Monday, October 19, 2020

Rad surf designs, or trying to emulate my cartoon heroes...

Earlier this year I talked about emulating my artistic heroes when I draw certain subjects. For example I said when I draw skateboarders I try and capture the skeleton imagery of Vernon Courtlandt Johnson (VCJ), the illustrator behind the Powell Peralta “Bones Brigade” art. When I draw basketball players I try and capture the energy and lanky proportions of the painter Kadir Nelson. Like many artists out there I have a ton of influences, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. When I draw cars I have many influences from the pages of CARtoons magazine. Steve Austin (not the wrestler) is an amazing cartoonist. It’s one thing to render a realistic car, but to make a caricature of it takes much more work. You have to capture the lines, and stance of each car. You have to make them easy to identify to the audience. 


Mr. Austin can do this with any vehicle, make, and model. His lines are clean, and the ability to draw each car from every angle is astounding. Steve, is an artist that follows closely in the steps of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (RIP), Ed “Newt” Newton, and Dave “Big” Deal (RIP). These were artists who were able to create a career turning cars into works of art. In my honest opinion there are very few people that can create art at this level. Joe Borer is another such person. What separates his work from the previously aforementioned legends is that his cars are always in the middle of the action. They have weight, they have movement. The tires are glued to the road, at the same time the rubber is separating from the wheels. Even when his cars are standing still they look like they’re ready to peel off the page. 
 

Mr. Borer approaches his vehicle art in the same way an animator does characters. They have to be fluid, dynamic, and filled with personality. Joe is able to “stretch and squash” his cars with the ease of the best Disney cartoonists. For anyone not used to cartooning trying to make a car look flexible is very difficult. After a lifetime of drawing it’s something that I cannot do easily. That was the thing about the artists that I grew up studying. They made everything look so amazing. One of the most underrated artists in my book was Shawn Kerri. She was an impeccable cartoonist, but also an accomplished painter. She could render realistic scenes, as easily as she could caricature people. Sadly she died young, but not before producing some of the best CARtoons issues ever. 
 

In the action sports world there was only one other artist that I could compare to Ms. Kerri. His name is Damien Fulton. He is the artist behind the comic strip Radical Rick, as it appeared in the pages of BMX Plus magazine. Damien had very expressive cartoons, but whose BMX bikes, and races were rendered with a bit of realism. When he painted his characters, sometimes for the cover of the magazine, they were beautiful works of art. I would try my best to emulate Damien’s attention to detail when drawing BMX bikes. His poses, his understanding of the culture was super deep. Studying his panels made me a better artist. It helped me understand the history, and movements behind BMX. The same lessons went for every cartoonist I followed. 


Not all of the artists I enjoyed studying were as prolific as those in the pages of CARtoons magazine, or BMX Plus. Some of the art was seen sparingly, like VCJ’s designs for Powelll Peralta. Only when a new skateboard was released, perhaps a few a year, would I see a new rendering by VCJ. I poured over the designs in the skateboard magazines, as I couldn’t afford to actually buy the decks. Other art that inspired me was seen on soft goods, like tee shirts, hats, and the occasional sticker. Pop fashion for the early, and mid ‘80s was a mix of action sports culture. Surf, skate, and BMX all had a hand in influencing the look, and feel of the generation. Colors were bright, and some of the hottest labels had created their own mascots. Surf line Maui and Sons had a shark man mascot. Other brands like Airwalk, Rip Curl, Billabong, and Gotcha worked hard to create their own branding as well. 


Mascots on ‘80s clothing became very en vogue. It turned out that Disney, and Warner Bros. did not have a monopoly on the market. Arguably the king of the era was an artist named Steve Nazar. A company called Town & Country Surf Designs, out of Pearl City Hawaii was looking for an artist. In the early ’80s Steve showed them his original cartoon characters, many with a heavy surf vibe, and the rest as they say was history. Steve’s original characters, including Joe Cool, Thrilla Gorilla, the Kool Kats, and the tiki-headed Wave Warriors were instant hits. 
 

Nazar’s designs, went on the brightest shirts imaginable. These mascots were often seen in many humorous situations. Their shirts, stickers, and other goods were sold, and seen, seemingly everywhere in the decade. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t see the art in magazines, at school, the playground, or even at church through the ‘80s. This repetition of imagery in multiple shops made sure that the brand was becoming recognizable in every market. It was a win-win for the small company out of Hawaii, and the artist just trying to pay some bills. The characters were not only popular with the surf crowd, but with just about every demographic. Anybody could wear the shirts, and everybody knew who Thrilla Gorilla was. 


