Toa Nakao- coloring commission

 The character Toa Nakao, a female lightning Toa, is an Original Creation belonging to WingVinnieCustom, an online RP buddy of mine. A few years ago he tells me his friend drew this character for him while they were in art class, and he never got around to coloring it; so he asked if I could complete Nakao's color theme, so I did. The above image is the final colored result of the drawing, all achieved in Photoshop.

Toa Nakao has been introduced even in the RP tale WVC has played with me, and I was even given the role of acting her character. Curious for details behind this OC? Here's the upload on WVC's DA. http://wingvinniecustom.deviantart.com/art/Toa-Nakao-393721610 Credit goes to WVC for character design, line art credit goes to his friend, and coloring credit goes to me. ^.~

Below is the original line art spread WVC shared with me, and I simply selected Nakao from the side lines so she could stand alone from the other fun masks sketched on the right. His friend did a good job in drawing if I do say so myself.

HF- Nurse Camilla, comic panel

In previous post My designs, Camilla and Gertrude I mentioned about two of my own HF character designs; Nurse Camilla, the HF medic bot; and Gertrude, the HF desk worker. Details about their character background was given, and I stated a few of the functions Camilla contains. My exact words from previous post, "She works with other staff when needed, will come around when someone needs a shot, and commonly carries around a small energy box with a transfer wire for connecting into the quaza core port to recharge a patient who's system is very weak. Camilla also contains a super powerful, internal electrical system, built into her structure for the purpose of performing electric shock CPR." Each of the functions mentioned, exist in the three panel comic scene above, of Camilla in action.

From left to right; Camilla comically stating she'd give it her best shot, needle in hand (this quote existed before I made the image, and I found it fit perfectly into the scene, so I used it.) Middle panel is a flash scene of Camilla preparing to administer electric shock CPR, yelling "CLEAR!" (you can see her palms are what administer the shock. Right panel is of Camilla walking down the recovery halls with her recharge box, asking around to see if anyone needs a boost.

Additional functions about Camilla, ones that are an afterthought in her build, are that the ridged spots on her skirt and boots light up when she's charging for CPR; and she can also show a patient's vital signs by using herself as a monitor. If she places her hand on them, her electric charge indicators will blip and show the current condition of a hero.

The composition as a whole, came out rather interesting. Each scene has it's own unique setting to it, and is meant to display small peeks of the HF medical area; or in the case with middle panel, meant to harbor suspense. The first panel on left was rather fun to draw; I even gave Camilla a nurse hat in it. Background was meant to just show she clearly works in a place full of monitors and medical beds, with the HF hospital symbol displayed on the wall slightly. Middle panel is meant to be dramatic, like a scene where you see a flash of light, then hear monitors beeping and the pulse light ripples madly in the background as Camilla prepares to do her thing. The last panel has to be the most interesting in composition, being that everything is angled and tilting towards Camilla, so she's central focus as she walks down the hall way. I also had a little fun with drawing folds in a blanket that drapes over a patient on the right bed.

This image dates back to about 2011. Mediums used- Colored pencil and jell pen.

HF, My Designs- Camilla and Gertrude

During the time Hero Factory first came out, I was naturally disappointed when seeing the minimalism LEGO had applied to the designs of this new series. With this disappointment, I figured, if I  were the designer of HF art, I would make the characters more artistic, and less manufactured in appearance. Naturally, I like day dreaming of my own scenarios and characters which can fit into an already existing universe invented by another (in other words, I like inventing alternate fan fiction ideas). This led to day dreams of my icon character, Pearllight, showing up in the HF world at one point; and the invention of my own characters, drawn in my own style, followed after. I figured, maybe Hero Factory could be more interesting if I apply my own ideas to it... never did become an avid fan for Hero Factory, simply remained neutral and saw it as a separate story which belongs in its own category; but I did invent my own characters which apply to the series, and did in fact include these inventions in an alternate scenario episode as part of my favorite Bionicle fan fiction "Life of Lewa". But enough talk of the why I made these characters, now I'll be sharing who these characters are.

