, but as I worked, I just felt like embellishing it in a more custom manner. The colors skew to the blues to allow detail to be seen, but I think it’s obvious it’s not the blue uniform she sometimes wore which is you know, technicolor blue. For action figure sales. Big gun too!

You can find a larger version here.
And as always you can read about some of the design notes in my process pics below.

Artists, come join us on R3 and submit to the jams! The R3 Illustration Jam offers new characters weekly, but all jams remain open so you can contribute to any that you like, here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/forum … m.php?f=27
or in the TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on DA, here:
http://trdl-r3-weeklyjam.deviantart.com/

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Background:

Who among us is unfamiliar with the Baroness? Even if you weren’t of the age to see her in the old cartoons or have the figures or read the comics, as I was, the GI Joe mythos has been revisited many times in the decades since, and thanks to Sienna Miller’s swagger in the film, and Adam Hughes’ everything else, … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2012 Series No. 08 – Wonder Woman [New 52]
2. TRDL 2012 Series No. 01 – Starfire (Happy New Year)
3. TRDL 2012 Series No. 02 – Admiral Hamilton (Time Traveler)

I got some pretty strong feedback in favor of this version of my Nolan Batman film universe Catwoman redesign, so I thought I’d post it in case you didn’t see it in the process notes for the main pic. Where in the final version I had used a blue monochromatic effect overall for the mood I was going for, in this one she’s in ruddy colored steel with a similar background tint, which folks said allowed them to see more detail and balance the figure. So, here you go!

Original version here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/blog/ … -redesign/

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series No. 79 – Catwoman Redesign
2. TRDL 2011 No. 7 – Catwoman [TRDL Blank Slate Redesign]
3. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 43: Rand + Lucas [TRDL Redesign]

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 79 – Catwoman (Nolan Batman Universe) [TRDL Redesign]

This was done for the TRDL R3 Jam, the subject being a speculative design for the third Nolan Batman film’s introduction of Catwoman.

We’ve seen, at this point, some images and video from the shoot showing Anne Hathaway in a plain black jumper with, at some stage, silver high heels and at another stage, a set of goggles that when flipped up look like ears. These could be real, or maguffins, we just don’t know. But the design challenge was to present our own concept of what Catwoman should look like in that film’s universe.

Much like my first Catwoman redesign in January of this year (a comic character blank slate redesign, so different) my image of her is an athletic, stealthy burglar performing heists. I gave her a tactical suit with a tool belt and copious quantities of rope, with the very upper arms exposed merely for cooling and frankly design style. She wears a full head cowl with an open face area, and a pair of low-light imaging goggles with slit lenses, giving her a cat eye appearance. I gave her cool Egyptian style cat-eye makeup as well, for science.

You can read more about the process on this pic after the jump…

Artists, come join us on R3 and submit to the jams! The R3 Illustration Jam offers new characters weekly, but all jams remain open so you can contribute to any that you like, here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/forum … m.php?f=27
or in the TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on DA, here:
http://trdl-r3-weeklyjam.deviantart.com/

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

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Background:

Here’s the worst-case scenario of what we’ve seen of the film costume.

My inks over … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series No. 79 – Catwoman Redesign Variant
2. TRDL 2011 No. 7 – Catwoman [TRDL Blank Slate Redesign]
3. TRDL 2011 Series No. 40 – Iron Man Series: Force Redesign

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 67 – Glue Junkie Commission

Note: Hi-Rez version here!

OK, this one requires some ‘splainin. This was a commission done for Nicholas Frank, who has an Etsy shop called Glue Junkie. He has produced all of our TRDL and Team Lope vinyl, many of them on very short notice turnaround before events. Awesome guy. So, I did this piece to thank him for all of his work. I was given a very broad set of parameters and the opportunity to ignore them if I wanted. He had the idea of his girlfriend as the 50-foot-tall woman fighting a giant mecha. They have two dogs, and he gave me a bunch of interests and details for each of them to inspire me. From there, I cooked up a TRDL Cryptohistorical Redesign, one of these long format old-timey poster prints I have been doing when I do illustrations of friends. Here, it’s an ad for tickets to an oratory by survivors of the REAL reason London burned: Evil Doctor Lola, a mutated terrier, kidnapped our hapless engineer’s dame, supersized her and by controlling her mind with his remote, sent her on a rampage through London, forcing Nick to build a giant steam automaton to pilot in an attempt to stop her and free her from Lola’s clutches. And such.

