OT: MegaMan Powered Up Fanart!

[Ageman20XX]

NOTICE! This initial post will always be updated with any new artwork I do of this...type. So that way, you don't have to scroll through pages of posts looking for the art yourself. I encourage you to read the posts still though! Lots of constructive discussion! Lol. That is, if this ever gets to pages. >_< Thanks for taking a look to anyone who does!

Alright, so, this is my fan-art for the other MegaMan series. MegaMan Powered Up. When Powered Up first came out I was obsessed and decided to 'design' the robot masters for MegaMan Powered Up 2 (if there ever was one made). I also made a bunch of "Powered Up" versions of a few other robots (or navis) as well as a few completely original ones.

That being said, I know some of these are a little old. Some of them I made over a year ago, but seeing as I've never posted 'em here I'm sure there are a lot of people who've never seen them so I'm going to post 'em again for your viewing pleasure. And also, there might be some news ones since you last visited! =P

While the initial designs are pretty old, quite a few of the pieces have received recent - and in some cases, dramatic - revisions. Shading, lineart, colours, proportions, pose, and sometimes entire body parts have updated or changed all together. What you see here on this page today is the result of many, many hours (years even) of revisions trying to get these guys as close to Capcom's Powered Up style as possible while continually growing in my artistic abilities.

And so I invite you take a look. There's a lot of text here for those who are interested and even "attachments" of each pieces source-material and past revisions. I also encourage you to head on over to my portfolio/scrapbook site if you like what you see - I've done far more than just Powered Up artwork and I love visitors.

-Age

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(click on any of the images to go to their respective pages on PlutoLighthouse.NET - from there you can view larger versions of the artwork, leave comments, and see any "attachments" the piece might have)

