P.O.W.! Challenge 51 (A-B-C-D-E)

[Ilaekae]

Welcome to P.O.W.! v2.0, Pissants!

http://photos.imageevent.com/aljmary/conceptarts/CA-POWexLOGO.jpg


THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR CHANGES MADE, SO READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY!

All future POW! Challenges will roughly follow the format below, unless otherwise noted for a special event.

Five more-or-less related Challenges will be posted from various sources--A, B, C, D, and E. All (except where noted) will run simultaneously. One (C), will end two weeks before the others. Just verify the dates under each challenge and you'll be cool.

You can do any one, two, three, or four, or all of them if you wanna make your mommy really proud. You can "mix and match," meaning if you do Comic A, you don't have to do illustration C if you want to do an illustration, too...you can choose illustration D, instead.

If you're a bit unsure of yourself yet, you can try doing the E part of each challenge. It will be a bit easier and less nerve-wracking because we're treating E as a kind of "learning the basics" kind of thing.

In all cases, you can interpret the art any way you wish, and the more creatively, the better. Any media. B&W or Color, unless we specifically point out otherwise.


Comic Topic A: The Devil's Retirement...

Like...aaaahhh...what can I say here? What happened? What's next? What do think he should do? ...poor guy...downsized at his age...

Comic Topic B: Native People's Legend: North America...

This was suggested by Pierce9 (YAAAY!), but seemed a little broad, so I'm going to divide it up by continents and some other specific areas over the next two years. For this one, concentrate on any Native myth, creation story, legend, etc., within the geographic boundaries of North America (Excluding Hawaii and the other extended Pacific Islands).

Either or Both-Deadline: Sunday, July 17, 2011, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

You can present your solution as a minimum of THREE to any practical maximum you wish which adhere to standard comic specs as below...and, yes, you can have the first or last (or both) as a splash page if you want--just don't get TOO extreme on page counts. REMEMBER: You don't have to have a complete comic to qualify for polling--if you realize you're running out of time, try to get at least THREE pages finished by the deadline. That's all you need to qualify for polling..

Standard Comic Book Size:

--Trim size: 6 5/8" x 10 1/4"
--Live art area: 6" x 9"
--Bleed size before trimming: 6 7/8" x 10 1/2" (1/8" in all directions)
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Comic Illustration Topic C: The Devil's Retirement...
Deadline: Sunday, July 3, 2011, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

This illustration is "The Devil's Retirement." and doesn't have to match the approach you might choose for (A) above if you're doing both. You have TWO WEEKS, all other sizes/rules apply.

Comic Illustration Topic D: Native People's Legend: North America
Deadline: Sunday, July 17, 2011, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

This illustration is the "Native People's Legend: North America" and doesn't have to match the approach you might choose for (B) above if you're doing both. You have TWO WEEKS, all other sizes/rules apply (above in bold face).

NOW, to be perfectly clear, you can do all four of the above requests, or you can do just one. Any one (or two or three) and they just have to follow the topic descriptions. they DO NOT have to be the same style/approach. This thread will be the place you ask questions on this challenge, trash talk, post WIPs and post your final art. See the READ THIS FIRST thread for all specs...well...I haven't changed that yet, but at least ask questions.
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P.O.W.! Challenge 51E--Some Exercises if You're Newish

If you're kinda new to this stuff, here's a little thing you can work on without losing your mind...and fingers...and sleep...

Above, we have the Devil, and we have various Native American types. I want you to experiment with quick detailed sketches of various characters you might use yourself in the above comics if you chose to do them. Concentrate on the faces and rough body types, and remember, you're developing characters here for a comic. Make them mobile, easy to read, emotional, etc. Try variations like humorous, mythic, classically-inspired, etc.

Deadline: Characters E: Sunday, July 17, 2011, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.
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Good luck.

A little note here for all of you who have supported the P.O.W.! Challenges...thankyewthankyewthankyew...

Just a reminder--those of you who didn't get a chance to finish exactly the way you wanted to, or ran into deadline problems, remember there is a sticky section where you can post your stuff when you do get it up to speed.

[ryan mcshane]

firstly, this sounds incredibly great man!
great topic :D
just pointing out though, that for Topic C: you said 2 weeks, but you wrote 'June 26th'
definatley gonna try and do at least C,D,E
thanks again
R

[Wingal]

Sweet man, Ill be adding at least to part e ^_^

[Ilaekae]

ryanoir, Thanks for the head's up...I basically screwed up ALL the damn dates--lost a week somewhere...all corrected now.

[ryan mcshane]

sweet thanks ilaekae
i haven't done any comic stuff before- it'll be a sweet challenge :)
just wondering if theres any news on any POW badges? i think it'd be a cool thing to have -i believe i saw it in one of the other threads
thanks again for putting in all the time to make this !

