-
Announcements
-
Welcome! 03/05/2016
Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change. If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away. I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!
-
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'belt boy'.
Found 110 results
-
theheroesofcrash.com Somewhere between Justice League and Tom and Jerry... lies The Heroes of C.R.A.S.H. Hoo boy! Today's comic was quite an undertaking. I wound up using a lot of layers for that last panel in order to have the translucent layers and sound effects. The last two panels, at one point, were going to be one long panel, with an additional image of Sunflower just before she crashed into the wall, but breaking it up into two panels seemed to let the action flow a bit more, making it easier to read. I decided to make the two panels share scenery and a stretched-out word balloon to illustrate that the two images are close to each other in terms of both distance and time. By the way, if you still are interested in my birthday contest - in which EVERYONE gets a prize - the details are on this page: http://www.theheroesofcrash.com/ContestRulesAnStuffPage.htm
-
theheroesofcrash.com Belt Boy's used the Wrapper Rope of Righteousness before... waaaaaaaaaaaay back in his first battle against Miss Sunflower. Tying her to the trash can appears to be a new twist, but it looks like this plan might backfire on him...! The sound effects in the first panel are actually borrowed from the first time BB used his Wrapper Rope. I even wrote the letters in green, similar to how they were written before. Drawing Miss Sunflower was a pain, but the backgrounds - though difficult - were more fun to play around with. The anime influences on my art aren't as strong as they once were, but every so often they make themselves known, like in that last panel (which I love!).
-
theheroesofcrash.com She's back! The return of the super-mean, superpowered supervillain (with a super-silly name), Miss Sunflower! Seems Belt Boy wants to calm her hot temper with some refreshing soda, but is this plan all wet? I accidentally gave today's comic's title to last week's comic, although it's still pretty apt. Last week's title was supposed to have been "Old School" - a reference to all the mentions of school in the dialogue, as well as to Belt Boy's classic science class project-based plan. This week's title, I came up with off the top of my head. A good portion of my comic is inspired by the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons of the late 80s and early 90s. While a lot of people don't really like how the Turtles would often resort to silly visual gags and slapstick instead of actual ninja fighting, I still enjoy it, and today's gag is an homage to that. I do, after all, want to give my comic the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. I'm decently pleased with how the layout of today's comic turned out, given the limited space I alotted myself. If I could add a panel, I'd put one between panels 4 and 5, showing Miss Sunflower struggling to her feet.
-
theheroesofcrash.com Seems Belt Boy has a plan coming together... and it's going to either be brilliant or extremely silly. Oh, who am I kidding? Knowing Belt Boy, it'll probably be both. For this comic, I decided that B.O.N.N.I.E. could communicate with Belt Boy without putting up her screen via his B-Chip - the communication device that he, Cannon, and Titanium Maiden all have hidden in their headgear. It seems logical, as having her screen out would probably keep him from running as fast. I also decided to have BB look a bit less worn-out than he did in the last strip in which he appeared; he's covering it up a bit better as he puts his "game face" on. Plus, I think it helps that he's focused on one thing right now: defeating Miss Sunflower. And I'll admit, I just like how he looks in the first panel and I didn't want to ruin it by frazzling his hair or showing the bags under his eyes. So I'll excuse them away however I want. So there. Nyah, nyah. :-P Seriously, though, I do like his pose in that first panel. While I've been largely focused on improving the anatomy of my characters over the past year or so, I feel like I've neglected the "toony" side of their design, leaving my characters a bit stiff. So, I'm doing a bit of experimenting by starting my drawings with a "line of action" in order to make better poses. From what I understand, it's best to exaggerate the line of action as much as possible, as it loses some of that exaggeration when you add in structure. I think that first panel is an indication of how well it's helping; BB looks like he's really moving. The title of this comic is a reference to actor Paul Zaloom, who played the title character on Beakman's World. While I appreciate Bill Nye's past and continuing contributions to the scientific community, he was only my third favorite educational TV scientist. My second favorite was Mr. Wizard (I remember waking up early in the morning and seeing Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon many times hwen I was really, really young), and my number one pick was - you guessed it - Beakman. His show was a lot like Bill Nye's with its comedic tone and cartoony sound effects, but he had two co-stars (A disgruntled man in a rat suit named Lester, who often served as the straight man or victim for many a joke, as well as one of three different female lab assistants that changed between seasons), and he actually answered kids' science questions that were mailed to him (In an era where the internet wasn't popular yet, computers weren't in every house, and Googling stuff was essentially impossible, this was HUGE.). Also, I got to meet "Beakman" at a science museum tour, help him on stage, and get his autograph, so he's definitely a sentimental favorite. :-) Oh, and lastly, did you catch that pop culture reference on the cover of Belt Boy's book? That gag was a last-minute addition, and I hope some of my fellow animation fans get it...!
