Post your best costume designs here!

[TygerDarkstorm]

23 minutes ago, RikOz said:

Found an appropriate article on Cracked.com!

 

https://www.cracked.com/image-pictofact-6497-14-impractical-useless-or-downright-dangerous-superhero-costume-accessories/

[Player2]

[Player2]

Can we stop with the Edna Mode worship over that dumb line.  The ONLY reason they made such a big deal out of it was because the animators had problems with the capes and didn't want to do a whole movie full of them.

[TygerDarkstorm]

3 minutes ago, Player2 said:

Can we stop with the Edna Mode worship over that dumb line.  The ONLY reason they made such a big deal out of it was because the animators had problems with the capes and didn't want to do a whole movie full of them.

I just think it's funny, but I don't take it seriously by any means. A good chunk of my characters in CoH use capes. My characters use a lot of those features in that Cracked article too, doesn't mean the article isn't funny.

[Player2]

2 hours ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

I just think it's funny, but I don't take it seriously by any means. A good chunk of my characters in CoH use capes. My characters use a lot of those features in that Cracked article too, doesn't mean the article isn't funny.

Edna Mode is overplayed and tedious at this point.  I'm just sick of her.

 

As for the article... while a lot of those costume issues in the Cracked article are problematic, some of it flies completely over the heads of the article writer.

 

 

Elektra did not paint herself with all colors of the rainbow.  She wore one color, red.  Which seems to work fine for the Deadpool logic of hiding when you're bleeding... but not being a ninja?  The red isn't "day-glo," it's just red and shown in a comic where lighting issues can be exaggerated or ignored for artistic effect.

 

 

Zatanna's costume is less a crimefighting thing and more of a stage magician schtick, and for good reason:  that is her day job.  She had other "arcane" themed costumes in the past, but they never quite struck the same chord with fans.

 

  

 

 

 

No one needs a Bat-symbol on their chest or a spider or anything else, either.  Just wear regular clothes and a mask to hide the identity.  But that's the point...  the letters and emblems are designed to make the characters more recognizable in the public eye.  Each hero has their own thing and if someone else were to start running around copying it, the original might have something to say about it because the others could draw ire from the public or authorities and the original suffers the blame of association.   So yeah, it's about standing out and being unique even while doing what everyone else is doing.

 

 

 

Super powered teenager that is literally invulnerable.  You ever see teens dress a certain way that you think is dumb and then try to tell them why?  They're going to do what they want until they learn a lesson from it.

 

 

 

Originally started as a morality issue, the "underwear on the outside" thing was done to ensure that these men running around in tight pants were wearing an additional layer of fabric and not going commando.  Also, tights are not necessarily dumb.  Anyone who is going to be performing acrobatic feats (Captain America, Spider-Man, Batman) would have more freedom of movement in tights than heavier fabric... or stupid rubber armor.  Tights are definitely not for everyone, but they aren't necessarily "dumb."

 

 

 

Dumb explanations for the boob window aside (like she wanted a symbol like Superman but never was able to figure out what to go with and so decided to have a hole instead), there are definitely problems with this design.  Anyone who flies, let alone as fast as she can, is going to find that the hole and cleavage beneath are going to act like a scoop, catching every bug, dust particle, and whatever else floating in the air.  But the article instead chooses to ignore that she's invulnerable and worries for her being close to Catwoman's claws... or the fact that she gains power from the sun just like Superman, so a sunburn is even less likely to be a concern.

 

 

 

100% on this one, as Black Canary once painfully illustrated to Flash in the comics:

 

Of course, he let her do that because she's a friend and teammate and had no idea what she was going to do and probably trusted her more than he would any of his numerous enemies...  and he is able to move at the speed of light, so if anyone else were to reach for his mask, I'm sure he could just move to avoid the attempt.  If anything is impractical, it's putting a guy whose power relies on moving his entire body into a constrictive and clunky battle armor.

 

 

 

 

It is Cracked magazine this is all coming from, though, so it's played for laughs.  They're not to be taken seriously even when they might be pointed in the right direction on some of these issues.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Player2

[Brawn - Marvels]

24 minutes ago, Player2 said:

100% on this one, as Black Canary once painfully illustrated to Flash in the comics:

 

 

Mark Waid & Barry Kitson, JLA Year One, if anyone would like to read a really excellent modern retelling of the bizarrely little-known origin of the Justice League! It's great!