[Angel Intheuk]

This is a great idea! So just to clarify, C and D are illustrations for the front covers? or do you mean splash page type thing to illustrate a scene in the story?

If I have time I'll definitely be doing E and then hopefully that'll lead onto some ideas for Topic A, I like that idea, funny!

[Ilaekae]

C and D are NOT REQUESTED as covers for A and B, though there is a chance that they could be if the styles matched and you wanted them as such. If you want to do it as a cover and it's a strong illustration, do it without text and enter it in C-D, then add the cover text and include it in the A-B entry, BUT...BUT...it will NOT count as part of the 3-page minimum for A-B.

C and D are meant to be full-page illustrations that break the wall-of-text of a "novel" in the "old-fashioned" sense, or they COULD be a splash page, etc. The primary reason for C-D is to show a powerful stand-alone illustration that is inspired by--fulfills the dictates of--the stories used for A-B. They do not have to match the styles, can use totally different interpretations of the characters or stories, etc. They will be judged as illustrations that happen to be comic size, and A-B will be judged as a sequential story-line.

What we have here are two different ways of aiding in the telling of a story--A-B are the literal stories told in sequential panels/pages. C-D are Illustrations that show an important part of the story in one large image. In the final "book," there may be a lot of these illustrations scattered through out. In the case of the "Legend (B)," the illustration may appear as part of a two-page spread, with the art on one page and the short text telling the legend on the facing page (these legends are often very short to start with, so the illustration has to carry more "information" than the various single panels of a true comic.

[donalfall]

I guess a "pin-up" page style of thing would also count? Like the way people get other comic artists to do interpretations for the back pages of a comic? Like this (http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu297/jekinard/Pin-up-MikeMignola.jpg) kind of thing. Also covers, also illustrated book pages. Freedom to choose. :)

[Ilaekae]

Smack on, D'... I want it to follow the topic but be as free in interpretation as possible. The separate challenges shouldn't be tied to each other graphically/stylistically/interpretively unless YOU want them to be. Just a single example of pure art inspired by the comic topic in A or B.

[Angel Intheuk]

Thanks for the clarification :D

That's one thing that used to bug me when the cover art is done by a different artist, It would frustrate me especially if it was way better than the drawings inside, I guess it makes you use your imagination more, I 'will' imagine this artwork is as awesome as it is on the front. :D lol

EDIT: No offense to comic artists btw, I know it's a lot of hard work, kudos.

[donalfall]

Cover Artists are an interesting section of the industry, well worth looking into. They often are more polished, it's true, but it's all about time and marketing. Companies are still looking to sell with the cover, although its a very anachronistic idea. Those guys have a way longer lead time for one image, the penciller has to do 20+ pages and get them to the inker, etc etc. I do like a good cover. The alternative ones for the newest Dark Horse Presents (http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/06/21/dark-horse-presents-2-preview/?fb_ref=article&fb_source=profile_multiline) are pure class.

I guess it never bothered me if the cover was better than the interior, but if the cover has nothing to do with the plot of the interior, that still bothers me greatly. :)

[Izitmee]

Wow, this is terribly complicate and terribly fascinating. Cool :) Will try to start with a C.

[Ilaekae]

...eh...it SOUNDS complicated, especially to explain, but it's not really...

Haven't you ever tried to take the kid across the street apart and put him back together while blindfolded, just to see if you could do it? ...oh...wait...that's...ummm....

YOU know what i mean! Just forget that...kid...thing...

[Izitmee]

Ahahaha :D :D :D

[Farvus]

Thanks for doing this Ilaekae. I hope I'll come up with the decent story for these topics now.

[Ilaekae]

I just realized that "C" is due right in the middle of a holiday weekend here in the US--July Fourth. DUH! So I won't be too picky if someone's a day late...

[j.s. sabastian]

I grew up listening to brotha lynch hung and moved on too the wu-tang clan the maine difference is one is metaphorical and analitical.....the other is well a mony hungry pit.....wait i'm confused by my own statement!!!!!!!!!!!!! but i will try with my A game art and my B line story writing!!!!

[tmyohlaing]

Me and writer Chris J collaborated on A topic, here's wip pages.

[j.s. sabastian]

tmyolaing youre fired!as much as all that above give me a harrrr.....makes me randy you do know collaberations can't go to poll! right?

[tmyohlaing]

Here's me and Chris 3 pages of Devil's retirement. Don't have much time. Enjoy!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/DevilsRetirement1Lettered1.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/DevilsRetirement2Lettered.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w214/tmyohlaing/DevilsRetirement3Lettered.jpg

[j.s. sabastian]

hahahaha!!!!!! that was freaking awsome!!!!! you deserve a free popcorn next time you hit the theatere!!!!!!!!!!!

[NickyBeats]

Tmyohlaing - that is pure awesomeness!!! nice job man!

i HAVE to try to do something for this round!! i am part native american (Mohawk, of the Iroquois) and i have a great myth that i would love to illustrate. hopefully i can get something together in time for the poll!!

