HOME | DD
Transformerman β Supergirl - Fuel Rods and Robots
#karazorel #kryptonite #metallo #peril #robots #supergirl
Published: 2018-08-07 22:17:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 23518; Favourites: 248; Downloads: 215
Redirect to original
Description
Different art style again. I did this one a couple of months ago, but wasn't happy with the captioning. Just as I was changing it, the computer locked up. Now I don't remember what the change was, so I figure I would just post it as-is.
EDIT: Forgot to point out: Yes, I'm using captions from old comics again.
Related content
Comments: 58
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 1 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 0
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 0
π: 0 β©: 0
π: 1 β©: 0
lower the fuel rods and place them where ever u want we don't want to kill her
π: 0 β©: 0
Impressive! Great work on the posing and composition as well as the effects. The robots closing in around her really convey the threat even more than the green glow of the Kryptonite.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thanks! I did redo it a number of times, before the composition felt right. As you say, "surrounded" communicates peril much better than the abstract threat of the green glow. There is an art to this, I'm sure.
π: 0 β©: 0
Fantastic.Β Absolutely fantastic!Β She is so beautiful in defeat.
π: 0 β©: 1
Love this rendering! Great pose, interesting peril, nice composition.
π: 0 β©: 2
Thank you kindly!
π: 0 β©: 0
Excellent picture. These robots have been well programmed, and doing better than Metallo. Nasty.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Thanks! Although, I'm not sure Metallo would agree (see gallery for competing attempts).
π: 0 β©: 0
This is great!Β And the cape is well posed too....
π: 0 β©: 1
Thanks! It's a great pose!
The cape is done using Daz Studio's old Optitex based cloth simulation. If you haven't tried, you cannot imagine the amount of theatrics required to get the cape to do that!
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh I know that cape model well. Used here
It's utterly frustrating and only just about usable when a character is standing up.
What's your 'new solution'?
It's the double misery of long hair and cape that stopped me from ever making Supergirl, despite loving the character.
π: 0 β©: 1
Haha! Don't I know it! Long blonde hair, skirt and cape versus black hair, shorts and no cape - sometimes I wish I had a WW hangup instead.
The cape used here is actually this one , which I think is different from the one in your image (cool, btw. damn, your poses are good! there isn't a finger in the wrong place!)
The 'new solution' is simply Daz Studio's new "dForce" feature. Basically a new cloth simulation system. Works better than the old one, and creating compatible clothing no longer requires special software (which was the case with the old Optitex solution). I'll upload an example...
π: 0 β©: 1
I did use the same cape, I just transmapped a lot of it into invisibility.Β That one is the only one I know of.
dForce is a Daz Studio 4 thing?Β Is it possible to make dynamic clothing yourself with it or is it a developer tool?
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh, it is that one? The way the neck piece went I thought it was something different.. but now I realize we probably just transmapped it differently!
Yes, dforce is Daz Studio 4.9+ only. Possibly 4.10+, not sure.
It is very possible to make dynamics yourself. You actually just tell a prop to "be dynamic" and off you go. With varying success, of course. It's still the case that you need a certain mesh resolution to get good dynamics and the topology affects how something can bend. Weight mapping is involved for best results, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
π: 0 β©: 0
Nice tip-of-the-hat to the "Phantom Zone" mini series in Kara's thought bubble! Lovely vulnerable pose and the submissive plea in her spoken dialogue totally sells it and keeps her in character with the demure personality we fell in love with back in the '70s.
As a white knight nut, I can't help wondering.....if you tossed a few green glow-sticks off down a nearby corridor, would the robots chase after them, giving you the chance to run in and pick up Supergirl and dash away, while she draped her arms around your neck and kissed you thankfully on the cheek.......?
π: 0 β©: 1
Another creative save!
π: 0 β©: 1
Yay for the save!
Yes, you're right about the occasional verbosity. The "show, don't tell" principle was still gaining traction back then for sure...haha!