[Marshal_General]

The Powergirl boob window would also gather air in and come out by her legs making a farting sound when she flys.

 

[Glacier Peak]

Damn @Player2 dropping the sledgehammer! Costume design is serious business 😁

[Player2]

57 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Damn @Player2 dropping the sledgehammer! Costume design is serious business 😁

I don't like rules that step on creative expression or artistic liberties.

 

[biostem]

1 hour ago, Player2 said:

Super powered teenager that is literally invulnerable.  You ever see teens dress a certain way that you think is dumb and then try to tell them why?  They're going to do what they want until they learn a lesson from it.

 

I'm also pretty sure that she has a bottom under the skirt, and not just panties or anything - kind of like how cheerleaders or ice skaters may have a visible skirt on their outfit, but have a practical bottom/skorts under it...

[RikOz]

6 minutes ago, Player2 said:

I don't like rules that step on creative expression or artistic liberties.

 

It's also worth noting that comic book character design drew from a lot of different sources, including live action sources like movies, where it wasn't unusual for characters of different types to be portrayed with many of these same "mistakes" in their costuming. Many of these tropes started out as visual shorthand that let you know something about a character just by looking at them.

 

Some of the tropes are simply the result of utilitarian practicality from the publishing standpoint. Something as simple as zany, bright colors for costumes served a definite purpose in the old days of 4-color process printing: They let the reader quickly identify the characters in a crowded scene. It's exactly the same reason anime characters have all different colors of hair, including colors "not found in nature" - it allows viewers to quickly distinguish one character from another, particularly when the art style renders them all looking more or less the same otherwise, down to the way they're dressed (often in matching school uniforms).

[RikOz]

3 minutes ago, biostem said:

 

I'm also pretty sure that she has a bottom under the skirt, and not just panties or anything - kind of like how cheerleaders or ice skaters may have a visible skirt on their outfit, but have a practical bottom/skorts under it...

Indeed. I follow a few female musical artists who typically wear dresses or skirts on stage, and you bet they're all wearing shorts under them. After all, they're elevated above their audience, and they don't want to be providing a peep show when they stand at the front of the stage.

[Glacier Peak]

Yeah I am not a fan of constraints on costume creativity - in fact, I would argue that a costume is as important to a super hero (or villain) design as is their powers and backstory. It matters to me - and I blame that entirely on my parents giving me comic books as a child 😁

[Charistoph]

That reminds me of a couple of scenes, like when (live TV show) Supergirl was trying out new uniforms and found out why Superman had a cape: to provide stability in flight and make it easier to corner (after she ran in to a berm after failing a tight turn check).  It also reminds me of Hero Academia where they announce their costumes, but then later on look at adding items to their costume to improve their powers like boomy-hands Bakugo having grenade styled gloves that are reservoirs for his explosive sweat or Midoriya adding boot reinforcements for kicking and gloves to amplify his finger air shooting.

[Techwright]

To show you what I think of (most) of those criticisms of superhero costuming (and hopefully get this thread back on track),  I'm posting my fire/ice blaster Grill N. Chill in his classic golden age costume:  bright colors, fold-down boots, cape, exposed skin, and even things not mentioned like bold chest logo that is practically a bullseye for enemies to use, ridiculously big belt and ridiculously small identity-hiding mask.  (Missing the overshorts though.)  And that criticism of day-glow colors?  Check out these power auras!  Bad boys, pray you never see them in a darkened warehouse.

 

Glorious.

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Techwright

[RikOz]

@Techwright You've reminded me of the black costume I made for Flaminatrix, for those "stealth" situations :D

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by RikOz
Converted PNG to JPG

[Jawbreaker]

Iron Frog

MA/SR Scrapper

[Glacier Peak]

On 5/4/2021 at 5:39 AM, Virtual Green said:

Decided to recreate and update the main outfit of my australian adventurer, Groundbreak (Earth/Earth Dom), to better fit his mystical origins (his powers come from his belt and gauntlets)!

I also tried to come up with an endgame, more "comic book"-y costume.

 

 

Thank you for the inspiration! This is on my Stone/Stone Tanker!

[Virtual Green]

It looks amazing, Glacier, kudos !

