SHELLHEAD versus HORN-HEAD

So, a few blogs back I mentioned that my next post would be all about the finale of Outcast Studios' Battle Royale which would pit Daredevil against Iron Man for all the marbles.

And I didn't really follow up as planned... for which, I apologize.  In truth, by the time I made it back here to blog about my new art, I'd forgotten that I hadn't told the final tale of the exhausting matter.  It took a lot out of me and taught me a good deal about my pros and cons as an artist and competitor.  All good things.

But it was exhausting.

So here was my final piece in the competition against my very worthy opponent ThirdRailDesigns:

(Click to view in Kirby-vision)

Note how I did my damnedest to give DD a fair shake in this battle by bringing out the old gold armor of Tony Stark's early days of crime-fighting.
And that's the setting I chose, some dark side-street in Hell's Kitchen.
Home field advantage for horn head!

It didn't work, though and the competition walked away with the belt and trophy (we get both in the Outcast Tourneys).

Anyway, here are some of the endless sketches and character layouts I worked on in my quest for the final piece above... some turned out nicely, some... very meh.
As always, click on it and it will grow, just like a Chia-Pet:

 

 

 

 

And there you have it--just a sample of the many ways I tried to work out my final piece and I still don't think I took enough time to adjust it correctly... or maybe I over-corrected.  Hard to say in these things.

Next time on 'THE GOODS':

I hope to come back and post more very shortly... on to other things...

BUILDING UP FROM SCRATCH

When considering the possibilities of how to portray a battle between two characters in a single image or scene, I like to consider the finale of such a battle.  It is, after all, the result of said

battle and is one of the most important parts.

When thinking on an obvious lopsided battle, the finale becomes the more important because of the "how".  Surely we all know this was the inevitable outcome, but here is exactly how

it actually went down...etc.

So when it came down to Darkseid and Carnage in a Character Battle Royale that I was a 

participant in, it was too easy to imagine the many possibilities of the Lord of Apocalypse

destroying the tiresome Spider-Man villain and Venom also-ran.

>>>>Click on any of the images here for that bigger flavor we all crave!<<<<

I can always go "Omega Beams!" with Darkseid, but for a character such as this, I think that a

simple physical act should do the trick and what better way than removing the guy's head from

his shoulders.  Simple and to the point.

(I love how Carnage's hand comes up yearning to free himself even when his head's gone!)

But then I got to thinking about how a touch of comedy can lighten the dark mood of a 

piece of art featuring a beheading.  And so I came up with this...

(That's supposed to be Spidey being held up by Darkseid, looking down on the corpse of Carnage.)

(Found my angle with the above sketch,

Darkseid holding up Carnage's face to Spidey while asking the question:

"Why is it that your enemies keep attacking me, Spider?")

(Expanded it on the computer to show Spidey reacting to Darkseid's question with:

"That's what I ask myself every day!")

I ended up not going with the above as it was a little too unfocused on Carnage, so

I decided on the direct approach again.  Though this time in the middle of the act itself!

(Drew the above on packing cardboard from work with a ballpoint.)

(Cleaned up a bit in photoshop and tilted (always the fun part))

(Cleaned up more and Carnage's arm has been repositioned into more a defensive pose.)

(And the digital inking begins.)

(Digital inking for the figures nearly done.)

(Here we join the coloring process nearly completed.)

(And now we have the finished product!)

And, just so you know, the battle continues over at...

OUTCAST STUDIOS