π: 0 β©: 1
I wonder if "show, don't tell" has gone too far in modern comics. Used well, the additional text adds depth. Of course the really old stuff ("Superman flies through the sky." [Picture of Superman flying]) is ridiculous today, but there was somehow more meat to some of the older comics compared to today. They could cram a story that today would have been 6 issues into a single comic.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
I'd say there's probably several facets to that. Certainly the ongoing storyline was the exception rather than the rule back in the '70s where a story was nearly always concluded in a single issue, and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing probably varies a lot by situation and personal taste. I imagine marketing played a fair part in that trend, as "To be continued next issue!" virtually guaranteed a purchase of the next issue if the story was sufficiently compelling.
Still, I totally agree with you that the dialogue and thought bubbles certainly fleshed out scenes. In normal (I.E. novel) prose, an author can devote a paragraph to describing the physical sensation of being stabbed, for example, but that's not available to comic writers who need to rely on visual cues and dialogue/thought bubbles to convey the same thing.
Even such simple things as the form of the bubbles to convey stress, and the descriptive vocalisations helped to establish characterisation. A fairly dramatic example that comes to mind is the notable difference in the depiction of cries of pain from female characters. While the "high pitched" cries such as "Iieee!" were typical of the more feminine DC heroines of the '70s and '80s, the more butch heroines of the Marvel universe such as She Hulk and Ms Marvel were expressed with "Argh!" etc, effectively denoting their distinctive personalities.
π: 0 β©: 1
All true. I've spent a lot of time recently trying to understand "lettering" and the rules for comic bubbles. Reading comics for a few decades means you no doubt realize when something's off, but exactly what and what to do about it is much less obvious. I suspect it's only when you've tried it yourself, you realize how much of an art form it is. Lettering is not at all just typing stuff.
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh, yes, big time! The shape of the text bubble alone (and if you've ever tried to draw one you know it's a seriously complex shape to create!) can change the whole mood of a scene. There's a reason lettering is a profession all on its own along with the pencillers and colourists.
π: 0 β©: 0
That's awesome, and love the compu-talk of the baddies. I am glad you are back doing some art!
π: 0 β©: 1
Wow.Β Such an excellent picture.Β POOR SUPERGIRL.
As Danorian said, it's a lovely posture, her body clearly stressed from the Kryptonite radiation hitting her.
(There's another school of thought/art which would have her curl up into a ball, trying to minimize the ... 'surface area'? ... of her body subjected to the Green K radiation.Β I've seen Superman in that sort of pose over the years, not so much Supergirl.Β But a curled-up Supergirl gives us less Supergirl to examine, so such a pose is only recommended in a full sequence of images.)
You know, one TINY change I would have made?Β In her out-loud speech bubble - center of the picture, white against the dark floor, the eye is driven to itΒ - I would have added the word 'Kryptonite' after 'The fuel rods'.Β Sort of gives one the punch line, the climax, to your introduction at top left, and also targets the source of her distress.Β "She is horrified to learn what substance is powering the reactor core ... 'N-No!!Β The fuel rods -- KRYPTONITE!!Β Oooohh ...".
Continuing to look at the picture I'm struck by ... no, waitaminute ... hold on .. heh ... ha ha ... HA HA HA!!!
Sorry.Β Dunno if that's supposed to be legitimate Java - .NET? - C#? - programming, but none the less, that robot's program in the top right ... HEE!!
Okay, Kara, look up ... look over your left shoulder ... READ that program ... you know what you have to do ... somehow make one of those statements throw an exception ...
Okay, I've got it ... Supergirl uses her super-ventriloquism - I'm sure that's been mentioned as part of the Kryptonian power set over the years - and causes her voice to appear to come from the *far corner of the room*.Β The robot will think its audio recording is malfunctioning ... the AUDIO.RECORD() statement will fault and throw an exception ... that robot will SELF.DETONATE(), destroy the other robots in its proximity ... and OUR HEROINE WILL BE SAVED!
