JCC [Image heavy]A thread for art: See note on page 776

Helicopter Drone Concept GhostShark by Milpix

 

^ I identify as that.


Amber Rose

 

"The Fruits of the Earth" and "News of Spring" by Edward Detmold

 

Good composition.

Robin Davies: Skeletor beats Hordak in tug of war (He-Man and the Asteroid of Doom)

https://www.he-man.org/publishing/item.php?id=611

 

The Last Dragon by GENZOMAN on DeviantArt

"This is the cover of a video game fan project about The Last Dragon one of my favorite movies as a kid! done along @MrGuySoto, check his twitter for more updates about it"

 

Looks good.

Glee-chan: Princess of Helium

https://www.deviantart.com/glee-chan/art/Princess-of-Helium-780466158

 

Bruce Timm-esk


'Artworks from "The Haunted Mansion", published by Disney in 1969. Drawings by Collin Campbell.'





by the way of

 

I didn't realize Timm had ever drawn Dejah Thoris. Nice find. Glee-chan's got the style down pat.

 

Mermaid by juliedillon on DeviantArt



Selkie by juliedillon on DeviantArt



Endurance by juliedillon on DeviantArt



Persephone by juliedillon on DeviantArt



Medusa by juliedillon on DeviantArt



Duel by juliedillon on DeviantArt

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/620226126/pink?ref=sold_out-2

Gamiel can tell you what it's all about. RIGHT, BRAH?/

 

Dinarian warrior by StoryKillinger on DeviantArt

"Ulfynglingar known to enemies as Grimnirs raiders. One of more dreadful invaders of ShaBorah.
Raiding the loyal Tiberius fields.
If you want to see more Ulfynglingar’s raiders, please let me know.
And if you want to support my work, Patreon www.patreon.com/Storykillinger"

 

Calculated Cosmic Catastrophe by devilkais on DeviantArt

Spoiler

WARNING: The following contains spoilers about a game storyline. Said game is damn freaking popular and even got a recent remake that overcomplicates stuff plot-wise but cranked the bartender and florist high-quality fanarts. So it all evens out, I suppose. BUT we shall stick to the stuff this novel contains to in order to make things easier for yours truly. Unfortunately, it's only in French...sooo, if you read french, go nuts and enjoy it !


Back when I was a wee lad... or a teen in baccalauréat exam period, the compilation of FF7 happened. Yes, it was flawed, yes, it had animu cliches, yes, it was corny...but we rather liked it. Sure there are aspects I vehemently disagree with what the compilation added here and there, but it was a gateway to the plots of the FF games. Yeah, my friends played the games. Me ? I am waaaay too impatient for RPGs... hell I am rather impatient by nature. And it's getting worse with age... Anyway, I was not holding the OG games as sacred anyway.

Now comes the moment you expect me to tell you that I despise Final Fantasy 7 and shake my fist in anger that it eclipsed Final Fantasy 6 in terms of popularity ?
Yeah but No. Not gonna happen. I enjoy both stories. Both plotlines have their merits and their pratfalls in-game (The World of Ruin for FF6 and goddamn ninjas for FF7...) and in both cases the fan-novels clean up said flaws for a tighter narrative. Such is the beauty of adaptation after all... also both have obnoxious ***** in their respective fanbases that like to put down the other game so it evens out.
Onto the show !

Adapting a game like Final Fantasy VII is no small task but this group's transposition to the written word is a total success(here it is ff7e.com/chapitres).
To sum up the plotline:

I-MIDGAR: Some proud stoic soldier makes it to the big city in order to make some cash. He gets hired by the Eco-terrorist equivalent of the A-team to fight Ingen except nigh-omnipotent and about energy production rather than genetics. Missions do not really amount to all that luch but he reconnects with childhood acquaintance/gorgeous bartender and accidently befriends a sassy florist who attracts the attention of the evil company. Escape from the tower with a talking sapient canine/feline ensues.

