Gali Mistika Revamp

 Gali Mistika revamp. So much procrastination took place before I finally sat down and finished off this large panel, composed of fifteen images, all within two days. This revamp is quite simple; nothing extravagant being that I don't have that many parts to play with in making an extremely complex MOC or revamp, but that doesn't matter. My intent for making this revamp is simply because I wanted to make Gali look a little more feminine than that of the original set, so I could feel satisfied when looking at her. Granted her mask build is rather masculine in appearance, and that gave me all the more reason to try and feminize her structure a little more. First I gave her smoother arms, and added spike decorations to them which serve as fins and flight stabilizers; these new arm shapes made her arms look less muscular and bulky, unlike before when her arms were the same boot shape as her legs. I also tweaked and played with a way to add some original Nuva armor to her torso, which served nicely as a feminine chest plate. I also went in and replaced the small leg armor pieces with the larger pieces that look more like thighs, and therefore give her a little more hip shape. Last detail which isn't entirely necessary, not at all efficient for fighting in, nor practical for battle, is the small addition of a heel to her foot. I added this piece to her for height reasons, since Gali looks rather stocky in build once you put the chest plate on her. I wanted her to be feminine, and just a tad taller, so I added a slight platform to her boot, but kept it fairly short, so it's more like a heel to a regular boot rather than some crazy peg heel of inefficiency. The last bit of fun I had was assembling the panel together; it was a slight challenge to cram fifteen images onto one canvas, but I managed. Then to top it off I added both English and Matoran lettering to spell out her name, put in my watermark, and added her Nuva symbol just for fun... that and I put it there to balance out the shape on the left of the title.

 The process I went through to get images which looked like advertisement was first done by taking pictures of the figure on a white backdrop near a bright, sunlit window. This example of the original photograph (edited version above) before it was edited, is displayed below. To make these pictures stand out and look fairly professional, I cleaned them up in Photoshop, added them to a pure white backdrop, adjusted levels, and increased brightness on the eyes of the character to achieve that radiant glow. This resulted in fifteen cleaned images; including the one listed above, which is is one of my favorites being that it expresses more in body language, and looks like Gali is either speaking to someone, or preparing to fight.

Special edition, symmetrical revamp 1

Revamp 1 original

 Something I also tried while cleaning up the photographs is playing around with mask symmetry. I took the first picture out of the collection, being that it's mostly strait on, and I decided to experiment, and find out what Gali Mistika would look like if she didn't have a scope attached to her left mask side. All I did to achieve this was select the right side if her mask, copy it, paste it, and reverse it horizontally; then I tweaked it over the left side of the image, and used the burn tool to add a little shading. This experiment resulted in a special edition image of Gali with a symmetrical mask (above right image). In some ways she actually looks a little more feminine in my opinion, with a symmetrical mask that contains no scope.

 

 These last two images are my chosen favorites out of the collection of fifteen. The left one seems to portray a very hero like pose; something about the body language which seems to express confidence, strength, and triumph. The one to the right is my favorite over all, being that it makes Gali seem quite feminine, and expresses more of a gentle side, very much to that of her actual character. I also like the way it expresses a questioning, yet perky look in her eyes, and the way her head is tilted.

For full sized images of all fifteen pictures in the Gali Mistika panel collection, see here for the full set of pictures on my Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/76669336@N04/sets/72157635258901907/

I hope you enjoy. ^.~

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.