The mascots were so well known that LJN created a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Think about that for a moment. The majority of early console games were either ports of an existing arcade game, or they were based on a sport. Licensed games came from comic book, or movie franchises. This title was based on the art from tee shirts. The game was well received by most audiences. It let players compete in both skateboard and surf competitions. The control took a little used to, but before long most were able to breeze through the courses, and perform some radical tricks. The game demonstrated that a solid idea, with great visual storytelling, could be enough to get a video game made. Although Steve Nazar didn’t program, or animate the game, his characters were as well received as the biggest mascots of the era, including the Mario Bros. and Mickey Mouse. T&C would end up getting a sequel, called Thrilla’s Surfari. This game was more of a platform adventure, where Thrilla had to fight angry natives, and giant weird monsters in order to save his girlfriend Barbi Bikini. He still surfed, and skated, just not in competition. 
 

Just as the characters had hit the big time the partnership between Mr. Nazar, and T&C would end less than amicably. The parent company in Hawaii decided to take their art in a different direction. Since they did not own the rights to the characters they went with other, more generic, surf looks. The characters were sadly without a home for 30 years. Many would ask T&C why they didn’t have a line of retro shirts, but they never wanted to revisit the era that really helped put them on the map. A few years ago Nazar decided to bring back all of his designs, and launch a small company called Thrilla Krew. He reprinted just about all of the classic characters on soft goods, and stickers. He was very careful to remove the trademark T&C yin-yang symbol from his new products. 
 

Which actually takes me to some designs that I have been working on over the end of the summer. Since the pandemic started I have been very busy, at work, and at home. My job has me working out of the house, and at the same time I have been taking care of a few family issues. I have had zero time, to write, record, or post any new blogs. As you can tell. I’d hit a creative road block, as the pandemic, and political climate were draining. I looked back at the artists, and movements that inspired me. I remembered Steve Austin, Joe Borer, and Shawn Kerri. I longed to see new art from Damien. But more than that I was missing the mascot characters from T&C Surf Designs. I was wondering what would it be like if they had a new video game. How would their levels work out? What new challenges could I come up with. 
 

As I was planning out a sequel to the game I began sketching out ideas for monsters attacking the characters out of the surf. That in turn inspired me to create tee shirt designs that were in the style of Mr. Nazar, and those early designs that I fell in love with. After several weeks of illustrating little bits at a time I finally completed these drawings. I may still do more in his style, featuring his characters, but for now I’m happy to bring you these cartoons. 
 

I want budding game designers, artists, and creatives to remember the power of storytelling. When people can see great art, including cartoon characters, and imagine a narrative then you're doing something right. If you're struggling with a piece, or are having some writers block just look at what your influences did. See how they made things work. Take it apart, and try to emulate it. You'll then have a better insight on how visual storytelling works.


Whether you’ve never heard of these characters, or whether they are like old friends I’d like to get your feedback. Is there an old video game that you wish had a remake? Would would you like to see if you were the producer. Or how about this if I were to design tees like these would you be interested in buying them? Would you like to see me take another crack at cartoon art? Are there long lost characters that you’d like to see get a come back? I’m interested in hearing from you! 


I do plan on recording more episodes, as the holiday season rolls up. I may have some time open up, which will allow me more creative breathing room. It would be much welcome, as this summer has been a pressure cooker. For now please enjoy these illustrations, and let me know what you think. 




If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 20

The continuation of the Brawler Series. In this episode we look at the last studios keeping the format alive with sprites, and the publishers that had moved to 3D. What lessons did the studios learn?

 

If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Monday, August 24, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 19

A continuation of the brawler series. What happens when the genre goes 3D? Sega takes two early attempts to make a 3D brawling game. Do you remember these?



If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, August 20, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 18

Two of the greatest brawlers of all time came out in the same year. One in the arcade and one on the home console. Find out what happened to the team that made Konami's best brawlers, and see how Capcom improved upon perfection.


If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Monday, August 17, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 17

Capcom pulls the rug out from Konami with an amazing licensed brawler and Banpresto tries out new technology in the arcade.


If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, August 13, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 16

Konami falls apart in the arcade, and Capcom drops one of the greatest brawling games of all time in this episode.

