Project CBRunway: Play Along At Home!

[Jack Flash]

I tried to design a costume that I thought the character could easily be outfitted in with the Vision's history/character as I know it. He's somewhat ominous and ethereal, and quite powerful, but he also has a human side. The collar adds authority, while the easier fit/coat sleeves make him less spandexy and perhaps a little more modern and real, with subtle v-cutouts in the wrists and cape for interest. I had a version without the cape that I really liked, but since the medium of this spectral character is the comicbook page, keeping the cape made sense to add visual interest and 'majesty' especially when he phases through objects when covered in his cape.

I think the yellow, green and red shades just don't inspire any sort of confidence, and are a vintage 4-color printing process' answer to making interesting characters. With his red skin already interesting, I didn't see the need to add any green but decided to turn the yellow more into gold. This will look particularly nice when he goes intangible, and he can keep the spectral feel. I played down his body by turning it more into a silhouette, but figured a reflective finish that's constantly shifting between black and gray in a holographic manner could add to the spectral feel, and make some interesting visuals when he passes through objects. His cape would seem like light while his body would be like shadow.

dang! Bakla, that's a cool new look for Viz. I like the fade look and the bald red head is a nice touch. Also the change in color scheme isn't as jarring as I'd expect! makes for an interesting look if he ever turned baddy like his daddy.

[brainfloat]

I just found out about this contest a couple hours ago and I'm hoping I didn't need to participate in Contest 1 to join. So if I get disqualified, no big deal ... it's all fun anyway.

Alright, on to the description! There is no denying that Lady Death is all about sex appeal, so I thought it was obvious that skulls covering her nipples was desperatly needed to give her breasts that extra something.

One thing you can't tell in this drawing is that all of it is leather, which could be shown with proper shading (but I avoided shading because light source can hide details).

For the overall costume, adding some red would give it a little more contrast. So, I added some designs that could be bloody spears sewed on to the leather.

Overall, I think the funtion of the costume is implied.



Lastly, I wanted to step away from the soft super model look. So at the risk of losing some sexiness, more attention is focused on evil and dead traits - a hair style that was rotting in the grave, and darkness under her eyes.

Watch out Elvira! Lady Death is going after all ages now!

[Fabian]

First off, let me say that I hate you all for not voting for me. I mean that in the nicest way.

This is what would have been my entry. I don't have a scanner or a photoshop-style program so I'm left with my camera phone and colored pencils. This is on the cheap.

Lady Death is two things for me: the white hair and white skin. Hell, she walks around near nude all the time so everything else was expendable. I couldn't give her gigantic mammaries if it was going to go mainstream. With that in mind, here's my version of her:


I streamlined the costume to look more heroic and less "kewl" villainess. I added a touch of red, which in person is more blood red. I gave her combat style boots because I didn't want her to have heels or anything else too feminine. On her chest is a modified heartagram colored gold which I thought would fit her new look/attitude. I kept her white hair and white skin. She's also less desperate housewife and more girl next door.

I didn't want the costume to be to cluttery because if it's mainstream, you have to market it and possibly animate it. I wanted something minimal and yet still have an iconic touch.

As for the backstory:

Hope was an innocent teenager who never committed any acts of evil. She was living a very comfortable life. She was the girl everyone liked and was always willing to help. Unbeknowest to her, the life she had came with a price.

Hope's father, Matthias, was hardluck man who never had anything go his way. After being fired from his job, he would do anything to get a better life. Matthias ended up striking a deal with a demon from hell to better his life in exchange for his soul. Anything to get out of his living hell. Soon Matthias started a succesful career and met the woman of his dreams and they had Hope.

Matthias suffers a horrendous accident. Hope goes to visit Matthias in the hospital when she notices a man trying to kill her father. Unable to overpower the man, Hope wishes for anything to stop him. At that point, Matthias's demon appears and offers her to take care of the killer and save her father if Hope gives him her life and soul.

She agrees and the demon takes his prize.