II-THE LAST CETRA: More details are given about the role of our sassy florist and a very antagonistic male model who strolls around with a very long sword dressed like an undertaker in all his uncanny valley glory. More encouters are in this insane world, more great recruits (Cid, Vincent, Cait Sith...) and not so great one (goddamn Yuffie...) join the ragtag group of protagonists. The novel throws around the ONE ecological message I ****ing agree with (we need equilibrium ! Too much industrialisation and wanton resource waste will end us AND living just out there and be one with nature is basically suicide. Yeah mother nature is a ****, why do you think human biology is crap ?). This makes the group think and acknowledge that they fight for the planet, which is not the nicest on entities to begin with.
Tragedies will strike though as the undertaker/alien parasite hybrid murders the florist and forces Cloud to kickstart a ****ing planet-scaled catastrophe by summoning the goddamn meteor !

III- SOUVENIRS: The character development section ! The truth about Nibleheim is revealed ! Cloud, through Tifa's help, finds his own true personality and that he was pals with good old Zack Fair. Cid realizes his dream of going to space, the novel actually makes yours truly give a **** about Yuffie as a character for a decent amount of time and the Planet summons ungodly Kaiju monstrosities to fight off Sephiroth. It's madness ! Madness that sets up the final curtains !

IV- END Of SHINRA: Our heroes get in gear to destroy the last legs of Shinra (which seemed unthinkable at the start of the game and various prequels). And finish off the attractions at Isla Nubl...I mean, killing Sephiroth so that he does not turn the planet into his personal cruising ship !



All in all, the plot of FF7 is honestly like a Michael Crichton story with some douchebags in power, using and abusing resources for energy production without genuine long-term thinking and with the ethics of book John Hammond ! Though, it has less pessimism, nicer protagonists and a rather upbeat ending...an EARNED upbeat ending so it's a happy ending I can get behind.


But I am into characters and this one is packed with pretty compelling ones for the most part !

* Cloud Strife: the man who lives half a lie but with fully spiky hair ! Cloud starts out as a rather aloof and money-driven merc who only accepts to help out with AVALANCHE because of Tifa's insistance. Gradually he'll understand that the 5 years he has very few recollection cost him dearly and he sorta had a hand in "improving" the Crichtonesque antagonist of the story. And thanks to the magic of character growth and the greatest psychotherapy ever, he and his pals will have to clean up Shinra's mess.

* Barret Wallace: Leader of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, opposed to Shinra's use of Mako technology (namely for them ****ing him and his entire town over), He is also the adoptive father of Marlene, the daughter of his lost to madness then dead friend, Dyne. Initially, he distrusts and dislikes Cloud (not that the good Mr Strife made himself all that likable in the first place), believing him to be nothing more than a heartless mercenary-for-hire, but will eventually change his opinion of him for the better. While still believes SHINRA is the enemy does fights for a better tomorrow, the whole ordeal will make him realize the full meaning of the word balance.

* Tifa Lockhart: Both the kindest and toughest bar-tender the cesspool that is Midgar, she is a childhood friend of Cloud (well the only one he could tolerate anyway), kind of a reckless tour guide in her younger days and one of the lead members of AVALANCHE. While she is sane and stable for the most part, she is justly vengeful towards Shinra (mostly because of their metaphorical JP dino torching the village and slaughtering the villagers). Gets also over her past traumas after helping to unlock Cloud's missing memories during their fall into the Lifestream together, though I would not recommend jumping into liquid nigh-radioactive matter as a therapy. Yes, her boobs are amazing and so are her abs ! And her hair too.

* Aerith Gainsborough: My favorite flower peddler with all that sass and great ass ! And before you ask, YES, the way the Remake depicts is spot-on ,NO, I never got the whole Aerith VS Tifa BS because I happen to really, REALLY, like both gals! Sought after by Shinra's research department because she is the last of the Cetra (also known as the Ancients, variant of humans that can communicate with the goddamn cruel planet...), and as such, believed to be to finding the fabled Promised Land. Aerith is not exactly all that much into that role... in fact, it feels more like she uses it to her friends advantage knowing the scale of the cataclysm Sephiroth wants to cause. She is in many ways our dear undertaker's anti-thesis; she did not like the role that was bestowed upon her but she understood why it was needed. THAT is honestly what made her death scene tragic for me... and the fact the novel really nailed her lovability...

* Red XIII: Basically the most nature-savy member of our ragtag team. Red, or Nanaki as it is his actual name, is a powerful, intelligent and wise fusion of a feline and a canine. He has an arc full of daddy issues that ended up fed by misinformation and misinterpretation than anything else. But hey, Nanaki eventually learns the truth so it all pans out !

