There’s a lot I like here. You get the rainbow, you get the “T”. I suspect that, in a more sophisticated environment it would be a bit over the top in some ways (the black tones it down a lot), but for some cards, it carries the meaning it needs to.
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Coming back to it the next day, I like it still more. It’s serious, not campy (which is tough when doing rainbow representation). I don’t look at it and say, “Oh, it’s a gay super,” but if I know T is gay, then it clicks even more.
Just a quick warning for continuity: the sides of his boots are (and should be) black (in the smaller shot they are blue). That’s not to point out an error, but to a warning that this is a very “stripy” costume and prone to such coloration issues. (FWIW, I like the blue-black “stirrup” style. If it’s easier to juts do them more blue, to avoid the hassle, I completely understand that, too.)
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I’d expand on this to say it’s the inherent level of camp any superhero in spandex will possess, which is fine. My suggestions, and the mood you captured, has the same energy as when our heroes in Black Panther showed up wearing the colors of the Pan-African flag:
It doesn’t advertise itself, but if you know what’s up, it’s powerful.
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So the reason behind that is actually because of a new practice I have: whenever I draw a character design, I immediately redraw it from memory in a different pose. This helps me realize what parts of the character design are the most memorable/easy to overlook.
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Concept for Ghostheart’s First Phase Artwork: Make Ghostheart look like this sinister figure with creepy powers that has some grand plan.
Concept for Ghostheart’s Second Phase Artwork: Make Ghostheart look like they just threw a temper tantrum and are ready to burn the world down around them because they didn’t get what they wanted.
The fact that both of these are completely in character for Ghostheart amused me greatly.
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Since the weather has turned cold and the season has gotten a bit spookier, here is some Sunday Summer to liven up your weekend before you have to go back to work on Monday.
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“Your resume says you are a … bullet dancer?”
“That’s right”
“Did you mean ballet?”
“No”
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Man, I wished my brain would actually pick something and stick to it, rather than get distracted by shiny things (shiny things in this case being artwork that I had a sudden unexpected surge of inspiration on). Came out fine, though.
Also another, sketchier piece of artwork in progress.
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Okay, Legacy of Terror is wonderful. The lettering under the painting is maybe a bit Harry Potter, but the overall composition and sense of motion with tearing down the curtain is great.
I liked Stealth Recon, too – a good non-shooty use for her (and it even ties into her code name). Almost looked like she was flashing a peace sign at first before I recognized the finger gun. I wonder, in this case, if a PoV from a security cam (higher, a bit distorted with proximity) would work even better. I do like the card effect – when her cover is blown she takes more damage, but she’s also in a position to deal it out, too.
The quotations in both cases are a lot of fun.
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I don’t know if this is boilerplate from other cards, or in part my only general acquaintance with the game, but …
When this card is destroyed [do this stuff] until the end of your turn.
At the start of your turn, destroy this card.
… feels like it is either out of sequence, or contradictory, or something.
Infiltration always seemed like such a key component of what Alycia did that I couldn’t help but add it to her card set.
Artwork-wise, I wasn’t 100% satisfied with it, which is why it is still in such a sketchy state. I had similar ideas to what you had to punching up the artwork, but that’s still a work in progress.
As for the effect, it seemed like a fairly straight forward method of showing what she does: she sneaks around (the immunity) and if she’s found out (the card destroyed during the villain turn) she’s left vulnerable (increased damage dealt to her), while if she’s able to complete her mission (making it to the start of her next turn) she’s able to cause serious havoc (increased damage dealt by her). I always enjoy when mechanics and story line up really well.
There is no standard rubric for Sentinel cards that I am aware of (other than Powers always are the last thing on the card) but my personal one has always been:
- Effects that occur when the card enters play.
- Start of turn effect.
- Passive effects.
- Effects that occur when the card leaves play/is destroyed.
- End of turn effects.
- Powers.
The start of turn being out of sync here was supposed to give context to why you would want the card to be destroyed before telling you when it would be, but I can see this being confusing. This will probably be changed in the final version.
Quote are always one of my favorite parts, not just what is being said, but in what context. For instance, Legacy of Terror is a quote from a one-shot called Heir of Chin. I have the outline of a story in mind for that comic, which definitely has ties to the Son of Chin mentioned back in Heiress Apparent, but the important part is that all the card quotes from that particular comic involve her connection to Achilles or being somewhat wistful about her past.
Meanwhile, card from the Halcyon Nights one-shot need to sound more like they came from a buddy cop action movie.
It makes perfect sense, and I love it.
I know. And that you have this all mapped out behind the scenes gives it a great verisimilitude. Dammit, I want a complete set of all the Menagerie comics, spin-offs, and one-shots!
Oh, if only I had time to do so.
The fun part is that the side comics are ever growing to give me material to work with for the card decks. Just wait until I get to Jason’s deck. The Dinosaur Island One-shot referenced there is going to be a trip.
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Jason: Really? A hood slide? Isn’t that kinda … flashy?
Alycia: It’s faster, thus more efficient. Also, it checks for any burrs, scratches, or flaws in the hood armor. Also, it’s kind of fun.
Summer: And Otto says it tickles his nose when she does it with him.
Jason: You hood slid on Otto?
Alycia: To be fair, we were under fire at the time.
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For instance, Legacy of Terror is a quote from a one-shot called Heir of Chin. I have the outline of a story in mind for that comic, which definitely has ties to the Son of Chin mentioned back in Heiress Apparent …
FWIW, that was totally a stub with no actual plans behind it at the time, so feel free to use it as you creatively see fit. SoC could be real, elder or younger, a backup Chin had in reserve in case Alycia failed him (I think he hinted at that at one point), a clone of the man himself (again as a backup), or someone faking it to take advantage of Alycia’s unpopularity (age, gender, ability to work and play well with others) amongst Chin’s lieutenants. Or something completely different.
being somewhat wistful about her past.
Okay, tease for having that card but no image.
Though, since we just watched the Netflix adaptation of “The Old Guard” (recommended) and I reread the TPB, “Hidden Cache” made me think of this.
Thought I had posted the sketch here, but it looks like it was on Discord instead.
However, your inspiration here is much better and it may have me rethink what I am doing with it.
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Ah. I do remember that, seeing it again. I think it works fine, if you want. The other was offered just as what had come to mind.
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It is fine, but that other bit adds so much more to the presentation.
My original sketch implies “the Chin family has hidden a locker full of guns somewhere where Alycia could get to them.”
The other implies “the Chin family has hidden troves of armaments for arming their forces. And who knows if this is the only one?”
Plus compositionally, its very nice for establishing space, showing Alycia in the space, and allowing for some hidden Easter eggs among the items.
I’ll mull it over.
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And it needn’t be solely weapons, either. Robots. Vehicles. Hard cash and valuables. Bits of undefined technology.
And, of course, weapons.
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