[Twitless]

Hey, everyone. I'm a longtime player of COH, both on live and on homecoming (Virtue/Everlasting represent!). Here's a costume that I fell in love with that one of my RP collaborators uses:
 

 

 

If you like that, then I've got something exciting to share with you. I've always loved superheroes and comics, and the roleplaying in COH inspired me to finally start creating stories inspired from the fun I've had with you all. 

So here's the beginning of a new comic book series: The Adventures of Omega Girl

 

 

 

 

 

You may have seen Omega Girl (played by my collaborator) in-game. Now, you can follow her adventures in Angel City as she fights the forces of JACKAL and anything else that threatens the innocent. This graceful paragon of justice fights the forces of evil with strength and courage, a beacon of hope who offers a better way to the future, even for the villains she faces. 

Buy a print of PDF copy on Indyplanet today! More issues to follow this year!

[Christopher Robin]

Nicely done on the costume Twitless, I (and I'm sure

many others) are looking forward to your ongoing comic.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Christopher Robin

[BjorJlen]

23 minutes ago, Twitless said:

Hey, everyone. I'm a longtime player of COH, both on live and on homecoming (Virtue/Everlasting represent!). Here's a costume that I fell in love with that one of my RP collaborators uses:
 

 

 

If you like that, then I've got something exciting to share with you. I've always loved superheroes and comics, and the roleplaying in COH inspired me to finally start creating stories inspired from the fun I've had with you all. 

So here's the beginning of a new comic book series: The Adventures of Omega Girl

 

 

 

 

 

You may have seen Omega Girl (played by my collaborator) in-game. Now, you can follow her adventures in Angel City as she fights the forces of JACKAL and anything else that threatens the innocent. This graceful paragon of justice fights the forces of evil with strength and courage, a beacon of hope who offers a better way to the future, even for the villains she faces. 

Buy a print of PDF copy on Indyplanet today! More issues to follow this year!

 

   I know I haven't been on much (due to work an all), but that is a great look @Twitless; well done. 😁 However I just gotta ask... how was that comic book cover made? What program was used? During live a friend of mine created a comic book (cover) of T'rel, my lvl 50 Dm/Inv Scrapper, but I long since forgotten how he did it. So any info you could provide would be most appreciated, not only by myself, but others here I am sure too. Thanks (and again, good job!)...

 

Peace...

[Twitless]

28 minutes ago, BjorJlen said:

 

   I know I haven't been on much (due to work an all), but that is a great look @Twitless; well done. 😁 However I just gotta ask... how was that comic book cover made? What program was used? During live a friend of mine created a comic book (cover) of T'rel, my lvl 50 Dm/Inv Scrapper, but I long since forgotten how he did it. So any info you could provide would be most appreciated, not only by myself, but others here I am sure too. Thanks (and again, good job!)...

 

Peace...

Thank you for the question! The artist for my comic, Brian, is pretty old school, so he draws and inks on paper. The logos were designed by a graphic design buddy of mine, and I assembled everything together (with a little help) using Adobe Illustrator. 

[ZorkNemesis]

An attempt at a witch costume, and my third attempt at making a rainbow powers themed character.  Hopefully i'll keep going with this one.

 

Prisma Witch - Radiation/Regen Sentinel.  A young girl who was fascinated by magical girl style cartoons and aspired to be one herself.  Thanks to MAGI and her local library, learning magic in Paragon City isn't difficult.  So with some study, she learned how to project beams of light as a form of attack as well as some defensive healing magic.

 

 

Also I had been playing Touhou Luna Nights the other day (great game, play it even if you don't care for Touhou), largely unfamiliar with Touhou in general, and Marissa's design as well as her color attacks in that game inspired me.  An older outfit not pictured takes a lot of inspiration from hers.  The current outfit borrows a bit more from the Cabal in Croatoa, but keeps my old color scheme.  I was a bit disappointed that the tattered looking skirts the Cabal wear aren't an option.

[RikOz]

Well, I have reached a milestone! Three new characters bring me to a total of 100!

 

#98: Funbot 5000 (Rad Melee/Electric Armor brute) - punching bad guys is FUN!

 

 

 

#99: Philantropic Odin (War Mace/Ice Armor brute) - to get the reference, check out the song "Valhallelujah" by Nanowar of Steel on YouTube.

 

 

 

And finally, #100: Seratus (Street Justice/Energy Aura stalker) - "Seratus" is Indonesian for 100.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by RikOz
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