My Powered Up 2 Fanart (if Powered Up 2 were ever made...)
WoodMan Powered Up Attachments: [WoodMan Pencil Sketch] [WoodMan CG Draft 1] [WoodMan Revised : Gradient]	Title : WoodMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : August 20th 2006 @ 10:54AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series wood man robot master --- I really like the artwork style for the MegaMan Powered Up game so I decided to try my hand at it. The first piece of artwork I decided to try was a Robot Master that had not yet been made into a Powered Up form - WoodMan. WoodMan was, and still is my favorite Robot Master from Mega Man 2 for the NES so he came first for me. The actual style was pretty tricky to mimic at first. I started with a small little pencil doodle in super-chibi form and scanned it in. Then in Flash, (my favorite program for crisp lines and shading) I traced around (not over) the lines. By tracing around the lines, I was able to pull the tracing farther apart and make the lines thicker. This was good, because Powered Up style has huge line thickness. I then chose a colour for the lines (I first started with dark brown but green seemed to fit better later) and then the colouring was no problem. I think this is by-far one of my favorite pieces of artwork - it just turned out so dang well. Lol. I think he's totally adorable and I only wish I had a plushy of him or something...lol. What do you think? --- UPDATE : I can't decide which colour lines to use! Lol. I've been switching back and forth between brown and green outlines but I can't decide which one I like better. I settle on green and then I change my mind and want brown and then it starts over again. They're green right now - I wonder if it'll last. --- UPDATE 2 : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. WoodMan was one of them but recieved the least-amount of changed. I modified the colour of his lineart to be brown (yep, I changed it again, lol) and I added a gradient background. Yay? --- UPDATE 3 : As with the rest of in the series this image has scraped the gradient background of old and has been upgraded to the new retro-background style of the others. A few razor leafs have been scattered for effect and I re-shaded his one eye a bit differently. I think he looks pretty good but there wasn't that much I could have changed - he turned out pretty good the first time.
QuickMan Powered Up Attachments: [QuickMan Pencil Sketch] [QuickMan CG Draft 1]	Title : QuickMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : August 25th 2006 @ 10:56AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series quick man robot master --- I really like the artwork style for the MegaMan Powered Up game so I decided to remake a beloved Robot Master from MegaMan 2 in the same style - QuickMan. This was by suggestion of someone on the MegaMan Network Forums. This version of QuickMan ended up coming out a bit awkward, actually, and I plan on redoing him a bit better in the future. There is another version in this gallery which I did a few months later, but the style isn't the same. Overall, this one is good, just not great. --- UPDATE : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. QuickMan probably needed it the most out of the lot of 'em. I modified the shading a bit, changed his eyes and face completely but there's still something wrong with his design. I just can't get QuickMan! D: --- UPDATE 2 : Using the background-changes of the other pieces as incentive, I decided to give QuickMan a bit more refinement. I've updated his eyes and facial expression again as well as his head shape, a bunch of linework, and some extra shading. Slap the new retro-background on and QuickMan Powered Up finally looks decent. I think I might actually like this one now. Yay!
AirMan Powered Up Attachments: [AirMan Pencil Draft] [AirMan CG Draft 1] [AirMan Revised : Gradient]	Title : AirMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : September 29th 2006 @ 11:01AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series air man robot master --- Continuing with the Trading Card Game artwork, I needed to make artwork for Air Man from MegaMan 2. I think you can tell from the artwork's pose that I was struggling with understanding how to translate Air Man into Powered Up style while at the same time trying to figure out his anatomy and simultaneously trying to make a cool pose. As you can see he looks a little awkward. Lol. Either way, however, I think he turned out nicely. The linework and bright colours, especially. I do think he looks very Powered Up but maybe in a future work I could iron out the flaws and make a true masterpiece. --- UPDATE : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. AirMan was quite obviously one of them. AirMan is one of the the best upgrades in my opinion because it took a piece that was totally devoid of any resemblance to AirMan and made it totally rock. I changed his eyes, a few proportions, some linework, colouring, I added the correct air-vents, some twisters and a better head-shape. I personally think he totally rocks now. "Can't beat AirMan!" --- UPDATE 2 : As with the rest of the Powered Ups I have decided to get rid of the gradient background on this one and instead opting to use the more retro-feeling one used on the rest of the series of pieces. Other than that, however, nothing else has changed.
QuickMan V2 Powered Up (didn't like the other one)	Title : QuickMan : Powered Up! #2 Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : November 29th 2006 @ 11:26AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series quick man robot master --- The original QuickMan Powered Up that I made kind of had a problem with the feet as well as the fact that he was not exactly in an interesting position. Anyway - here is a much nicer and way cooler version of QuickMan Powered Up. He looks much better like this but I still need to redo him in the exact style of Powered Up (with the thick lines etc.)
CrashMan Powered Up Attachments: [CrashMan Marker Draft] [CrashMan CG Draft 1] [CrashMan Revised : Gradient]	Title : CrashMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : September 25th 2007 @ 08:15AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series crash man robot master --- While the card game may not be in production anymore, I still love drawing Powered Up characters, and thus, I decided to CG this one. CrashMan I actually found in my sketchbook from last year, it seems I did a few really awesome Powered Up robots but never CGed them. So here he is - my favorite of the doodles! Don't you love how crazy he looks? And, and we can't forget how adorable. The lines are tight and the colouring is crisp. What more could we ask? --- UPDATE : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. CrashMan was obviously one of them. I changed some subtle details like the eyes and teeth, the pose, a few proportions and most noticeably the colour. I used the eyedropper to lift his colours directly from Capcom's official artwork but for some reason it look totally different in my image. While it's a very obvious red on the official CrashMan, it looks glaringly orange in this image. I'll have to look into this... --- UPDATE 2 : Following-suit with the rest of the Powered Ups I've decided to cut out the Gradient background. With this change comes more appropriate colours, a more obviously modified pose, better proportions, and a few added "effects". Oh, and the retro background that I used for the others. I think this one finally makes CrashMan tolerable - awesome even.