-
theheroesofcrash.com Well, folks, at the time that I'm typing this, it's in the wee small hours of the morning on Christmas Eve! By sundown it'll be Chanukkah, by tomorrow it'll be Christmas, and the day after that is Kwanzaa! There's so many wonderful holidays this weekend, and - especially in times like these where there's a lot of outspoken hatred and prejudice - it's important that we take the time to celebrate and appreciate both what makes us different AND what we share in common. We all have different, beautiful ways of celebrating the same values of love and goodwill towards others, and we should do our best to show that throughout the year. So whether you celebrate none, one, or many of the holidays occurring this December, know that I wish you a happy and safe holiday season. I know I've had Muppets on the brain a bit lately (You've seen my Daily Drawings, right?), but I honestly thought that this quote was a good one to use; despite being from a Christmas song, it reaches out to people of all faiths. Jim Henson was a man who appreciated diversity and sought to give people an idea of what a peaceful world could be like through educational shows like Sesame Street or the social commentary of Fraggle Rock, so it seems more than appropriate to use his words for this filler. Wishing you all Happy Holidays! Canonical comics return in January! :-)
-
Belt Boy's ready to take on Miss Sunflower mano a mano...Or is that mano y mano? Mano y womano? *A quick Google search later...* Huh... it's really "mano a mano", and that means "hand-to-hand"... Which may not be accurate since BB and Sunflower are both decked out in tech gear. Well, in any event, there's gonna be some fighting. Not much commentary to add on this strip, except maybe that I really like BB's pose in panel #2. I actually have a bit more commentary for last week's strip: I went back and edited last week's strip; I accidentally forgot to put on B.O.N.N.I.E.'s eye lens. Whoops!
-
Comic 12/3/16 - Famous Last Words: "I Can Handle Any-"
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com Isn't that always how it goes? You think you have everything sorted out, and then WHAM! Life throws you a curveball that hits you right between the eyes. What emergency is Belt Boy being alerted to? Find out next time! Y'know, we don't see a lot of B.O.N.N.I.E. in the comic. This is largely because - although she has thoughts, feelings, and emotions - she is still a computer program, and while it would be a stretch to say she lacks free will, she does have some limitations on what she can do. She doesn't pop out of Belt Boy's utility belt unless summoned, or unless she's been instructed to appear under certain conditions (like if there's an emergency). Still, she can act on her own when given free reign (She plays a LOT of online games when not actively helping BB with tasks!). The other reason is that her "vector look" is a bit annoying to draw at times. She might be due for a redesign (Or, in her case, an upgrade!). -
theheroesofcrash.com These tips all work pretty well for me (aside from scheduling; I tend to have only a few holiday-based responsibilities outside of work). Anyone who knows me, knows that as soon as December begins, I practically turn into a Christmas elf with enough holiday cheer to light up the tree in Rockefeller Center. I was initially going to have the radio play Christmas music (One local station has already started! Ugh!) to hammer home the idea that we start Christmas too early, but I decided to go with a slightly more obscure joke and have the radio start playing Alice's Restaurant. Fans of this song know that it's played EVERY Thanksgiving on many radio stations across the country (My family always listens... especially my mom and my sister Tyler Winthrop , who are HUGE Arlo Guthrie fans!). I recommend giving this song a listen, especially in light of certain political events as of late. Those of you who are anxiously awaiting the next canonical strip are probably a tad frustrated, having three fillers in four weeks, but we have had two holidays and one disastrous election I wanted to address. I do hope you've been enjoying my fillers, but if not, I plan on making the next four updates be canonical comics, up until the Christmas and New Year's fillers. In the meantime, have a happy Thanksgiving!