Hope goes to heaven because her soul is pure. Hell can not take her. Even the bargain she struck was self-less and they never encountered such a noble being before. But she has her debt to Hell.

She is then struck back down to the living as Hell's agent. She must kill one person a day so hell has a soul for everyday she escapes. For every day she doesn't comply, her father suffers a day in hell.

With her newfound powers and curse, she calls herself Lady Death

[.::OkieDokieArtichokie::.]

That's really terrific, Fabian. My favorite of all your actual entries and backstories.

[Affinity]

The heart-pentagram thing? That's hot.

[AdoraSpintriae]

Gotta say, I agree with the consensus that it's difficult to re-iconise Power Girl's costume, since it's already so distinct and recognisable (at least, recognisable by anyone who knows she exists).

Power Girl's figure presented 2 main problems, and no, the boobs were not one of them. P.G. is usually depicted as having a broad back-and-shoulders and a small torso, which is actually a pretty common figure for many large-breasted women. So whilst the red shrug on the shoulders accentuates the top of her body (and is the closest I came to incorporating her cape into it somehow, see below), the large belt on her hips balances out the silhouette, and the lines along the bodysuit help lengthen the torso. She also seems more of a Summer-colouring girl than a Winter one, so the reds had to be on the warmer side than say, the very Winter-coloured Wonder Woman's cool-red top.

And, sorry boys, the boob window had to go. Yes, in terms of strength, P.G. probably wouldn't experience the back problems most normal women would. But I am always shocked her girls aren't falling out all over the place all the time with the amount of fabric that's missing from her chest. I'm also anti-cape, so instead I brought the red into the shrug & boots, and gave her the closest thing to an iconic logo I could come up with.

The pirate gloves-and-boots also had to go, since the only person who can really pull them off is a heavily mascara'd Johnny Depp, or maybe a bearded Geoffery Rush at a push. I dropped her colour scheme from red-white-and-blue (with gold trimmings) just down to red-and-white (with gold trimmings). One place of inspiration I drew from was the depiction of Krypton in Superman: Birthright because it's one of the few pieces of canon that actually puts some thought into making the Kryptonian culture and clothing look profoundly different to what we wear and yet still bearing a close resemblence to the normal outfits of most superheroes.

Which brings us back to P.G. We're led to believe the Supergirls have a profound understanding and connection with Kryptonian culture and life that Superman is lacking, because of the virtual time they spent in their capsules. Knowing this, I always had to ask: "Then why do their costumes suck so damn much!" Okay, P.G.'s costume suits her character and everything, but it's closer in resemblence to a Halloween costume than something we could think of a high-Kryptonian wearing. I understand the need to blend in with your surroundings, but trying to disconnect from that Kryptonian identity would be hard for anyone. I wanted to try and put back some of that identity into her character. I dunno whether I succeeded or not.

I also gave her a haircut, because bobs are so out.

And yes, I do realise her boobs are a bit on the smallish side, but as a big-breasted woman some of the physics-defying sizes many comic artists draw her with make me cringe in pain. I just couldn't bring myself to draw them like that.

[.::OkieDokieArtichokie::.]

I also gave her a haircut, because bobs are so out.

Love your drawing, but you are waaay wrong about bobs. They are adorable as all hell. Can turn an otherwise whorish-looking girl into a cutie-pie. Also... I kind of have a bob. It's sorta razored and choppy, but I think it still counts. And I like it. :(

I am TOTALLY with you on the "hips should not be smaller than the torso" thing. I like my girls a bit bottom heavy (and it'll be pretty obviously in the entry I drew when I post it).

[AdoraSpintriae]

Can turn an otherwise whorish-looking girl into a cutie-pie.

Yeah, if you're 4'9" and 45 kilos, with no boobs. Ie, not P.G.'s figure. Also, when I said "out" I just meant they're not particularly in fashion at the moment. Not that they're inherently bad.

I am TOTALLY with you on the "hips should not be smaller than the torso" thing.

Huh?

[.::OkieDokieArtichokie::.]