FlashMan Powered Up Attachments: [FlashMan Pencil Draft] [FlashMan CG Draft 1] [FlashMan Revised : Gradient]	Title : FlashMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : September 26th 2007 @ 08:23PM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series flash man robot master --- Continuing with the Powered Up conversions, I decided to do FlashMan Powered Up! and now I'm almost done with all the robots from MegaMan 2! FlashMan, I think, has one of the best poses of the series and certainly kicks some major butt as far as linework and colouring goes. I love him. *glomp* Looking back on it a day later, I can see that I went a little overboard with the thick-lines. I'll try and correct that in my new Powered Up! --- UPDATE : Looking back on it a day later, I can see that I went a little overboard with the thick-lines. I'll try and correct that in the new Powered Up! I'm working on. And I think something is wrong with his face... he looks like a cat or something. --- UPDATE 2 : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. FlashMan was obviously one of them. Of all my Powered Up revisions, this one is my absolute favorite. I didn't quite get Flash Man before but I feel like I've captured a little more of what makes him awesome in this revision. --- UPDATE 3 : Though the background I put on the previous version was nice, it didn't quite feel MegaMan-enough. Originally I had lifted the background gradient from the official Smash Bros Brawl website and used it for this piece's background but I can see now that it's clearly better-suited for 3D characters. And so, now we have this new background - a more retro, flashy stripe on a white background. Plain, but effective with a hint of flare for effect. I personally think this background/presentation looks much better, but I've added the version with the original background as an attachment for those who would like to view/compare.
BubbleMan Powered Up Attachments: [BubbleMan Pencil Draft] [BubbleMan CG Draft 1] [BubbleMan Revised : Gradient]	Title : BubbleMan : Powered Up Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : July 11th 2008 @ 11:12AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series bubble man robot master --- Wow, this took a while. Might not seem like it, being posted so soon after NumberMan Powered Up, but this really did take a long time. I worked on NumberMan casually throughout a single day - this one I worked on non-stop for hours spread out over three days. That being said - I really like how it (finally) turned out. And I don't just say that because it took a long time to CG - I've had this drawn for quite a while now - maybe over a year? It's just now that I finally felt I could CG it and despite a few...falters...I think I did okay for myself. Overall, I think he's super cute and I'm glad I finally got him out of the way because I knew he'd be a challenge. Not quite sure why, but I wasn't looking forward to him. He's got a strange angle and I wish I would have picked a better pose while drawing, but that's how it goes. As far as CGing goes, there are a few things to be said. Shading and all that jazz is pretty standard Ageman-quality stuff here - not great, but also not bad. Lineart, however, was a little bit strange for this one. I tried using the same method I did for NumberMan, but had to slightly tweak it. This actually made things much more difficult than normal. The fact that there are a lot more lines [than NumberMan] didn't help, but I managed. The other thing about the lineart is that this time I didn't use the same outline-matches-fill approach that I did for NumberMan and kept with the single-colour dark green. I think it turned out fairly well but if I'm going to be honest, I still feel I have a long way to go before I reach official-art quality. Oh, by the way - this [Flash] file used a LOT of layers. This made it easier for some things (like rearranging body parts) and extremely difficult and time-consuming for others. Lol. I'll probably refine the process by the next Powered Up. As far as design is concerned, he's okay. Cute even. I took a lot of liberties, as always, and some I'm more happy with than others. The proportions were a big one, being Powered Up and all, but also the size (and shape) of his head. I wanted to present him as a playful, baby-like robot and I think the big head helps. Haha. The eye lids also gave me a lot of trouble - having to redo them several times - but the final result serves it's purpose, I think. (On the first attempt at his eyes, he looked very high...not something I wanted in the final but I did find it rather amusing...maybe I should post it too?). On an end-note, I'd like to apologize for the long description, but I've decided to take a blog-like-approach to all my descriptions from now on (seeings as they eventually make their way to my new blog anyway). That, and it's nice to be able to go back to these in a few years and really have an idea what was going on with the piece. Anyway, thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think in the comments! --- UPDATE : Seems I made an error with the mouth-parts. Glitcher pointed it out to me but it took me a while to understand what he meant, lol - the parallel lines that go across his mouth-piece were curved in the wrong direction based on his angle. I fixed 'em up though. He still looks odd though... --- UPDATE 2 : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. BubbleMan was less-obviously one of them. I didn't end up changing anything significant. I straightened a line or two but this was really just an upgrade of background. There's still something about him that needs to be changed though - I just can't figure out what. --- UPDATE 3 : Alright, so I finally caved and gave BubbleMan a full-refinement and a new background to boot! The gradient backgrounds in the previous version were kind of dull and this gave me an excuse to revise some of the more flimsy elements of his design. First and foremost, his eyes have changed - featuring bigger, darker pupils now farther-spaced apart. His head-shape has become less circular and shaped more with the perspective and his ear bud has been appropriately moved. The biggest changes, however, are with the mouth-piece getting yet-another reworking and the hand-up peace sign being completely removed in favor of a clenched-first. The reworking of the eyes make BubbleMan appear more angry/serious and peace sign just didn't fit the image anymore.