Nurse Camilla, female medic bot

 Nurse Camilla, my first personalized HF character, is associated with a basic day dream of who might be working in the repair center of Hero Factory. I figure there's a repair center in the Hero Factory somewhere, and I applied my own ideas to this concept. The repair center of the building no doubt has staff who get heroes, and even damaged villains in custody, and repair them back into functioning order. Whether it be missing limbs, snapped wires, internal circuitry damage, or quaza stone repair/replacement; the medical repair team is always standing by. I thought up ideas for what the repair center may be like, and it's kind of like a pleasant hospital area with mechanical based things thrown in. Nurse Camilla happens to predominately work in the recovery section of repair center, where she checks over patients who have just undergone surgery or check ups pertaining to serious problems. She works with other staff when needed, will come around when someone needs a shot, and commonly carries around a small energy box with a transfer wire for connecting into the quaza core port to recharge a patient who's system is very weak. Camilla also contains a super powerful, internal electrical system, built into her structure for the purpose of performing electric shock CPR. Camilla's functions and daily work, all of which have been explained above, are shown in a three panel picture I made, which will be shared at a later time.
     Camilla was built to look pleasant and calm, valuable traits for a medical bot who's made to comfort and care for injured heroes. I wanted to make a female bot who didn't look so flat and generic like the lady bots working in the emergency call center answering the Hero hotline, or resembling the news reporter Daniella Capricorn from the HF cartoon. Camilla's hair isn't made of metal panels like that of Daniella or other female bots, but rather made of fine wire strands which sway and flop like actual hair strands. These fine strands attach to a metal bun base which is connected to Camilla's head, and in a prototype concept, the bun may be twisted, which causes the metal strands to be drawn inward, consequently resulting in a shorter hair style if necessary.

Gertrude, front door desk worker and paper work employe

 Gertrude, the front door desk worker of  Hero Factory, is a slightly grouchy character, her personality professional, and by the book. Her character is roughly based off Roz, the slug monster from "Monsters inc." Anyone who has to get and return files at Gertrude's desk, dread the encounter. It's hard to make Gertrude smile, some younger heroes have tried, and only one of them nearly succeeded. Even the most experienced heroes are secretly intimidated by Gertrude, being that she can be rather cold, and knows anything about everything that goes on in Hero Factory, being that her job is to document everything about Hero Factory, missions, hero reports, and even data files on every worker in the HF building, including details that connect to every hero on a personal level. Many heroes, including Preston Stormer, are uneasy around her, fearing she's able to black mail anyone, at any time. Anyone who enters through the front door will always see Gertrude constantly working at her desk. If anyone has a question or appointment, Gertrude will make sure they're checked in, and given passes if they're visitors of HF, but not workers.
    Gertrude's build is meant to be stocky, and business based. Her structure in general, was made to be efficient and energy reserving, that way she can work many hours at a desk and never get worn out. Her base structure, with additional skirt plating, is made to look like a classy business outfit. She can change out color panels for variety in outfit design, but usually prefers wearing wine purple at all times. Her hair is solid, and always shined to perfection. There are slots in her hair bun which hold what appear to be decorative sticks, but are actually pens she can pull out for signing special documents. Gertrude also has a set of built in cat eye glasses that contain a computer screen projection option. She can replace these glasses for varied looks when she pleases. Gertrude is one of few in HF who has a nose and dominate feminine features, like rosy cheeks and defined lips.

Both Gertrude and Camilla were included in a Life of Lewa episode where Lewa accidentally portals to the wrong dimension. that tale, is however, for a much later time.

Art details- I added the Hero factory H on both pictures, matching the color scheme with the character. I feel blue would be the dominate color of repair center; and as for the green H of Gertrude, I sometimes imagine a neon sign of it that may serve as a clock which hangs on the wall of Gertrude's open desk office. Mediums used: Prismacolor pencils and jell pen.

(Below) The two images displayed are the original color quality versions of Camilla and Gertrude. I adjusted levels to bring out the rich tones of these two beauties.  

Matoran Translation charts

The above picture is the beginning of a little something which has a future purpose. I call it a Matoran translation medallion. This is just the first stage of the project, the base image if you will. My future plan is to make a double sided medallion out of these charts, one side alphabetical, the other side numerical.