 

Monday, August 10, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 15

The start of the '90s changed quickly for the brawlers. Fighting games had exploded on the scene. Brawlers took a back seat, but innovated despite the market. Some studios went with more kid friendly options, and a few explored cultures other than the USA or Japan for their content.

If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, August 6, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 14

Sega and Konami released two high profile comic book licensed games in the same year. How many of you got a chance to play either of the titles featured in this episode?


If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Monday, August 3, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 13

1991 was an amazing year for brawlers. SNK released some of the most unique games in the genre, and was poised to take on both Capcom and Konami thanks to their development teams.



If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, July 30, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 12

The brawler series heats up as some of the absolute best brawlers of all time are released in the same year. Will Konami, or Capcom be crowned the king of the brawler?


If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Monday, July 27, 2020

The Street Writer Podcast, Episode 11

We end the '80s on a high note. Konami lays down the law and creates some of the best licensed brawling games of all time. Sega starts off slow but then shines when they enter the console arena. Find out more on this episode.


If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Monday, July 6, 2020

Creating a fighting game Frankenstein's monster...

When I talk about fighting game character designs I usually start with martial artists, and particular styles. Sometimes we look at the pop culture influences behind these designs. Today we’re going to look at the horror, and science fiction roots of a certain character type. The artificial human, the man created by science. We’re familiar with the story, which is as old as Mary Shelley’s original work Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The book from 1818 has been adapted thousands of times, from stage plays, to cartoons, and live action movies. In the story Dr. Victor Frankenstein pieces together a man made from different cadavers, and then brings it to life. He abandons his creation, and the monster is shunned by society because of his grotesqueness. The monster makes it his mission to track down his creator and destroy him. It’s a cautionary tale with many different lessons, one of the most important is what happens to science without ethics.


The creature turning against the creator is the backbone of science fiction. The Terminator movie series is not far removed from the story of Frankenstein. In the movies Cyberdyne Systems loses control of its artificial intelligence SKYNET network. Without the military issuing commands the T-800 robots almost wipe out humanity. The robots covered in organic flesh are very lifelike, and each revision becomes harder and harder for humans to detect. Now the question is whether or not the fighting game genre has ever given audiences a Frankenstein's monster. The short answer is yes, of course it has. Many times in fact. The Terminator appeared in Mortal Kombat 11, the NetherRealm title from 2019. A more literal Frankenstein's monster appeared with Victor Von Gerdenheim in 1994's Vampire / Darkstalkers by Capcom. Yet there were more examples of the humanoid mechanical fighter that were poached by studios.


In the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) the next variation of the cyborg, the T-1000 is made of a liquid metal that allows it to mimic any person, or object. The special effects by Industrial Light and Magic were revolutionary. It was the first time that life-like CGI and practical effects blended seamlessly in a big budget Hollywood movie. The visuals of the T-1000 inspired a generation of artists, animators, and producers. The idea of putting a Terminator-like character in a fighting game were not far behind.


Battle K-Road by Psikyo was a 1994 fighting game that poached heavily from actual fighters, and pop culture. It was notable for using a cyborg that was a dead ringer for Arnold Schwarzenegger from the original 1984 Terminator film. Aside from that, the T-1000 was far more interesting to fighting game developers. The idea that one character could mimic the moves of every fighter was an interesting premise. Of course a fighter that could do this would be overpowered, and not someone that studios would want to make playable. That is possibly why the first character that was poured from the T-1000 mold was Geegus. The silver-skinned boss character from the game World Heroes debuted in 1992. The developers at ADK were coming out with a number of the early brawling, and fighting game hits for the Neo Geo platform.


World Heroes was one of the first, if not the first, time-traveling fighting games. It took a number of characters from history, not all necessarily fighters, and put them in a tournament to determine who was the greatest hero. Geegus was an alien using the tournament as a front to observe, and absorb the moves of every participant. This became a popular trend as other boss characters appeared that were more of less the same. Dural from Virtua Fighter (1993) by SEGA, was the next similar boss design. She had the moves of every fighter in the tournament. This cyborg was based on a human kunoichi, or female ninja fighter. She was the first 3D female boss in a game. The first female boss that predated her (that I know of) was Mizuki Rashojin, who appeared in Samurai Showdown II just a month earlier. Dural could not melt and change shape like Geegus, but the silver skin was nonetheless an impressive technological feat for the time.