-
theheroesofcrash.com Seems Belt Boy can't bury his metaphorical demons under activities... or under all the junk in his locker. The third panel was originally going to look a bit different; the shadow on the wall would have cracks in it in the section near BB's head. However, that spot was the only place where his thought balloon looked right, so I decided to nix the representational imagery.
-
theheroesofcrash.com Today's comic shows that Belt Boy always has a plan, TM has a forgiving temperament, and Cannon has a sweet tooth (a bit like his real-life counterpart). Belt Boy (as well as the other members of my comic's main trio) is largely based off me, so we share a lot of qualities. One way in which we differ is that I would probably be blurting out apology after apology in a situation like this, whereas BB sees any mistake as a temporary setback that he can fix... especially when he's in "perfectionist mode". Guess the title of today's comic is a bit ironic, as he never officially apologizes in this strip.
-
Comic 10/15/16 - Ask Not What Your Teammates Can Do for You
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Cannon and Titanium Maiden are displeased with their fearless - or rather, clueless - leader. Has he bitten off more than his team can chew? Is that a weird metaphor if one person's biting and three people are chewing? And has Cannon ever had a hot date? Stay tuned for the next installment for the answers to none of these questions! I love understatement being used to convey humor, which is probably why I love having my characters not getting explicitly angry and just speaking iciliy, indicated by my word balloons with icicles on them. Decided to try a different tool today to draw the icicles on this time around... what do you think of 'em? -
Comic 10/8/16 - Not All Acronyms are as Pithy as C.R.A.S.H.
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com No surprise, but this comic was a LOT of fun to draw. While I am trying to do more realistic anatomy, being able to show off my characters' more toony side is a lot of fun to draw, and lends itself to better comedy. At one point, I was going to have Belt Boy merely raise his hand in that last panel, but I decided to exaggerate it and have him stand dramatically on the desk. I think it's funnier, and it fits with BB's personality rather well. The backgrounds were a lot of fun as well. The last panel was originally going to be gold, but it looked too similar to the orange panel above it. I decided on blue to contrast with the previous two panels, and to suggest that Belt Boy's psyche got a bit of relief from not holding in his heroic ambitions (although that relief will no doubt be short-lived!). The first panel is a callback to Belt Boy's first meeting Enticia; she tried to seduce him with her powers, but Belt Boy was focused on getting to class on time, and everything was colored in grayscale save for the clock to emphasize his focus. This time around, Belt Boy is focusing on his own problems, which is why he's the only thing in color. And yes, that IS a Taz-Mania reference in the first panel. -
Comic 10/1/16 - Introducing Road Racer and Orange Ocelot!