My Battle Network Conversions (Battle Network Net-Navis turned into Robot Masters!)
LarkMan Powered Up Attachments: [LarkMan Pencil Draft]	Title : LarkMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : September 30th 2006 @ 11:04AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series lark man robot master --- Again, continuing with the Trading Card Game artwork, I decided to do something new...kind of. You see, the MegaMan Battle Network franchise is loosely based off the original Mega Man games but only in the sense that it uses the same boss names and slightly modifies their designs to look more like Navis (the series' term for the bosses and other computerized characters). I did the opposite. I took a boss that was made exclusively for the MegaMan Battle Network series and converted to a MegaMan Powered Up robot! Now, trying to be as modest as I can I have to say this picture/design totally rocks. I captured what made LarkMan.EXE (the Navi) cool and converted it to what a Robot Master would look like (in super cute form)! The pose is fairly standard, so that could have been worked on - but the design, the lineart, and the colours are awesome. I can't find too much wrong with it and I'm very proud of it. He's right up there next to Wood Man.
SharkMan Powered Up Attachments: [SharkMan Pencil Draft]	Title : SharkMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : October 9th 2006 @ 11:06AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series shark man original character robot master --- Still working on the MegaMan Powered Up TCG, I now needed an Aqua-type robot. I decided to do "SkarkMan" and my design idea was kind of interesting. You see, there was a MegaMan game a wile back called "MegaMan PC" and while licensed by Capcom, it wasn't made by them (and you could totally tell). There was a robot named SharkMan in it that looks like SnakeMan but with a shark-like helmet instead. Then, when MegaMan Battle Network came out, they decided to make a Net Navi based off the unofficial SharkMan robot..which looked more like a shark than a person/robot. For my deisgn of SharkMan Powered Up (a robot that didn't officially exist) I decided to combine both elements to form a new design. Overall, I think he's totally adorable and I really like him a lot. It could have something to do with the fact that he looks very similar to a Lugia from Pokemon, but I digress. Still a very cute robot.
CosmoMan Powered Up Attachments: [CosmoMan Pencil Draft] [CosmoMan CG Draft 1]	Title : CosmoMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : October 10th 2006 @ 11:15AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series cosmo man robot master --- This is another character I converted from Battle Network over to classic Powered Up form for use in my MegaMan Powered Up TCG. CosmoMan, in short, turned out amazingly. He's based on the evil Net Navi in MegaMan Battle Network "CosmoMan.EXE". I really don't know what to say as I think he turned out so well. The lines are tight, the colours are vibrant, and the cuteness is overwhelming. My only gripe is that I didn't make him sooner. --- UPDATE : I've decided to start refining some of my older Powered Ups - giving them backgrounds, adjusting shading/colour, redoing certain lineart, etc. CosmoMan was one of them. While nothing dramatic has changed from his original version, I did try to make the star-backgrounds more pronounced in his orb-like-areas as well as a neat little light-effect in his hand. Oh, and his eyes got more awesome.
NumberMan Powered Up Attachments: [NumberMan Pencil Draft]	Title : NumberMan : Powered Up Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : July 5th 2008 @ 11:40PM Mediums : Adobe Flash Adobe Photoshop Tags : mega man powered up series number man robot master --- Been a while since I did any Powered Up conversions! Lol. Not as long as my last lull, but still. What are we looking at? Well, this is another piece in my line of art in the style of Capcom's "MegaMan Powered Up". I am more fond of that game than I think anyone knows. Lol. Anyway - this Powered Up is not of an existing Robot Master. This is actually a NetNavi-to-RobotMaster conversion like SharkMan Powered Up. And like SharkMan Powered Up, I took quite a few liberties with this design. Only keeping the colour-scheme and dice from the original (whereas CosmoMan Powered Up was pretty much a direct copy of his Navi form...just chibi). Why NumberMan? I think he is one of the coolest original Navis in the EXE/Battle Network series. I even kinda liked him in the anime...don't know why though. Haha. But yeah, he was pretty cool so I decided to use him as a base. Obviously his hands-as-mits might look a bit lazy, it probably was at the time, actually. I actually drew this a while ago...maybe 1 or 2 years ago? I just didn't colour it until now, and even though I didn't change the mits, I did change a lot of other things from the original pencil. If I did him again I'd give him classic NumberMan.exe hands, but for now the mits'll do. As far as everything else goes, I actually think this one turned out well. I tried something new with the linework and hopefully it comes across as well as I hoped it would. Let me know what you think so I can adjust for future efforts. So yeah, overall, I really like it.