[NickyBeats]

just some sketches...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1271955&stc=1&d=1309999631

[Blankstate]

Getting a little bored with 'one shot' conceptualizations. May give this a shot.

1272004

[NickyBeats]

Blankstate - nice sketches! you gonna go for the eskimo? that'd be pretty sweet!

heres a cover idea, i might paint it up tonight or tomorrow.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1272064&stc=1&d=1310011381

[Blankstate]

NickyBeats Thx! Yeah, found a pretty cool Canadian / British Columbia myth. Interested to see what you come up with too. A few suggestion on the cover. Covers usually need a header of some sort so you may want to add some space up top. Perhaps a less static pose would be good too. maybe have him holding the head forward.

tmyohlaing Cool pages. Nice one.

Sketch for pg 1

1272068

[NickyBeats]

Blankstate - thanks man! yea, your right! shit, i gotta make some room up there!!

small update...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1272098&stc=1&d=1310016370

[donalfall]

Looks great you guys. I don't have much check in time this week, I'll be back at the weekend with some better feedback!

[Blankstate]

NickyBeats Covers looking good. Maybe do a less conventional header/tag line and put it off to one side. Kinda like how i set up my quick mockup cover but without the border/banner. Thinking a bold red would look good.

Experimenting with a simpler graphic style in order to get these down faster. Of course Frank Miller is excellent at this sort of work and seeing tmyohlaings submission reminded me of his style a little. Thinking B&W and grey only. Still unrefined and sketchy but i've probably got 3-4 more pages to jot done before the story is done. Scratching head--What am i getting myself into? It gets more interesting in the later part of the story.

1272884

[Blankstate]

Here's my entry. Was a fun exercise. Ended up with way more pages than I originally thought/planned to do. Will try and keep it more short and sweet next time.

Ready to do some scrolling?

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1278782&d=1310796587
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1278785&d=1310796822

Original story:
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/attack_of_the_mammoth.html

[donalfall]

Blankslate - I love attack of the Mammoth. I'm just a few hours behind on the story of Glooskap and the Witch - which you can find here (http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/ne/al/al20.htm). We had a massive project at work this last fortnight and I pulled a load of 12 hour days and a few 18 hour days. If Ilaekae has it in his heart to give me til tuesday, I'll be finished? :)

Don't think I'll beat the mammoth story though. I did some of my panels when I was too tired to really have attempted any anatomy. :D

[Ilaekae]

You got til Tuesday whether you need it or not... I have to go into Pittsburgh in the morning (Monday) and I'll probably stay over at my sister's...have two doc's appointments. I'll post the new thing before I leave in the morning, and we can work out the posts for polls on Tuesday/Wednesday (which is when I'll probably do it.)

I was hoping for a bit more action coming into this one, based on the initial comments. Just so I know if there's something I can change at my end--was the topic(s) bad or not interesting, too limited, was the entire mess too confusing, etc.? Or, was it just because it's that time of the year...?

[Jazz]

Ahhhh... I had a very odd/angering/sad few months, and my art is now rusty. But this idea of yours is awesome, Kitty. :D I want to be part of it, and I'm kicking myself to FINISH something! I still have to wait to really jump in, but I like the ABCDE thing. Maybe it is just the time of year. It's vacation time now, summer fun! Seems like people are on the go every day of the year, though. :(

Anyway, even if I don't get anything yet, I'll try E for soon and see what I can conjure up.

[donalfall]

I spoke too soon - work project is running into this week and I've done nothing but 12 hour days since I last posted. D: I'm going to post over the next few days, but if you want to call the poll, call it & I'll post post-facto. I'm in the running for 2 completely new jobs that both have more regular working hours so this won't be happening in the future. One of them is Arts Admin focussed so I have my fingers crossed for that one!

I don't think the topic or the post was at fault, although 3 categories is probably enough (POW A B C for example). I also think the option of doing some Illustration set pieces rather than a full comic was a great touch. Just looking at the stats, I think viewing figures are down for the last while. I would say that that has two factors -

1) POW has been a bit chaotic over the last while, people have been waiting for topics and stuff. All for perfectly valid reasons, but the crowd is yet to trickle back and;

2) it's the silly season and people are on holidays, running wild, sleeping off the year etc. (I'm pretty sure this is the bigger reason).

I say run the next topic, see how things go. I can set up the poll for you whenever you like. I'm assuming all valid entries under A-B-C-D-E all run in one poll?

:P

donalfall

[Ilaekae]

It's now 1:25 in the morning Thursday. Just got back--took two days longer than I thought to get everything done. It's now 83°--AT 1:25 IN THE DAMN MORNING!!! UGH!

Thanks for the work and thoughts. I'll go ahead and post Challenge 52 by tomorrow afternoon and get back on schedule, in the same format we just used and see what happens...