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
What's this? More new characters? Well, this is a classroom. You didn't think Belt Boy, Cannon, and Titanium Maiden were the only three students in there, didja? You've seen Road Racer before - near the beginning of the Gym Nauseum storyline (on 2/28/12). Her design is partly based off of two famous speedsters; the Road Runner and Sonic the Hedgehog. Her color scheme mostly borrows from the former, and her ponytail is supposed to be like the plumage on the Road Runner's head. The jet plane-like fins on her pilot-like cap are inspired by Sonic's spikes, as is her running posture. The green strap and lenses to her goggles are inspired by Sonic's green eyes. Orange Ocelot is a character I've been thinking of adding for a while. Lots of superheroes have color-based names: Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern/Arrow... but nothing orange. I wanted to stick with alliteration, and my mind settled on "ocelot", because it's fun to say and not a commonly-known animal. Plus, I thought it might be a funny running gag if everyone mistakes him for a tiger or leopard or other feline. -
Comic 9/24/16 - Thankfully, Zack Snyder's Not Involved
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
http://theheroesofcrash.com Belt Boy's getting a little tired of getting grabbed by the arm and yanked off-panel... and Cannon's not even remotely tired of bragging about his victory against Jackknife. BTW, if you saw my Daily Drawing for Friday 9/23, you realized that I took a LOT longer drawing this than I meant to, as I had done most of the inking in a "sketch" layer. Drawing in the wrong layer is the bane of digital artists everywhere. Addressing this comic's title... I know I tend to make fun of Michael Bay, but I can't help but wonder if Zack Snyder's worse. Snyder's like what Bay would be if he tried to be serious. Say what you will about Bay's lack of talent, over-inflated ego, and terrible treatment of women (It's all true), but at least he gets that there's an element of silliness to the imaginary worlds of the Transformers and Ninja Turtles (not that he harnesses it effectively, but at least he acknowledges that it's there). Snyder, conversely, denounced She-Hulk and the Martian Manhunter as legit superheroes, calling She-Hulk essentially a trophy for the male power fantasy that is the Hulk (If he knew comics, he'd know that they're cousins, so... EW. NO.), and Martian Manhunter a stupid character (And yet he considers Aquaman to be fine). Plus, despite getting some elements of Batman V Superman, let's face facts: he got some elements very very wrong (I highly recommend watching the Nostalgia Critic review). This comic, thankfully, is silly and colorful and everything that Snyder is not. And I'm darn proud of it. -
Comic 9/17/16 - Imagine She's Speaking in Marcato Notes
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com Sugar Rush is capable of slowing down her speech when she's in "hyper" mode. However, as she focuses herself, she speaks like someone singing marcato - giving each note (or in her case, word) a little "thrust" of emphasis. I hope that what she's doing is evident in her hyphenated dialogue and the way she grits her teeth. Belt Boy's "shoulder angel" and "shoulder devil" (yes, that's a reference to The Emperor's New Groove) are given dark yellow outlines to indicate that they're all in Belt Boy's head. I made Belt Boy's angel look like some sort of angelic warrior, while his devil looks like a supervillain. Both seemed apt for Belt Boy's good/evil sides. -
Well, it's been a while, due to my trip to Texas (and subsequent post-vacation recovery), but fillers are done, and it's back to the story! The punchline of today's comic actually harkens back to some commentary for the 4/30/16 comic, where I mentioned Sugar Rush's previous attempt at tasting her dessert-like teammate. Of course, Gelatin Boy is half gelatin, half boy, and he tastes like a combination of the two. Not very appetizing. Also, not sure if I mentioned this before, but Sugar Rush won't have any digestive problems with those erasers; she's got a cast-iron stomach, and has eaten stranger things before. Now if they were pencils, they'd probably be sitting in her stomach like lead! Buh-DUM-tch!
-
theheroesofcrash.com I'm finally back from my San Antonio trip! It was a lot of fun, but getting back on track after such a long vacation is not quite so easy, so I decided to do a filler, similar to the San Antonio postcards I did some years back. Among the sights I got to see on this trip was the San Antonio Zoo. Belt Boy's right; there ARE a lot of birds at this zoo (especially compared to Philly's zoo)... but it's also filled with Poké-stops! Don't worry, folks; I paid more attention to the real live critters inhabiting the zoo than the digital ones! By the way, did you get a chance to listen to The Playlist of C.R.A.S.H. while I was gone? In case you missed my last update, it's a collection of thirty songs, all related to your favorite HoC characters. You can search for it on Spotify, as I've put the playlist there. However, it's come to my attention that HoC fan Grayson Judd recreated this playlist on YouTube, so you can search for and watch The Playlist of C.R.A.S.H. there, too! Sweet!