My Original Robots (Robot Masters I completely made up, lol.)
HallowMan Powered Up Attachments: [HallowMan Pencil Draft]	Title : HallowMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : September 15th 2006 @ 10:59AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series hallow man original character robot master --- After the success of the first two Powered Up artworks, and the obvious fact that Capcom wasn't going to be making a MegaMan Powered Up 2 regardless of the popularity of it - I decided to make something of my own. A MegaMan Powered Up : Trading Card Game. Big deal, I know. >_< I actually put a lot of work into the game, the cards, and the artwork. I even decided to make up some bosses that would be exclusive to the card game and didn't exist in the actual games! This, Hallow Man, is one of them. Hallow Man isn't a real Robot Master - I just made him for the card game because I needed a Dark Type for series one. The actual design of Hallow Man leaves something to be desired, and the colouring/linework/pose looks rushed. He's not horrible, but he's certainly not my best work. But hey, I didn't have anything to go on so I say kudos to me for making a good effort!
BlossomMan Powered Up Attachments: [BlossomMan Pencil Draft]	Title : BlossomMan : Powered Up! Artist(s) : Ageman20XX Published : November 27th 2006 @ 11:20AM Mediums : Adobe Flash Tags : mega man powered up series blossom man original character robot master --- I needed a new Wood-type robot for the MegaMan Powered Up TCG I was working on so I decided to invent one. This is BlossomMan and he's intended to be a kind of precursor to PlantMan. BlossomMan aids in the growth of organic plant-life and was created due to the dramatic decrease in rain forests in favor of technology. BlossomMan is very kind-hearted and very timid. It doesn't like to fight but for times when it is forced to it has been equipped with a Solar-Powered "Blossom Cannon". I think BlossomMan's design is adorable...and the linework is great too. I love it's colours and have always thought they looked nice together. The design for BlossomMan actually comes from a (highly modified) version of a classic robot I designed a LONG time ago which you can find under the name "MegaMan 9 Doodles" elsewhere in the gallery.