Process notes below, including some of the easter eggs in this piece.

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

PROCESS:

So I don’t really do likenesses when I draw friends and real people, but I take their look to heart when building the illustrated version of them. Her’s Nick and his girlfriend before a jump.

Here’s Lola, one of their pups. Not evil.

I had the … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Commission: Holocauste
2. TRDL Commission: The USS Hamilton
3. TRDL Tribute: Alina [RPG Commission]

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 64 – Captain America [Film Version]

This piece was done for the Captain America jam on the TRDL R3 Forum and TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on dA, and specifically as a birthday card for my buddy, as we were attending the film on his big day.

I’ve watched the evolution of the film costume design pretty closely, and really like the choices made. After drawing this, I saw the film, and noticed a few details in the construction of this suit that are different than I had interpreted from stills, but overall, pretty close match. I drew Steve Rogers taller as well as buff because, in my view, you can’t just supersize the muscles beyond the range of normal human capability without increasing the bone mass and surface area for connective tissue. So here, like all of my own TRDL characters as a rule, he’s bigger than your average bear.

Here’s the version I gave my buddy as a card: a USO promo photo sent to a few select lucky fans during wartime.

Artists, come join us on R3 and submit to the jams! The R3 Illustration Jam offers new characters weekly, but all jams remain open so you can contribute to any that you like, here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/forum … m.php?f=27
or in the TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on DA, here:
http://trdl-r3-weeklyjam.deviantart.com/

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

PROCESS:

Here’s a pretty good shot of the costume in the film. I love the straps for the parachute pack integrated into the tunic.

Here’s a pic of a Cap statue, which I’ve had in my queue for a long time as a reminder for the kind of muscular massing I like for the character.

Here’s a shot of … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute- Captain America
2. TRDL Tribute: Captain America 2008
3. TRDL Tribute: Batman Begins Pre-Film Concept Art

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 62 – Iron Man vs. Wasp vs. TMNT’s Raphael

UPDATE: Voting is live now:
http://outcaststudios.com/forums/index. … yal-final/

Tony Stark and Janet Van Dyne: friends, sometime lovers, now enemies through a cruel twist of fate and fortune. Raphael, mutant turtle with martial arts skills and a love of cheese, driven mad by an unfortunate case of rabies. Tony must apprehend Raphael before he bites someone, and catch the Wasp before she delivers the stolen command odes to his armory into the hands of AIM. In the labyrinthian tunnels beneath the city, Iron Man races against time to defeat his foes, minutes before his hot date across town with glamorous film star Luna Liu!

This piece was done for an epic Art Battle at Outcast Studios, a Battle Royale competition featuring 32 artists. Round 01, 16 pairings, with the winners moving on to the next round, and so on. The battles are judged on both concept and execution. My character for the series: Iron Man [Current Resilient Armor]. My Round 04 foe: The Wasp. Unfortunately, it was a tie. Fortunately, it meant for an exceedingly challenging final round, as a three-way was called, with Iron Man, Wasp and TMNT’s Raphael.

I must have gone through 10 rough sketches on this one, most being pretty decisively brutal. Concepts like Iron Man, Wasp in hand, punching a core hole THROUGH Raphael’s shell with Wasp’s face, to boiling Wasp in a soup made in the hollowed out TMNT shell, to dragging them both across the pavement at Mach 5 (an abandoned concept on Carnage)… but I wanted to keep to the general tone of comic covers, where you could show some degree of gore, depending on the rating or lack thereof, but you want to present a scene, not a panel … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series No. 57 – Iron Man vs. Wasp
2. TRDL 2011 Series No. 40 – Iron Man Series: Force Redesign
3. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 13: Iron Man Series – Stealth Armor

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 57 – Iron Man vs. Wasp

UPDATE: Voting is live now:
http://outcaststudios.com/forums/index. … mi-finals/

Tony Stark and Janet Van Dyne: friends, sometime lovers, now enemies through a cruel twist of fate and fortune. The Wasp’s challenge: how to get to the man within the nearly impenetrable, regenerative, adaptive, post-Extremis biowear? Shrinking won’t work, as the armor is hardened to vacuum. Growing to massive size would give her a physical edge, but he would still be more agile and dangerous at range. The only choice: play the old card, lure him out of the armor for a secret rendezvous, then strike! Unfortunately, Stark has come to expect such things these days, and has protection waiting in the wings. What will happen next?