* Yuffie Kisaragi: the daughter of the leader of Wutai, who feels her country has lost its former glory in the aftermath of a war with Shinra and has become a resort town. You know what ? **** her. For al the efforts this novel made in fleshing every character, Yuffie is the one I can't ****ing stand. Probably because her materia thief shtick gets old very ****ing fast or because compared to what the others go through, her deal seems trivial, optional even....

* Cait Sith: or rather Reeve Tuesti who I swear to God is basically Tony Stark in a setting where he is an employee rather than an employer. In fact, Reeve's arc and chara-design remind me a lot of Tony's (the Comics Robert Hays-sounding one, just to avoid any potential confusion...), going from merely being part of a system, learning of the bad aspects of said system and finally joining the opposition to fight for a better world. As for his robotic Kitty cat and the Big marshmallow, I guess I dig by principle because I LOVE unorthodox elements in a party. Plus it even chastises Reeve at some point. Just great stuff !

* Vincent Valentine: My favorite frankensteinesque abomination of a man ! It is quite odd that he was optional in the game, because in the novel, he feels like a perfectly integrated character to the narrative through and through and even some addition by way of "Dirge of Cerberus" like the Protomateria or the role of Chaos are woven effectively. It also fleshes his relation with Lucrecia Crescent much better... as in , you know, dude was fairly pissed at her and she had a guilty hand in the horrors that occurred in the plot. And Lucrecia herself does not deny that she ****ed up (mainly due to causing the death of Vincent's dad and not telling him ) as she feels being infected with an alien abomination is a fitting judgement for her! I also dig how , due to his past as a Turk, Vincent nonchalantly agrees that he was part of the bastards.

* Cid Highwind: Everyone's favorite swearing pilot who looks 50 yet is only 30 due to the awesome power of chain-smoking. The novel does a great job exploring the motivation of our dear goddamn captain and even his relation with Shera is goddamn well developped. Yes, he loves her despite his exterior jerkassery due to not wanting her to waste her life witha self-perceived failure like him. And when he finally realizes his dream of going to space, it hit more than I've ever expected ! Also, DRINK YOUR GODDAMN TEA ! Captain's orders !

* Zack Fair: Another favorite of yours truly and a great guy all around. Now, an interesting debate about Zack is how his end was depicted (for HIS adventure, I need to finish reading Crisis Core..). Some say the OG did it perfectly as it was cold and realistic, others much prefer the way Crisis Core depicted. The novel has the "mix and match" approach; Zack dies bloodily after slaughtering a ****ton of grunts.
Look, In the OG Game, Zack was a hidden (albeit important) element of the plotline and the cutscene was a bonus. In Crisis Core, the player IS Zack and when tTHAT fateful moment comes, many wanted to deny it and even latched onto the hope that there'd be a different ending. Kind of the effect rereading Phantom Blood has on me... you know how it ends, but you can of willingly ignore it when taking it from the top...

* The Turks: a group of more competent than the usual comedy reliefs and usual spooks for Shinra. Not at all on the up and up morally wise cus hey, look at their job ! My favorites remain Reno and Rude...

* The heads of Shinra now are more or less your sadistic punchable greedy douchebags BUT Rufus Shinra is the most distinctive and coolest one of the bunch. Rufus is a more pragmatic and level-headed version of Lex Luthor if Lex had finally the opportunity to drop the pleasantries and go from puppet master to slave master (why lie to your population when you can terrify them ?). It does not really help against laser beams to the frigging face though...

* Hojo: Awright. The prize of most despicable prick in this whole story goes to this guy. Father of Sephiroth (who really does not care for him), murderer of Aerith's parents (to name a few) and responsible for Zack and Cloud losing about 5 years of their lives. Hojo reminds me so much of Kefka it hurts; the sadism, the cruelty, the depravity, the overall lack of humane characteristics whatsoever. The difference though is that Kefka is a rageaholic who's all "**** YOU I DO WOTTAWANT RRAARRRGH" while Hojo is mostly apathetic and does it all for the sake of SCIENCE ! Seriously though ? If they ever remake FF6, I hope they take some pointers from Hojo to expand on Kefka and don't fall on Dissidia's misconception of Palazzo's demeanor...

