Posts Tagged ‘superman’

Superhero franchises are like laptops- sometimes they crash, and need a reboot.

Like Batman, The Hulk, and soon Spiderman, the need to revitalize a hit series seems a necessity in Hollywood these days.

And now the latest news. Warner Bros has turned to Chris Nolan to return the MIA Superman franchise to the screen!

Nolan, who brought the re-imagined Batman series to life, has been asked to be a surrogate parent, so to speak, and ensure The Man Of Steel gets back off the ground, after 3 1/2-years.

Warner Brothers is hoping his guidance can set the Man of Steel in the right direction with critics, fans, and the box office. Nolan is also behind the next installment in the Batman series.

When the Superman of the 80′s fizzled after the fourth disaster of a movie, it floated listlessly into space. Bryan Singer brought that series back with reverence to the original work of Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve. Superman Returns was a true gem, and all but erased the third and fourth movies.

So, even though the series is in need of a shot in the arm, Warner Brothers needs to be very careful.

During the series 20 year ‘hiatus’, many tried to reboot it. From Kevin Smith to Tim Burton directing, and actors like Nicolas Cage starring, it went though many hands, and many stalls.

When the series ‘Smallville’ began in 2001, many believed that this was that re-telling, and that Tom Welling would soon don the red cape.

When Superman did return, as well as Batman, rumors flew about a team-up movie. There was even a hint of it in the movie ‘I Am Legend’. Maybe with Chris Nolan attached to both, this dream could come true as well.

But first we need to know; what changes to the Superman mythos will the next movie bring us? Who will the next Superman be? Brandon Routh is a sure bet not to reprise the role, especially since he is now in the cast of NBC’s ‘Chuck’. Maybe Welling is back, or Nick Cage, or… (add your guess here!)

Also- Scribes anyone? Perhaps Kevin Smith will get his shot after all. According to various sources, including Smith, his treatment was a good one, but not what the producers were after at the time.

At any rate, the seeds have been sewn, and the rumors will abound, until our next installment of– ‘SUPERMAN!’

Superman has super powers. Batman has a cool suit. Superman has heat vision. Batman has a cool car. What Batman lacks in power, he makes up with money. Well, I call it as I see it.

College Humor has a great 2 part animated short about the two superheros… and… huh? OH ALRIGHT! One superhero and a guy in a bat suit. Below is part 1. Hey Batman! Spare change?

This is the second portrait I made, using Bitstrips (the first was a character named Bone). As with my Superman, the moon prop was a key element in this picture.

I started with Usagi’s head. The face was so important. Building the eyes, which would move the viewer to the whole portrait. Also, giving him the fuzzy look. After all, he is a Rabbit!

After the face was done, I was home free… right! Turns out the ears were a LOT more difficult than I thought. The end result was worth the effort!

Now it got much easier… really! The body went quick, and even though the sword handle was quite detailed, it did not pose much problem in the design.

The end result was more exciting than I had hoped. Usagi looks like a character straight off of Cartoon Network! Now, if only someone would animate this amazing Character…

Batman! My favorite hero in the DC universe! No special powers, just well honed skills, and lotsa cool toys! He’s the everyman hero, so to speak. A real strip down guy!

So, I decided to make this portrait as simple as possible.

After the hours spent on Superman, I knew that the most demanding part of this picture would be the Bat Symbol. I had done test strips of the ‘S’ shield, but not so with the bat. I was going at this one without practice. Also, there are a number of Bat symbols that have been used. The only one for my money is the Yellow symbol with the black Bat!

Drawing from the style of Bruce Timm, I started with a black background. Timm’s art in The Animated Series was all done on black first, to give the grim dark look it deserved. This seemed a good start, and proved to be a very helpful tool.

I began with the eyes! Then, the reflection of the cowl. From there, It just began to take shape. As the great sculptors, I found the picture inside the dark blank slate.

The symbol, which I said was done with no practice, was next. It proved to be easier than I thought, but did not happen the way I planned it to.

Speaking of which, the rain was an afterthought. I was making the cityscape, and felt that it wasn’t enough for him to be in the dark. This was a challenge, however, as it was almost impossible to add the rain over what I had already created. I had to improvise. The results are not as good as I would have liked, but they do make it more dreary.

I hoped this portrait would look and feel like the Bruce Timm version. In the end, it resembled a cross between that, and the comics.

One of the things I have been most happy with in all my portraits is that the style is far removed from the sample artwork I start with. The Dark Knight had no sample art, save for the symbol. It was pure creation, and the results were great!

Last week I took 8 hours of my time, and built a superman from the moon! You go ahead, scratch your head, and say ‘What?!’

Bitstrips, my favorite website/ social network site, is a great place to stretch one’s creative muscle. The mediums are almost limitless. The imagination is the key!

My experience in digital drawing comes from good ol’ CorelDraw. This program is great for making superior clipart. I took this knowledge, and applied it to the tools available on Bitstrips.

My first character creation was Jeff Smith’s ‘Bone’. A simple Black and white image, set on a colerful background. I was then challenged by another ‘Bitstripper’, and created Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo (rabbit bodyguard). The result was what the character would look like, were he on Cartoon Network.

So, with this success, I was ready to try my hand at a character I had attempted once before, and threw away in frustration.

Superman, the first of the Golden Age heroes, and a staple of American culture. I knew my take on this icon could not be from just one time period. I wanted it to be classic, yet stylized. The accompanying photo shows my progress, the use of the moon prop, which is perfect because it has no border, and is almost colorless.

The comic builder lets you add whatever color you want. The key is to start with the black, then build out and up, quite the opposite of painting with oil and canvas.

The end result was better than I expected. The chiseled face, slightly overdone, the overbuilt muscles, the askew symbol, all made for an amazing visual. The hands were the hardest part, as were the legs, which I eventually gave up on.

The part I was most apprehensive about was the chains. I am still not 100% happy with them, but they did turn out beter than I hoped.

My hope is to continue on this path. Batman is next.

Superman