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Atomic Robo
Scott Wegener
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey all. This is my first post to PAF. Obviously the comic is great, so I thought I'd see what the folks on the forums are like.
This is Robo -the main character in a comic book I am working on with Brian Clevinger (if any of you read 8 Bit Theater).
The color is crap because I usually work in black & white. But sometimes I get the urge to torture myself with Photoshop.
This is Robo -the main character in a comic book I am working on with Brian Clevinger (if any of you read 8 Bit Theater).
The color is crap because I usually work in black & white. But sometimes I get the urge to torture myself with Photoshop.
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However, and I can't tell if maybe this is intentional, but there are weird coloring errors. For example, the bottom of his knee has some pink still in it. Similarly, there are white flecks around the left hand. Is that a style thing, or is it that you just slipped a bit doing the flat colors before texturing it?
Also, reminds me of the style of this guy from Concept Art, whose screen name I can't remember, but he did work with the Hellboy cartoon and is doing a comic called "Bastian 5" or something. Mostly the fingers and some of the lines. I like it, though. I'm looking at your site, and I like your work. The style is awesome. Is this going to be a webcomic, or a paper comic? Just based off of the art I'd read it.
Also, that Flash picture-viewer thing that like every website has now, is that just a Flash template that Flash 8 or something comes with, or you can get? I'm noticing it on a lot of websites now.
you mean Cheeks-74
I really like it as well- and to add my "it reminds me of something"- it reminds me a bit of Big Guy and Rusty in the design. I do like my robots retro
Im not quite digging the tangient between the arm and rocket- The piece could have been more dynamic by moving them so they weren't so angled.
My advice would be to push his right shoulder backward to emphasize that he's about to chuck a goddamn missile into some Commie's! Also his right leg could use some tweaking. Basically what I'm saying is that when the pose is finished, you should be able to tell exactly what's going on from silhouette alone.
The color issues are simple enough -I don't usually color, and when I do its with markers and pencils, not the computer. I don't have a tablet, so when I do color on the computer is all mouse work. Plus, for reasons I couldn't explain, I like slopy colors. Like they were just dashed in as an after thought. Which, they more or less were. I'll post a pic of the full piece, colored by Lawrence Basso.
There is definitely a Mignola influence in my work
I like the comments on composition -thank you. I find Robo really challenging to draw in a dynamic sort of way, because he doesn't stretch and flex the way people do. Makes it a bit challenging since he's basically a steel potato with a bucket for a head.
In the contect of this image I agree about the bomb. In the contect of the larger poster though it didn't work (I tried angling it up, changing how it lined up with his forearm, etc.) In the context of the poster doing that stuff drew your eye away from the robots he was jumping into.
The shoulder -Yeah I agree here also. With an organic character I probably would have done that. But to do that with Robo I had to twist the torso to much (and I wanted an good clear shot of his breastplate). He can't really draw the shoulder back like a person can -he can only pivot the ball-joint. I try to use the shouder caps that ride over his shoulder joint to get a similar feel that you see in an organic shoulder as it flexes and stretches, but sometimes that gets really awkward looking.
As for his right leg -yeah. You're right. I remember it giving me trouble and eventually I just said f**k it! :P
I hope I don't sound like I'm trying to justify this stuff. The critiques are great. I'm just sharing the thoughts I had on these issues either while I was drawing this, or as I look at it again now.
Oh and finally: Robo will be a print comic (also available digitally). The first volume is a six issue mini-series with more to follow (we hope!). The publisher is called Red 5 Comics. if you've ever been to TheForce.net or StarWars.com you've seen the work of the two guys behind Red5.
PS: I love Rusty & Big Guy! There is a scene in the 2 issue comic series where Big Guy is diving through the air with 2 HUGE bombs in his hands. I definitely took a look at that while i was working this pic out. Visually Robo is a mishmash of all the retro stuff I love -art deco automotive bits off the studabaker, The Rocketeer, Iron Giant, and so forth. But with the personality of Indiana Jones.
Great feedback again. I'll be sure to post more stuff.
www.atomic-robo.com
My one issue is his gun holster looks a bit wonky. I sticks out at kind of a funny angle and I think it's backwards. If Robo whipped that out real quick he would be holding it upside down...
The only other thing is that his left fingers seem flat. There's no thickness at the tip which makes them look kind of like screwdrivers.
It is a little wonky -it should ride a bit higher on his hip. The holster will flop around though, since there's no sort of thigh strap or anything.
And I definitely have flat finger syndrome.
www.atomic-robo.com
P.S. Of course if you have robo reactions then it probably doesn't matter where/how you holster your weapon of choice...keep up the good work, love the look
As aforesaid, he better be blowing up some goddamn Commies.
http://thornsbook.com online novel
Maybe he should carry an umbrella also?
Its funny, because in the 6 issues of this book I've illustrated so far he's used the pistol TWICE. For less that half a page. And both times I just drew it in and made the writer adapt the script
Mostly Robo just applies his personal brand of Two Fisted Science to things that get in his way. The gun is just a prop for the occasional Indiana Jones moment where he doesn't have time to fight the scimitar waving arab and just blows him away so he can get on with his life.
Supabeast: yeah thinner lines than usual for me actually. I knew the colored poster would be over the top with textures and so I kept the lineweights minimal -sort of strange looking in the bit I colored up.
But if you look at the Robo stuff on Robo's MySpace page you'll see I tend to use more substatial containment lines.
www.atomic-robo.com