* And as usual, we leave the big bad for the end: SEPHIROTH www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MW65…
The byproduct of Shinra's vanity and control-freak tendencies that went waaay out of hand. They wanted a group of perfect warriors to maintain their supremacy? They succeded in making an alien abomination hybrid with severe mental issues and an ego as vast as his masamune blade who will **** everyone up once he realizes he's been lied to. I know he was based on the shark from Jaws but in this novel, his depiction and aura is closer to the theropods in Jurassic Park the moment they escape. Whenever he appears, **** hits the fan !
OK, just to make a few things clear: NO, he's not some easily manipulated puppet, detractors take a hike to hell. Nor is he devoid of personal will. Sephiroth made his OWN CHOICE because he looked for an answer, so he latched onto misled theories and incorrect researches to think himself the last cetra and eliminate the plebians who stole his heritage.... YES, Sephiroth is basically Don Quijote played straight and very very good at violence ! And after Cloud threw him into the mako pit linked to the Lifesetream, Seph became even worse. Both psychologically and biologically...
This is where we talk about Jenova. Mistaken for a Cetra (notice a theme here ?), this cosmic monstrosity is driven by a need to survive and a need to infect. It has the capacity to communicate and scheme but it is still a primal horror. Now, while he was still a fetus, Seph was injected with Jenova cells which had quite the effect on physical abilities. And when Cloud threw him, the fateful evolution happened.
The Sephiroth of the present story is in fact a fusion/upgrade. His essence merged with Jenova's head; Jenova was the instincts, Sehiroth was the scheme and ego. It's why Sephiroth's motive went from "revenge for the Cetras" to "THIS PLANET WILL BE THE COSMIC BOAT OF I, YOUR NEW GOD !". It was the result of Jenova's infectious instincts influencing Sephiroth's endgame and Sephiroth's overall megalomania gave focus to Jenova's shapeshifting abilities. Sephiroth 2.0 is this sexy death machine that barely has any self-awareness as to how much of a looney he actually is and is still rather pissed that some lowly noob shanked and threw him so he will torment and use said lowly noob whenever it is possible. He also tries to pull a "serve me ! And you shall have a place in my new paradise !" to Aerith when she arrived at the city of the ancients, with a predictable answer from the sassy florist.
And as it is tradition in these novels, the final fights were grandiose; Jenova was suitably slimy in both senses, taking even Aerith's shape to try manipulating Cloud, Safer Sephiroth lived up the hype (and so did the knights of the round table materia for that matter...) and the final duel within Cloud's mind was not "press Octaslash to win" but a downright epic sword fight with the memories of the encountered and deceased assisting Cloud at various times before Sephiroth's demise.
One last element I'd like to point at; I described Sephiroth as uncanny valley earlier because, hmmm, just look at him pbs.twimg.com/media/EVJEKIQUwA… ! The dude's whole stare basically says, sounding like George Newbern, "I will eat your heart. I will eat your children. One.By.One...". Seriously, he must've been one hell of a pleasant guy prior to his going loco so that people don't instictively run away to the opposite direction ! That or he had cool shades to hide his undead crocodile eyes... well there's an idea for the FF7 Remake !


SO there you have it. Took me some time to process what I wanted to say but there we are. Hope you've enjoyed it ! And if you want some very compelling alternate take on this particular story, go look for the fan manga "Final Fantasy 7: The Incomplete". Trust me, it's damn well drawn and written !

 

TLIID Updated Saturday morning cartoons - Thundarr by Nick-Perks on DeviantArt

"The topic was "Re-design/update a Saturday Morning Cartoon! Either just name a cartoon and our artists will do the update/redesign or come up with an idea for an update/redesign yourself and share it in the tweet!"
brantwjones suggested: Thundarr the Barbarian!
Another sub-Frazetta attempt. How is this an update or redesign? Well - there's blood.
More and better here: www.cbr.com/revamped-saturday-…"

 

NEEDHAM COMICS' US Agent MCU concept art by Needham-Comics on DeviantArt

"just wanted to try and make this design in concept art. from US AGENT #1 by Ordway:"


NEEDHAM COMICS' MCU Kraven the Hunter wip by Needham-Comics on DeviantArt

Spoiler

a current W.I.P. of my idea for MCU's SergeiKravinoff KraventheHunter in a SpiderMan movie. I see his hole "costume" being 1 big Batman utilitybelt. He is carry as much as he can, knives, guns, spears, axes, nets, bow, arrows, etc. he made his gear with animal skins. While this is just my costume design, my idea for Kraven's character is he sees himself as Spiderman's mentor. He will forge Peter into the hero he is meant to be by putting him through hell. He will force Peter to be the best hero by being Peter's worst enemy. Wouldn't be my decision but, in my head Kraven is a supersoldier made using animal DNA like Spiderman, Cap's creation lead 2 a super soldier arms race. = Spider-Man, Hulk, GreenGoblin, Kraven, LukeCage, etc. He wud also b the 1st Spider-Man foe in the MCU 2 have powers.

