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PaulSizer — Witchblade REDESIGN
Published: 2007-04-06 04:01:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 4676; Favourites: 17; Downloads: 58
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Well, call me a sucker for "re-design" threads, as I've dropped in submissions for all the hip character/costume redesign threads popping up lately (Powergirl, SuperGirl, Batgirl) and couldn't resist the siren call of taking a swing at Witchblade on Warren Ellis' THE ENGINE"forums.My thoughts were to play up more of the "symbiotic" relationship, and move it to the more destructive aspects. I was definitely trying to channel the "Akira"/"Tetsuo the Iron Man" vibe and go more for the techno-organic slant. I wanted to show that the Witchblade being more in control, and the greater the stunt, the more juice it took from the wearer, so there was consequence for doing the big blades and complex forms. I also wanted to move it away from the "it looks like a pretty bracelet when not in use"and make this something that just attaches itself to your torso so it can access your heart, lungs and nervous system for what it needs. It could also vent out extra heat as it does more strenuous acts, so the host gets dehydrated as the 'blade does its thing.
I wanted it to seem more like a flow of techno-organics that would just flow and form however it needed to. I was also digging the aspect of having it form like plates on insects and crabs seen in some other people's drawings.
And like many others in the Ellis thread, I wanted to fully move it away from just being the fan-wankery costume that it's become to some.
I'm pretty happy with the art, although some may feel it's a little too clean to represent all the nasty, dirty tech influences I cited inspired it.
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Comments: 16
My friend... you are a genius. You just turned a character that until now just appeared to be a total wank-fest into something with an interesting potential for story dynamic as well as being totally awesome. I'm really impressed by how you have the ability to turn random fanservice characters into ACTUAL characters.
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I just like INTERESTING characters, which I guess puts me in the minority. Thanks for the good words!
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Aye. Apparently the desire for interesting characters is far outweighed by the desire for pictures of half-naked chicks. It's sad, really.
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Holy shit. She looks like she could tear apart a tank. The description of your version Witchblade sounds fantastic. Very dark and horrific. Fav'd.
Great take on a girl who's essentially become a blatant fanservice character. I agree SO MUCH with the other comments here. I'm completely disgusted by shallow female characters in comics and the like with horrifically unpractical attire and appearances.
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Cool beans, glad to hear you dig the direction I took. The current Witchblade characters are just fan wankery.
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I'm not very familiar with this character, but looking her up on Google makes me fear for my safety while around people who would design such a thing. These things honestly disturb me. Although I personally wouldn't fight in jeans, not being stretchy and all, It looks a heck of a lot more comfortable than what she officially wears. Again, you're a godsend to all female comic readers.
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Don't waste your time finding out any more info on the comics; they're pretty one dimensional, and like I said, the cheesecake nature of the art usually shoots any credibility for the concept in the foot. I just liked the opportunity to work on something I saw as a lost cause in terms of design. Good training for learning to approach any project with a sense of objectivity.
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The funny thing about the ENGINE design thread was that most of the people on the thread really wanted to get away from the whole "I'm a sex kitten in a skimpy mystical armor" angle that the comic focuses on. Most of the redesigns there go in a much darker, sinister, real life horror vein.
Truthfully, I don't have much interest in WITCHBLADE, which is why it was a challenge for me to address this re-design. As a comic, it always had a stated objective of being a horror book, but as soon as the cheesecake butt shots showed up, that killed it for me. It was actually good for me to apply my energies to something other than what I do all the time, and to see if I could bring what I DO do well to a concept that needs some help. If I helped steer the character in a more interesting direction for someone to write from, I'm happy.
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I agree. Yea that's too bad that they added "butt shots" In a "HORROR" comic. That would indeed ruin it for most who want to see only horror.
You did a wonderful job with this one.
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Judge for yourself where the emphasis of this comic series lies: horror or booty shots:
[link]
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That's why we need to have smart, talented young women like you in the comics field; to give people an alternative to this kind of lowest common denominator "teenage boy's club" mentality that's still pretty rampant in the industry.
I want to see people like you coming up with new ideas that include strong women in comic stories, and don't feel they have to rely on cheap, sexual cliches to make readers interested in a book about a girl. There's so many creative ideas out there, just waiting to be taken in skilled hands and turned into good, smart, complex stories.
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That's why I watch Gundam Seed/Destiny, and NOIR. They have strong women characters and everyone looks up to them. 
It seems like every show I watch or comic I read always has some damsel in distress, and some man has to play "hero" and rescue her. There's nothing wrong with that, but I would like to see the woman able to stand on her own feet and fend for herself. Have her fight ciborgs, or piolet robots, or save the world. And they should carry sweet guns, not some cheap scepter, or wand.
agree?
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As I said when I talked at the school, I came into comics professionally in the early 90's, when mainstream comics had that polarization of female characters; either the helpless damsel or the over-sexed bimbo. Alternative comics and manga had the interesting, strong female charaters, and that's where my interest was directed.
Because there was such a resurgence of the comics market in the early 90's, EVERYBODY was putting out comics, which was a mixed blessing, because it meant there was a lot of deserving comics, but far more crappy, badly done books that hit that "let's put a scantily clad female on the cover and sell a few thousand more books" market. The good stuff rose to the top in the end, but not after having to outlast the over-sexed fanboy market, which will never go away completely.
In any creative field there will always be "lowest common denominator" entries, so our task is to make sure there's a "Grave of the Fireflies" for every "Withcblade" as an alternative to point a new reader to. That's where YOU come in...
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I will do my best captain
I have many stories in mind, but it's just getting the programs to do them. I guess I will have to ask for them as a birthday present,christmas present, or graduation present.
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