Well I am a shortie, but I think my boobs look just fine with my haircut. And they're uh... anything but tiny.

And I just meant that you made an effort to balance out her hips since she has a big torso. I think it looks awkward when all the weight and focus of a girl is on her upper half. There needs to be something in her hips/thighs (either chub, or a bold design) to even it out. In my opinon. I just assumed that's what you meant.

So yeah, I was just saying the belt was a good move. I like it.

[Fabian]

A few things before I post my picture. The reason it's all mangled is because I just got a new scanner and was trying to tinker with it. Same thing with my color software. After awhile, I got annoyed and just used colored pencils with very mixed results. That's the reason why you see no face, it just got all smudged. Things were so much better when Okie just colored it for me. And without any further ado:



I kept the same color scheme while adding some yellow. I didn't think yellow would hurt since she's a blonde anyway.

I had to keep the cape. Without it, there would be too many Wonder Woman comparisons. I also gave her the across the shoulder style cape made famous by Captain Marvel. It gives her a more sophisticated look while also distancing herself from the other iconic caped heroes (mainly Superman).

Now for the details.

On her chest is her new symbol. It's the universal symbol for power. It's probably on your computer right now. It's well known worlwide and she can easily make it her own.

On her waist is a new belt. Now it might look like some pattern I put there but it serves a purpose. I stylized the kryptonian letters "P" and "G" and the result is what you see there. If I knew how to color, they'd actually be a gold and like jewels.

As for the boots, I made them blue but an added another symbol on her knees. It's the alchemist symbol for Earth. Get it? There's two of them. Two Alchemist Earths? Two Earths? Earth 2? Damn I'm so creative.

....

Since Scott eliminated himself, what kind of a twist would it be if I take up the spot? People come back all the time in reality shows.

Unless Meethra also did a Powergirl in which case we use the cosmic treadmill to kill our descendants and we battle in their entrails to see who gets to come back.

[Jack Flash]

Gotta say, I agree with the consensus that it's difficult to re-iconise Power Girl's costume, since it's already so distinct and recognisable (at least, recognisable by anyone who knows she exists).

Power Girl's figure presented 2 main problems, and no, the boobs were not one of them. P.G. is usually depicted as having a broad back-and-shoulders and a small torso, which is actually a pretty common figure for many large-breasted women. So whilst the red shrug on the shoulders accentuates the top of her body (and is the closest I came to incorporating her cape into it somehow, see below), the large belt on her hips balances out the silhouette, and the lines along the bodysuit help lengthen the torso. She also seems more of a Summer-colouring girl than a Winter one, so the reds had to be on the warmer side than say, the very Winter-coloured Wonder Woman's cool-red top.

And, sorry boys, the boob window had to go. Yes, in terms of strength, P.G. probably wouldn't experience the back problems most normal women would. But I am always shocked her girls aren't falling out all over the place all the time with the amount of fabric that's missing from her chest. I'm also anti-cape, so instead I brought the red into the shrug & boots, and gave her the closest thing to an iconic logo I could come up with.

The pirate gloves-and-boots also had to go, since the only person who can really pull them off is a heavily mascara'd Johnny Depp, or maybe a bearded Geoffery Rush at a push. I dropped her colour scheme from red-white-and-blue (with gold trimmings) just down to red-and-white (with gold trimmings). One place of inspiration I drew from was the depiction of Krypton in Superman: Birthright because it's one of the few pieces of canon that actually puts some thought into making the Kryptonian culture and clothing look profoundly different to what we wear and yet still bearing a close resemblence to the normal outfits of most superheroes.

Which brings us back to P.G. We're led to believe the Supergirls have a profound understanding and connection with Kryptonian culture and life that Superman is lacking, because of the virtual time they spent in their capsules. Knowing this, I always had to ask: "Then why do their costumes suck so damn much!" Okay, P.G.'s costume suits her character and everything, but it's closer in resemblence to a Halloween costume than something we could think of a high-Kryptonian wearing. I understand the need to blend in with your surroundings, but trying to disconnect from that Kryptonian identity would be hard for anyone. I wanted to try and put back some of that identity into her character. I dunno whether I succeeded or not.