The fighting game genre was exploding in the early ’90s. The technology used in arcades was transitioning from sprite to polygon. Rare was on the cutting edge of graphics at the time. They released Killer Instinct in 1994. The game used Silicon Graphics workstations (then the most powerful engines for 3D effects) to create their models, and stages. The game featured a number of fighting archetypes, but one of the most memorable was the alien Glacius. This character did not have the ability to mimic the moves of his opponents, but he was like the T-1000 in that he could change shape. In the Terminator film the T-1000 could turn his appendages into spikes, go completely flat, and slide past opponents. Rare demonstrated that the shape-shifting moves from the film could work in a fighting game.


The challenge was on for the developers. Could they create a playable character that could mimic his opponents without being overpowered? Capcom was up to the task, but their first attempt at creating a move-stealing fighter wasn’t seen by the majority of their fans. The Cyborg appeared in the 1995 game, Street Fighter II: The Interactive Movie. The evil Shadowlaw cyborgs were featured in the SF II animated movie, as they observed, and reported back to Vega (Dictator). In the game the character would learn the special attacks of the fighters at various points in the movie. The robot potentially had the ability to use the super fireball of Ryu, the super dragon punch of Ken, and even the sweeping kicks of Chun-Li. The seven-foot cyborg was essentially the first original Frankenstein's monster in the genre. Although it was a villain, an alternate ending in the game saw the Cyborg turn against Shadowlaw and destroy Vega. Sadly the character wouldn’t appear in another Street Fighter game, but its DNA would be revisited.


A good number of the team members responsible for Street Fighter II wanted to take a crack at the cybernetic mimic. They formed a new studio called ARIKA. They came up with two new characters; Cycloid β (Beta), and Cycloid γ (Gamma). The robots appeared in Street Fighter EX, the original 3D SF game at the end of 1996. What ARIKA did to keep their Cycloids from being overpowered was to give each of them moves from half the cast. In this way they had an even mix of close, mid range, and distance attacks. They also had unique combos that no other character could perform. Their move selection was very much pieced together like Frankenstein. Although they could not shape shift, they were still memorable attempts at making synthetic fighters.


Not to be outdone Capcom wanted to take another crack at the shape shifting, and move stealing monster. Their next attempt would be the last time they developed a sprite-based character. Twelve debuted in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. The game from 1999 was the last numbered Street Fighter to use traditional hand-drawn sprites. This character was very flexible, and rubbery, even when compared to Necro from the same game.  Twelve was not completely fluid, like Geegus or Glacius, he couldn’t exactly flow like water. The animators at Capcom gave him the illusion of weight, and mass, like a rubber tire, rather than a ball of mercury. It could still change shape. The synthetic life form could turns its appendages into blades, or whips. It could glide, and even spring around the stage. In order to prevent Twelve from being overpowered it could only mimic the moves of the character it was currently fighting. It was easily one of the best animated characters from any fighting game, and possibly the closest thing to being a playable T-1000. As far as Frankenstein creatures went, it was a trained weapon, not exactly going against its creators.


Namco had been focused on their own characters, and designs with the Tekken series. They weren’t interested in silver-skinned, bald men as bosses. They already had cyborgs like Jack and P-Jack that were above and beyond the T-800. Their magically animated wooden fighter Mokujin could also emulate its opponent. In 2001 the studio finally decided to create a dedicated robot capable of stealing the moves of its opponent. Combot appeared first in Tekken 4. It was not covered in liquid metal like the T-1000. It looked more like a traditional robot than any other fighter listed thus far. The studio had been paying attention to what Capcom, and ARIKA had done. The character could only mimic the moves of its current opponent. It was a great choice if you wanted to learn the nuances of each character in arcade mode.


The start of the new millennium was pretty quiet for the fighting game community. All of that changed in 2008 with the release of Street Fighter IV. Capcom was eager to get audiences back into the genre and they did so by reintroducing the original World Warriors. The studio also created a new boss that was a call back to Geegus. Seth was the silver-skinned humanoid perfected. The character was the President of S.I.N. the weapons development unit of Shadowlaw. His team used his body to build the perfect weapon. He could emulate, and reflect both special, and super attacks from the fighters he crossed. The character was visually unique, with a rotating power source where his abdomen should be. In the game story it was explained that the Shadowlaw scientists had been able to recreate the moves of the masters using the Tanden Engine. Daigo Ikeno, lead designer on Street Fighter IV pulled a lot of visual elements from Shinto, and Tao spiritual beliefs, and turned them into pseudo-scientific technology.