(Although there'll be lots of Green Kryptonite dust and detritus that might still cause her problems.)
I'VE SAVED SUPERGIRL!!!Β YAY!!
Wonderful picture.Β You continue to excel yourself.
π: 0 β©: 1
Hahaha! What a perfect silver age solution! Very neat!
Yeah.. I don't think I quite got the dialog right here. I think the change that was lost in the computer crash was something along the lines you suggested, actually. I do remember that I took the robot programming/dialog out. (I was going for that a-personal, lifeless automatic killer robot feel. It's not any existing programming language. Just some semi-plausible syntax I cooked up that is reasonably similar to existing languages to not be offensive to anyone familiar with programming, terse enough to fit in a bubble and still expressive enough to make sense.) I thought it was too geeky and took too much effort to parse to really work in a comic panel.Β Removing it was probably the smart choice.Β
On the plus side, that crash made me make another attempt at finding out why the crash was happening (it was a regular thing). Turned out to be CPU bug, for which there was now a BIOS fix. Updated BIOS. Hasn't crashed since.
The image actually started as a test render for a pose pack I helped test;Torqual3D's Β excellentΒ V4/G2/G3 Unconscious Pose Pack 5 . I can't recall exactly what pose I used..
And thank you for the kind words
π: 0 β©: 0
That option doesn't appear to be available in the programming.
π: 0 β©: 0
Lovely kryptonite sprawl! Also nice to see the hot pants/blouse outfit. Too rarely used.
π: 0 β©: 2
Just wanted to let you know, 'Lovely Kryptonite sprawl' is now my favorite expression of the month.Β
And yes, IT IS.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thanks!Β
I think I've almost overused the hot pants outfit. Been trying the skirt/big-S combo recently, after finding out how to get a skirt to drape.
π: 0 β©: 1
NONONONONO!!!
It is literally IMPOSSIBLE to "overuse" the classic "peasant blouse/hot pants" costume....that would be like overusing chocolate, or a Laura Branigan record.
π: 0 β©: 1
Haha! I do believe you are right (except perhaps on the Laura Branigan part...). No doubt I'll be back to using it again soon.
π: 0 β©: 1
Omigod.....not a Laura Branigan lover?! I need to check your pulse.....
π: 0 β©: 1
Over here she was mostly a one(well, two..)-hit wonder. I doubt anyone who started to listen to music past 1990 even knows her name. Checking her out on YouTube just now.. damn, this takes me back!
π: 0 β©: 1
Globally, she had a lot more than a couple of hits high up on the music charts, but I never believed she got more than a fraction of the recognition she deserved. Her story is so amazing though, not just for her impressive natural talent, but what she overcame to have the career she did. She was a victim of severe bullying in school, and as a result suffered from what would now be considered crippling social anxiety (of course, back then we simply called it being shy). She once described being at an interview and pulling her hair in front of her face to hide from eye contact. Her own family tried to dissuade her from pursuing a singing career, and pretty much disowned her. There's a web page somewhere that shows the results of the auction they held to get rid of her things after she died, including her bed and her wedding dress....it was heartbreaking.
I could go on for ages, but she was a personal heroine of mine and probably inspired me more than anything else to press on with flight training when my own instructor told me I had no natural ability and should think about saving my $35k and dropping out. I could say I owe my pilot's licence in no small part to Laura Branigan
π: 0 β©: 1
Wow! That's rather amazing!
π: 0 β©: 1
It really is. Best part of all is how genuinely sweet and humble she was as a person. Everything I've ever heard/ read/ etc says she was extremely kind, even taking the time to talk with fans who recognised her in day to day life. It bothers me that people like Theoren Fleury and Mike Tyson have movies made about their lives and Laura hasn't. With the rise of rock biographies in the last couple of decades, it's a freakin' travesty.
π: 0 β©: 0
| Next =>