I also gave her a haircut, because bobs are so out.

And yes, I do realise her boobs are a bit on the smallish side, but as a big-breasted woman some of the physics-defying sizes many comic artists draw her with make me cringe in pain. I just couldn't bring myself to draw them like that.

Adora! It's adorable! I really like the coloring. her boobs are the right size. I like the symbol. The piping on the outfit is spot on. She looks like a real woman. amazing since we're talking about PG.

[Jack Flash]

A few things before I post my picture. The reason it's all mangled is because I just got a new scanner and was trying to tinker with it. Same thing with my color software. After awhile, I got annoyed and just used colored pencils with very mixed results. That's the reason why you see no face, it just got all smudged. Things were so much better when Okie just colored it for me. And without any further ado:



I kept the same color scheme while adding some yellow. I didn't think yellow would hurt since she's a blonde anyway.

I had to keep the cape. Without it, there would be too many Wonder Woman comparisons. I also gave her the across the shoulder style cape made famous by Captain Marvel. It gives her a more sophisticated look while also distancing herself from the other iconic caped heroes (mainly Superman).

Now for the details.

On her chest is her new symbol. It's the universal symbol for power. It's probably on your computer right now. It's well known worlwide and she can easily make it her own.

On her waist is a new belt. Now it might look like some pattern I put there but it serves a purpose. I stylized the kryptonian letters "P" and "G" and the result is what you see there. If I knew how to color, they'd actually be a gold and like jewels.

As for the boots, I made them blue but an added another symbol on her knees. It's the alchemist symbol for Earth. Get it? There's two of them. Two Alchemist Earths? Two Earths? Earth 2? Damn I'm so creative.

Fabes! Love the belt and the universal symbol of Power is just brilliant. The knee pads are an inspired choice as well!

[Fabian]

Fabes! Love the belt and the universal symbol of Power is just brilliant. The knee pads are an inspired choice as well!

Thank you Jack! When I thought of the power symbol, I was actually quite surprised at how it was never used before.

I didn't make the knee area pads but part of the boot. Of course, another artist could make them into knee pads and nothing owuld be lost. You can play around with a lot of costume. I mentioned how the power symbol could be a cutout to show more skin if need be. You can also take away the belt and make it part of the suit, or make it more prominent by making it a loose belt.

One day, when I'm better, I'll take another crack at this.

Oh I also have to give some recognition to Adora for his design. I liked it and that was actually what inspired and reminded me of PowerGirl's kryptonian heritage.

[ScottDMSimmons]

As some of you may know, I didn't get my design in on time because I got married Sunday. Yay! Anyway, I hope you all like my design of Power Girl. I'll have to show it in stages as this week is pretty busy and I'm exhausted. Best wishes to the ultimate winner of the contest, and I hope there will be another contest soon after this one!

My Power Girl pencils... The circles carry over from her usual outfit, but this time are in pairs to help represent "two"... either the two worlds she is a part of (Krypton and Earth) or two as in "Earth-2"... they also resemble globes and the theme should look even stronger in color. The global earrings also help this theme as one looks like Earth and the other, Krypton. The neckline collar is based on the traditional Superman S-Shield shape and here, the hard stiff back edge of the shield collar allows for her cape to hang perfectly off of it. Below her neckline, a "P" shape is evident, and lines up with a complementing "G" shape as her belt buckle. This of course helps say "Power Girl".

A few shapes on the gloves and within the "P" represent the rocket streaking from Krypton, and the designs on her legs will remind older readers of Streaky the Supercat (more evident with color). The wink was something I wanted from the first moment I read the challenge. I figured she should be just like her cousin who winked at us all the time... and well, who's going to complain if Karen winks at them?

I'll be back with inks or colors when I get a chance. Thanks for looking! I welcome any comments/criticism.

Thanks,
Scott

[Gonzogoose]

Cool, Scott, can't wait to see the colored version.