-
Comic 8/13/16 - School Curricula Should Include Common Sense
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com While Gelatin Boy is questioning Sugar Rush's common sense, it prompts me to consider the notion that common sense isn't so common. In college, I studied Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences; simply put, it's the idea that there's different kinds of smarts, like book-smarts, people-smarts, body-smarts, etc. Everyone is smart, just in different ways. While my experiences in the realm of education taught me that everyone can be smart, my experiences in working retail taught me that the opposite is also true: everyone can be a bonehead sometimes. Just as we all have our mental strengths, we all have our weaknesses, too. So while Gardner has his theory of multiple intelligences, let me take this moment to call dibs on Winthrop's Theory of Multiple Stupidities (Although I'll likely change the name to something less offensive, but equally catchy and expedient). It's true of real people, and people in my comic... especially when it comes to social cues. Cannon doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, Sugar Rush acts (and eats) before she thinks, and Belt Boy... well, you could probably write a book on the stuff he doesn't grasp. So if everyone's got these mental Achilles' heels, then perhaps what one person considers common sense may not be quite so obvious to someone else...? Maybe that's why it's only "common" sense instead of unanimous sense: because it's not obvious to everyone. But that's just a theory. A BRAIN THEORY! Thanks for reading! (All apologies to MatPat for that last joke!) -
theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Gelatin Boy and Jackknife HAVE crossed paths... and Jackknife is looking pretty cross, himself! Also, in case anyone's wondering: no, Gelatin Boy is not sweating away his mass. Because fiction. Much like an onion or an ogre, this strip has many layers. I used seperate layers for the background, the posters, and the translucent "whoosh lines" in panel 3. I don't like copy/pasting in my comics, but I did with the poster, although I made it a different color in each picture.
-
Comic 7/30/16 - At Least They Weren't Scented Markers
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com Seems that Belt Boy's caught in the middle of another team's problems... but that's par for the course for him today. Will Gelatin Boy remain unbullied for the rest of the day? Or will Jackknife best our stressed-out hero? Stay tuned, folks! I'm really happy with the lower-left panel. Foreshortening is one of my problem areas in terms of my art, and I've been working on it. There's a method of drawing your character in boxes to keep him/her in proportion, and it seems to work for me. I also like the backgrounds I used here; Dino-Mo's background is meant to remind you of a blazing fire, whereas Belt Boy's background is strongly anime-inspired. That anime influence stuck out at me as I was creating it; my art style has shifted away from anime/manga and more towards western retro styles, but it still incorporates elements of both. -
Comic 7/23/16 - These Boots Were Made for Being Walked On
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com As I've grown as a writer, I've been worried about making Belt Boy (and his relationship with Titanium Maiden) seem too perfect, like a Mary Sue. Perfect is not funny. It's boring. Trying to be perfect - and failing - is funny and relateable, and in case you haven't guessed, that's the concept behind this storyline. Belt Boy always means well, but one thing I learned from looking back on my high school days is that even well-meaning people can be obnoxious, especially when they're teenagers who are still learning more complex social and moral rules. Belt Boy has a problem that I had in high school (and that, to some degree, I still deal with), and that's being oblivious. While not the worst character flaw to have, it can make some people feel offended, ignored, or unimportant when you don't pay attention to them or prioritize other things over them. Conflict arises in stories where one character's wants/needs conflict with another's; in this instance, Belt Boy has let his obsession over being perfect take priority over TM and Cannon's wanting to be heard. As Belt Boy's always a do-gooder and being heard is a basic emotional need, these issues seem totally within character for Belt Boy and TM (I hate it when a cartoon character randomly develops a character flaw for one episode just so they can awkwardly cram a moral in there). -