Rogue - Danger Room by Kostmeyer on DeviantArt

Spoiler

Feels so good to be drawing again! My laptop is STILL being fixed (seriously, don't ask!) but I finally managed to get a bit of time with Photoshop so that I could finish this one!

It's 90's Rogue! Ah, happy days! When superheroines wore jackets and the X-Men were super-heroes and not... whatever the hell they are at the moment... OK I love this outfit - even though while drawing it I was forced to concede that that belt has no purpose whatsoever! Jim Lee on art and Lenore Zann's voice - perfect! Anyway, here is Rogue in the Danger Room having beaten up a Sentinel... as you do

Rogue is, of course, copyright of Marvel Comics and I'm not making any money from this and am not worth suing

Daredevil: The Death of Elektra. by DrumsoftheSerpent on DeviantArt



The Punisher: My Way by DrumsoftheSerpent on DeviantArt



Spider-Gwen by DrumsoftheSerpent on DeviantArt

 

Works well.

AyyaSAP: Galadriel

https://www.deviantart.com/ayyasap/art/Galadriel-884149725

 

Chrisjen Avasarala puts Padme's wardrobe to shame



https://www.deviantart.com/varshavijayan/art/Avasarala-783706622


https://www.deviantart.com/intothisshadow/art/The-Expanse-Chrisjen-Avasarala-Wallpaper-820396285


https://www.deviantart.com/anyrei/art/Chrisjen-Avasarala-733354433



https://www.deviantart.com/tinulir/art/Avasarala-841005683


https://www.deviantart.com/d1d2m3/art/Shading-Practice-Chrisjen-Avasarala-847610442


https://www.deviantart.com/missemmasart/art/Chrisjen-Avasarala-846291406


https://www.deviantart.com/rissdemeanour/art/Avasarala-823627613


https://www.deviantart.com/tanyatej/art/Chrisjen-Avasarala-863502221



https://www.deviantart.com/martianpictures/art/Chrisjen-Avasarala-The-Expanse-682395459

 

https://www.deviantart.com/tamikaproud/art/Yennefer-677016786


https://www.deviantart.com/niji707/art/Moiraine-343801433


https://www.deviantart.com/gingybeer/art/Moiraine-Damodred-853400642


https://www.deviantart.com/paradanmellow/art/Anomander-Rake-552715008


https://www.deviantart.com/harkale-linai/art/Son-of-Darkness-824217309


https://www.deviantart.com/joserodmota/art/OKOYE-AND-THE-DORA-MILAJE-748861209


https://www.deviantart.com/nikulina-helena/art/Galadriel-The-Dark-Lady-764389724

 

M is for MJ by Inspector97 on DeviantArt



N is for Natasha by Inspector97 on DeviantArt



Shaman Michael Twoyoungmen by Inspector97 on DeviantArt



dani by MarioChavez on DeviantArt



Ali and The Mrs. by Lightengale on DeviantArt

Spoiler

Bit of Serge Birault inspiration on this post apocalyptic Dazzler.

From an animated film/video game idea that picks at me every few years. While Dazzler is off on a space jaunt with a newly formed eXiles, the Marvel Universe is decimated by a new threat. She returns to a Red Dawn situation, finding most of earth's heroes dead, imprisoned or turned and it's up to her and the friends and foes she encounters along the way - including her floofy new bestie, Mrs. - to save what remains.

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The X-Men by Lightengale on DeviantArt

Spoiler

Once I saw Russell Dauterman's gorgeous X-Men team in X-MEN #21, I knew I was gonna have to do my own team. Not gonna lie, this was rough. Coloring is just... It's... Well, I kinda hate it.

Hopefully you'll enjoy this sexy squad more than I did creating it.

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