My inspiration to make two circular charts came from a day dream on secret coded messages. The idea for a Matoran translation medallion connects to an idea having to do with pen pal connections. I thought about how you send letters to a friend and how easily someone else could just pick up your letter and read it. That led to an idea of writing coded letters..and if your pen pal is a Bionicle fan, what better choice than to use Matoran. Now lets say your friend is a bit rusty in Matoran, and you want to be sure they can read your special coded letter? That got me thinking, why not make a special medallion for translating Matoran to English, both numerical and alphabetical. It will not only make the decoding experience more interesting, but also serves as a special treasure your friend can wear around their neck, knowing your words are understood only by those who know the code. The medallion itself is a future project, and I'll try to make reference back to this page once I make, and post the completed work.

 To make the charts, I used some methods of sacred geometry (example right) and a protractor (example left). For the alphabetical chart I went through several design stages, just so I could get a perfectly divided 26 spaced circle. The math involved made my head hurt, but it was worth it. As for the 10 point numerical chart, that was fairly simple, all I had to do was follow the book on how to make ten with the star shape. The lines of the chart I added in later through Photoshop.

(Below)- This was my very first design chart, to get the general concept out on paper. I was working on trying to get 26 lines, but later settled for spaces. Since this was just a chart, I went ahead and wrote out the letters to get a general feel for what I wanted. Looks very similar to the finished chart, only the letter alignment is just a tad bit different.

Photos of translation medallion still to come, so stay tune for the future product. Till then, have a great week. ^_~

Life Sized Lewa Drawing

 Finally... here's a long overdue blog post I've put off sharing since the first post I created of it elsewhere on March 17, 2010..I do believe it was. I give to you, the full sized Lewa Phantoka drawing I did three years ago.

The incredible part is, the drawing is huge, yes, but to think at the time I didn't know I was actually missing a few inches for the actual true size of an average Toa. Toa are said to be 7' 2'' on average, but the drawing I made is seven foot.

It was my dream and strong desire to make something that could help me visualize the actuality of something from fantasy. The closest thing I could think of to make that dream a reality was to attempt making a full scale drawing of one of my favorite characters. My luck struck in for this full scale fantasy when I found a large sheet of banner paper at a craft store. I was entirely exited, though I knew how much work it would take to make this dream drawing.

First thing I did was measure out my head size onto the paper sheet, then I measured proper length and cut the sheet to size. From there I had a long day set out for me, and all of it spent in the hallway. I stood up on a step stool and taped the scroll to the wall and floor, then picked up my pencil and Lewa figurine and got to work. Judging my head size as reference to that of the Lewa figurine, I measured out the rest of his body according to that scale. Shoulders ended up being about three feet in width. I used a yardstick to aid me in making it as clean as I could; and from the time of starting it, to end of inking it, I spent a total of 15 hours in one day, making this drawing. By the time I was done, I was tired as midnight started nearing, and I sat on the floor gazing up at my very first full sized masterpiece; all I could think is, "So that's what Lewa would be like".

There were a few complications during time of work. My neck cramped if I looked up too long, by back cramped if I stood there too long, and during my time spent on a step stool while sketching, I gave the wall my very own pencil smudge hand print... oops. Thankfully that last mistake was cleanable, and forgiven.

Inking the piece was a pain since I used a marker to do it. A few times I feared I was going to run out of ink...next time a brush and ink method I do believe is in order. Why do I say next time..? Well, even after making something this large, I still have some leftover paper; and I was thinking about trying another character someday...maybe Tahu or Pohatu. I know that next time around I may have better luck with proportions and symmetry too.

Below is a second photo taken during this year over the back door. I took it because I didn't know if I liked being in the image.... but after viewing it again, I realized standing beside it helped show its scale; that and the drawing was right next to a door frame for even better reference of how big the drawing really is. So it's official, I decided that the original is still better, but it looked more pleasing as a black and white image. 

 There you have it guys, let your dreams run wild, and think BIG. ^.~

Prank call

 The Hero Factory rookies get a distress call from the planet of Bara Magna by a few Agori up to mischief. Their idea, a prank call; when the Hero Factory team arrives they do find trouble, on their own heads. The Agori watch from behind a rock and laugh as the slave driver Sahmad chases them across the desert for the slave market.

This was all a simple day dream, and I set out to make it a sketch and art piece as of recently. I'm considering making another half to this image as a mini comic; a before scene of the two Agori pranksters discussing the idea and making the call, then a pan over of them laughing their heads off after the scene above is shown. That of course is a future project idea, and may never get finished; depends on my mood and if anyone likes the idea to make more for this scene.