Capcom didn’t do much in the way of changing the Seth or developing a new boss character over the next decade. The standard had been set early on. Seth was arguably the best original Frankenstein's monster in the genre. Even better because this was as if Victor Frankenstein had built the monsterous body to drop his brain into. In 2019 Capcom decided to revisit Seth for Season Four of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. This time the re-skinned Seth was also assigned a new gender. I’m not sure how much forethought was given to this idea, but I’d like to think it was a progressive statement from Capcom. The change of Seth from a male to female body was written into the story, as the cyborg had its consciousness transferred to a new body. This new form rounded out the abilities of the character, and if anything, made it even more interesting.


The Tanden Engine, was powered by Yin and Yang energy. The opposing forces were required to achieve balance. Being gender-neutral made Seth able to explore both sides of this power source. The duality could be seen in the concept art, as well as in the final design of both versions of Seth. Her standing lotus pose was a call back to the original seated position of the character. But the details in the updated Seth went much deeper than that. Seth’s new haircut covered half her face, literally making it half light, and half dark. A mirrored yin and yang symbol from her stomach. The circular hair bun completed the look.


The use of knots, braids, and ropes for the various character costumes were pulled right from Shinto beliefs. These details were covered previously on the blog. I mentioned how the knots worn on the belts of Gouken, and Gouki had symbolic meanings. The same could be attributed to the hair of Seth. Capcom had created both the genre's original Frankenstein's Monster, and the Bride of Frankenstein with this fighter. Seth in either male or female form was far more powerful, and dangerous than any human. Its creators at S.I.N. had propelled science beyond human understanding. By doing so they created a villain that was immortal, essentially god-like.


The connections to Seth and godhood were not a coincidence. In earlier concept art the designers at Capcom were considering adding a flowing scarf, and top knot. This look was a direct call out to Raijin, the Shinto god of thunder. Audiences were supposed to tell instantly that this was a powerful villain. In many classical paintings, and even statues, Raijin was presented with a flowing scarf. Sometimes holding a vajra, a type of dagger used for striking down evil. The poses, and figures from Buddhism, complimented the Shinto beliefs in Japan. The poses and iconography are sometimes blended together, and easily recognized in Asian countries. While fans in the West may not get all of the mythology behind Seth’s details, they are nonetheless interesting to study and learn from.


We have the technology to create an actual T-1000 character in a fighting game, one that could change shape, and use all of the special attacks of the cast. Time has shown us that such a character would be far too powerful to be anything but a boss design. So for the help of balancing the roster the studios have learned to tone down their moves and abilities. At least Capcom, Namco, ARIKA, and DIMPS learned what Dr. Frankenstein never could. Don't build a monster that you cannot control! What do you think of move-stealing cyborgs in fighting games? Are you for them? Against them? Let me know in the comments section. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!

Thursday, July 2, 2020

The end of an era. A salute to Capcom-Unity...

Hello friends. The closure of Capcom-Unity, at least the old version, has been on my mind for a while. News of its imminent closure had been circulating for a few weeks. Things got very "real" for fans when people that had an account on the site received the email below. That's when we were advised to archive our content, if we wanted it saved. Thankfully about 90% of the material I posted on Capcom-Unity is on this blog in one way or another. Still, I miss the community atmosphere that Capcom had created.
 

Capcom-Unity was the perfect example of a positive web presence that a publisher could develop, maintain, and grow. There were forums where people could reminisce or debate. The mods seemed to be on top of things, helping put out fires before they got out of control. Then there were almost daily news drops. Whether it was a patch to a game, or some juicy reveals. Capcom made sure there was a story for all of their biggest titles. Plus they supported podcasts, and videos from their own team as well as the community. Exclusives on the merch store were tailor-made for the fans of the studio. They were constantly listening to fans, polling them, soliciting feedback. The fighting game community would not have been the same without Capcom-Unity. Their appearances at trade shows, including the E3, WonderCon, San Diego Comic Con, and Tokyo Game Show were for fans, as much as they were for vendors. Their super-secret "Fight Club" debut of Street Fighter IV, V, and Street Fighter X Tekken allowed celebs and fans to mingle over the shared love of fighting games. I am eternally grateful for the site hosting my ramblings for years, and years. I am eternally grateful for all the events the team put on. You really made us, the fans, feel like part of the family. I wish I could thank each and every member of the team personally. Someday I hope to. In the meantime here are a bunch of memories that I will always cherish.




































































































































































If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
follow the Street Writer on Patreon!