Comic 7/16/16 - Ask Him the One about the Interrupting Cow
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com I've been working really hard at trying to improve my comic's art and writing, whether it's been working on anatomy, perspective, punchlines, or character development. However, today's strip reminded me that sometimes, you need to throw some of those things out the window. If you haven't read today's comic, please do so before continuing with this commentary. You finished reading it? Good. This strip, in many ways, does not make sense. Take panel #2: I agonized over this panel SO MUCH, trying to get the perspective just right. I drew and redrew it. At one point, the table was in the panel. However, when I couldn't get it to look right, I decided to go with Disney's concept of "the plausible impossible" - little tricks that break the laws of physics, but seem fine to the viewer (such as the fact that Mickey's ears only change angles - never appear flat - when his head is viewed from the side, or how Jiminy Cricket shrinks - unnoticed by the viewing audience - throughout a scene in Pinnocchio in order to fit inside a padlock). The table in panel #2 should be visible from this angle, but it's not. But the image makes sense to the viewer anyway. Sometimes aesthetics trump realism. Second, why is Klawroc asking such esoteric questions? The answer is simply, "Who cares?". Clearly, all these random subjects must have been covered in a previous class, but what goat webs and lasers have to do with one another is anyone's guess. But I hope you enjoyed some random science trivia! Also, I totally ignored my new model sheets for Cannon in this strip, and I think he looks better this way. I may need to update those model sheets. -
Comic 7/9/16 - Her Name is HiveMind and I have Big Plans for Her!
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
theheroesofcrash.com If you saw my 6/21 Daily Drawing, you probably know all about HiveMind. If not (or if you need a refresher), here's some info on her: The world is a diverse place, but if you read superhero comics, you might not think that. The comic pages are dominated by white guys, and that's a poor reflection on how the real world is. My comic suffers from the same problem, and I'm looking to add diversity to my comic. With this (and many other ideas I've had floating around) in mind, I created HiveMind - a superheroine who's telepathically linked to a swarm of alien bees. She has Vitiligo - the same skin condition that Michael Jackson had, and that model Winnie Marlow has (HiveMind was inspired by the latter) - in which the skin becomes lighter in blotches, most obviously around the eyes, nose, mouth, and hands. The blotches on her face resemble a stripe - meant to suggest that she has embraced her appearance and sees it as a thing of beauty; the "bee stripes" on her dress are an extention of her appearance, rather than a distraction. In my initial design, the stripe pattern continued down her arms, but I changed that; I want real people to look at HiveMind and say, "She looks like me!", and that couldn't happen if I took too many liberties with her design. By the way, if you can't read the title of Belt Boy's blue book, it's "Writing the Perfect Extra-Credit Essay". -
Comic 7/2/16 - He Means Kirby the Artist, Not the Pink Marshmallow
heroesofcrash posted a topic in Heroes Of Crash
www.theheroesofcrash.com If that exclamation in the last panel came from anyone but Belt Boy, you'd think it was sarcasm. I love it when Belt Boy makes superhero-related exclamations, like "By Superman's Leotard!" back in comic #105. Professor Klawroc is back! You may have noticed that he doesn't have his scimage staff; I assure you, he's got access to it whenever he wants. Magic, and all that. Realistically, in those last two panels, Klawroc's head shouldn't come up past Belt Boy's chest, but I'm employing the same suspension of disbelief that the Muppets use. They're always taller when their legs are off-screen. Otherwise, it'd be a lot more difficult for them to talk to people face-to-face, drive a car, etc. -
Seems that TM's not the only one noticing that Belt Boy seems a bit odd today. Not much commentary to add to this picture... except that after having posted lots of Ninja Turtle-themed Daily Drawings to social media* as of late, I wound up coloring the four panels based on the Ninja Turtles' bandanas for a chuckle. Tee-hee! *You HAVE been looking at my Daily Drawings on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, right?