Process: I started out with a pencil sketch (below) that at first seemed like a challenge, but turned out more quickly then I expected. After a moment of thinking I decided to put it on the computer and outline it digitally. After that whole process I printed it out on some heavy weight, textured card stock. The coloring process is mixed media, consisting mostly of colored pencil with a little marker and jell pen. Last step was to scan it again, add some background color digitally, and complete the piece with speech bubbles and text.

 

Rahkshi Fashion

I've finally finished. After nearly two months of on and off work, I've finished both my Rahkshi fashion panels.

My original intent didn't quite look like this in my mind. It all started out as a simple day dream of what if Pearllight dressed up as a Rahkshi to keep the creatures calm while she was around them. This lead to the interesting concept of Rahkshi themed fashion. The original concept in my mind started out as a helmet idea for humans, with a costume made of mostly cloth and the accessory being the elemental staff of each creature. After that inspiration, I set out to make two fashion panels based off of the six main Rahkshi; as I worked though the idea itself decided to go its own way, and instead of fabric costumes with Rahkshi helmets, I ended up drawing full blown Rahkshi armor for women. It's still fashion in a sense, but it seems the idea became more then that too; it ended up becoming both fashion, and the concept of what Rahkshi might look like if they were human, and female.

I'll give details of inspiration on the suits further down, but first a few things about the panels. The first
panel contains all the brightly colored Rahkshi; being fear, poison, and disintegration. Since I was warming up to sketching on the first panel, the positions aren't as interesting as the second, which to me is a shame because I love the bright colors. Turahk was the first to be drawn, which is why the costume looks different from the rest of them. I was sort of working with the concept still, so the shoes and armor ended up with a slightly different style; but once I made Lerahk I settled with a more stable design.
    
The second panel contains the earth tone Rahkshi; being fragmentation, anger, and absorption. Notice the drawings became a little more expressive in positions, and the models became meatier and more hardy compared to the first panel. I started gaining a better feel for sketching after I finished drawing Guurahk; and gained the right idea of what the second panel would be like. My main intention was to make Panrahk a hardy, well built model that consisted weight to it. Reason being is because I researched the different Rahkshi as I drew, and Panrahk is said to be extremely heavy, so I made the model appear hardy, and settled with that look for the last two.
 
  A little note on color placement in the panels; I purposely split the colors so they were in appealing order. With the first panel, I put Lerahk in the middle so that the green would split up the contrast of red and blue. If Turahk and Guurahk were side by side, they would have clashed, and Lerahk would look out of place on the edge, so I put green in the middle to help pull it all together. Same goes for the second panel; I purposely placed Kurahk in the middle, being that anger is the lightest and the other two are in dark shades. So I put Panrahk and Vorahk on either side of Kurahk, to balance out the light/dark contrast. Another thing I did as a specialty for the middle panels was give the models hair. Lerahk having black pigtails, and Kurahk having flowing hair that goes all over, expressing her anger.
  
 Each character has a face and body language that helps slightly express each element. Fear has a face that expresses evil pleasure in frightening beings, poison smirks as she clouds the ground with toxin, disintegration half smiles with a face that implies she'll destroy you for fun like she's destroying the rock in her hand that crumbles to the ground as dust, fragmentation has a softer face that's more concentrated as she cracks the earth beneath her feet with an expression that says *come and get me*; anger has a scowling face and hair that floats in her rage, her fingers tensing into an open hand fist like she wants to tear your heart out, and absorption has a face of smugness from being pleased with the new Toa energy she holds in her hand.

 The costumes are based off both the set versions, and the movie versions of Rahkshi. The set versions were used as reference for the classic helmet design and the added element staffs. The suits themselves though were inspired by the movie versions; being that their structures were more organic in base, made designing easier when it came to applying the concept to a human. A large majority of the Rahkshi fashion panels were inspired and based off the images below.

     

The final inspiration for my Rahkshi fashion was this cyberpunk costume with its astounding LED computer chip spine. The spine to the costume reminded me of Rahkshi the very minute I saw it. And this costume shows that it would be very possible to pull off Rahkshi fashion for cos-play if you can afford it. It's truly an illuminating idea, in more then one sense... ^_^ The cos-player herself has a DA, and here's link to her page http://melell.deviantart.com/ for more great photos.

Hope you enjoyed the process explanation and art. Happy imagining. ^.~