This piece was done for an epic Art Battle at Outcast Studios, a Battle Royale competition featuring 32 artists. Round 01, 16 pairings, with the winners moving on to the next round, and so on. The battles are judged on both concept and execution. My character for the series: Iron Man [Current Resilient Armor]. My Round 04 foe: The Wasp.

I mentioned before that as I progressed in this competition, if lucky enough to do so, I would make things harder and harder for Stark. This is also combined with an unwillingness to use lethal force against a friend. In this case, I was struck by the image of a long shot, low to the ground, of all the armor spread out all over the place with the lovers entwined in the back as the focal point, much like those classic shots in films where the characters flew up to their room and got crazy. The hitch would be that it’s not as decisive as it looks: Janet thinks she got him with the sting, … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series No. 62 – Iron Man vs. Wasp Vs. TMNT
2. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 13: Iron Man Series – Stealth Armor
3. TRDL 2011 No. 8 – Iron Man Series – Original Armor

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 55 – Uncanny X-Men #173 Homage [TRDL Redesign]

This piece was done for the Comic Cover Homage Jam on the TRDL R3 Forum.

For me, though I had been drawing superheroes and all manner of beast and bot since about age 3, it was Uncanny X-Men #173 that really got me going. Wolvie and Rogue, tense partners and former foes, on the run to face SIlver Samurai in Japan, while the rest of the X-Men lie dying, poisoned in a nearby hospital. Paul Smith! I did not do his work justice, but I made this a TRDL Redesign: Wolverine’s costume is leaner and tighter and more leathery/buckled with colors reflecting an arctic wolverine (dark brown’black fur with a halo of whiter fur on the belly and brow) and my Rogue is more confident and aggressive, with a bit of exposed flesh, and button-snap removable gloves. Oh, and while it’s nowhere near as fun to see, I draw my Wolverine with claws IN, unless actually in combat. Just watch Hugh Jackman in those films with his wobbly, awkward claws out while running. He can extend them so fast, no need to have your agility and hand articulation hampered prematurely, I say.

Artists, come join us on R3 and submit to the jams! The R3 Illustration Jam offers new characters weekly, but all jams remain open so you can contribute to any that you like, here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/forum … m.php?f=27
or in the TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on DA, here:
http://trdl-r3-weeklyjam.deviantart.com/

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

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PROCESS NOTES:

First, the cover. Here is the original Uncanny X-Men #173. I even remember getting it in the comic shop in Westwood. Actually, I SHOULD. I had to … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 13: Iron Man Series – Stealth Armor
2. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 18: Artemis [Young Justice]
3. TRDL 2011 Series No. 79 – Catwoman Redesign

TRDL 2011 Series, No. 47 – Hector Hammond [TRDL Redesign]

This piece was done for the Hector Hammond redesign challenge o the R-R-RedesignWeekly group on dA.

My concept: Hector Hammond, who in mainstream Green Lantern books suffered a severe brain mutation and disfigurement, in my version the effects of the mutation continue to grow and grow such that he can no longer support the weight of his cranium. However, his psychotelekinetic abilities grew proportionately and he was ultimately able to defeat Hal Jordan. He crafted an exoskeleton to carry his body, now useless and atrophied, tucked under it, and fused Jordan’s confiscated ring into the front of the machine like a cruel masthead. Realizing his twisted fantasy, he wears Jordan’s tattered Green Lantern uniform as well. Note: Hammond, not being trained in the use of a ring, doesn’t understand that he could heal himself or correct his physical damage through ring manifestation, so he utilizes this battle carapace, somewhat oblivious of the irony.

Artists, come join us on R3 and submit to the jams! The R3 Illustration Jam offers new characters weekly, but all jams remain open so you can contribute to any that you like, here:
http://www.thirdraildesignlab.com/forum … m.php?f=27
or in the TRDL-R3-WeeklyJam group on DA, here:
http://trdl-r3-weeklyjam.deviantart.com/

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

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PROCESS:

Background:

Here’s old Hector Hammond in the comics:

Progress:

Here’s the original pencils, capturing the majority of what I wanted: the huge beetle carapace for the brain, and the atrophied body below.

Inks worked out pretty well, given a back injury and a hurtling toddler.

Here’s the Green Lantern uniform. My first ever for a Hal style uniform. I showed it dark and grungy.

The original concept was the … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series No. 40 – Iron Man Series: Force Redesign
2. TRDL 2011 Series No. 79 – Catwoman Redesign
3. TRDL 2011 Series No. 31: Scandal Savage [TRDL Redesign]

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