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So...what do you guys think of these ones? I know there's a lot to look at here, but I'd like to know what you guys think of each of them. What worked, what didn't. I like each of my new additions to be the result of what I learned from the last...lol. So any type of comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.

-Age

[Pitch]

Absolutely it's okay to post other artwork here. For future reference, it's right in the description of the Fan Stuff board:

Artwork, Fiction, websites, show off your latest work. Doesn't have to be Legends.

That said, awesome pics. I love the Powered Up style, and it's awesome seeing other robot masters in that look. Can't wait to see more if you do them.

I'm not much good at pointing out problems with pictures.. I did notice that version 1 of Quickman has thicker lineart in places than the other guys.. and then version 2 has thinner lineart than the others. I could just be imagining that.. and for all I know there's nothing wrong with that. Really just seemed like a consistency thing. And then, the end of Airman's buster arm seems kind of rough; it's barely important, but it was something that hit me right off the bat. That's all I can really see. (Nevermind that.. the high-res version looks much smoother)

I don't know 3 of the 4 Navis you posted. But they all look nice.

And I love your original designs. Not only well made, but creatively designed too. Very nice job.

EDIT: Oooh hey, semi off-topic, but nice trick with the avatar, too.

[Ageman20XX]

Jul 6, 2008 12:51:31 GMT -5 Pitch said:

Absolutely it's okay to post other artwork here. For future reference, it's right in the description of the Fan Stuff board:

Artwork, Fiction, websites, show off your latest work. Doesn't have to be Legends.

Oh good, lol. Guess I missed that.

That said, awesome pics. I love the Powered Up style, and it's awesome seeing other robot masters in that look. Can't wait to see more if you do them.

Can't wait to do more - they're actually a lot of fun. This new lineart style I tried for NumberMan isn't the same as the "official method", but I think it looks rather nice so I'm probably gonna keep with it on the next one. I feel a watery Robot Master coming up next...hmmm. Lol.

I'm not much good at pointing out problems with pictures.. I did notice that version 1 of Quickman has thicker lineart in places than the other guys.. and then version 2 has thinner lineart than the others. I could just be imagining that.. and for all I know there's nothing wrong with that. Really just seemed like a consistency thing.

You're actually completely right. The first one (aside from just being a weird drawing) also had far-too-thick lines and is part of the reason I didn't like him (and wanted to do another).

As far as the second one was concerned, it was actually going to be a more-accurate version...or at least that was the plan. As it turned out, however, my MegaMan Powered Up TCG was in full-swing at-the-time (or at least I thought it was) and I wanted to make the MegaMan Network it's own special promo card. Because it was gonna be "promo", I figured the artwork should look slightly different than the rest and hence the thinner-than-normal artwork. One extreme to the next...lol. Maybe one day I'll do a 'proper' redo.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, here is the "promo" card it was going to be used for (before the project got halted forever...lol).

And then, the end of Airman's buster arm seems kind of rough; it's barely important, but it was something that hit me right off the bat. That's all I can really see. (Nevermind that.. the high-res version looks much smoother)

You're probably right, still. I remember being all OCD over the card game and ended up rushing AirMan so he looks pretty sloppy. He's another one I plan on redoing again.

While I'm talking about do-overs - does the line-work method I used for NumberMan look convincing? Like...does it look like Powered Up art? FlashMan was the most recent one I did where I manually traced out the thicknesses for each line. NumberMan was done more automatically and mechanically. Can you tell the different much or is there a noticeable quality loss?

Lol. Sorry for asking so much questions...I like feedback.

I don't know 3 of the 4 Navis you posted. But they all look nice.

Haha, probably not worth-the-time to keep with with the Battle Network Navis anyway...one of my least-liked series by far...lol. Wasn't always that way but...anyway. Just in case (and for reference) I posted sprites/official artwork links for all the conversions so people can weigh in. [EDIT: I just added all the reference art/sprites for the Navi conversions - hope this helps a bit! ]

And I love your original designs. Not only well made, but creatively designed too. Very nice job.

Thanks a bunch! HallowMan I can't really say much about (I just needed a dark type and he's all I came up with, lol), but I really like how BlossomMan turned out. He's totally cute...lol.

EDIT: Oooh hey, semi off-topic, but nice trick with the avatar, too.

Thanks! It's a php trick. Not sure if you know how to already, or if anyone else wants to know but...


<?php
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/*                  Matt Sims' PHP Sig Rotator V1.3                 */
/*                                                                  */
/* This script takes an inventory of all image files in a directory */
/* and displays one at random. All you need to do is save this code */
/* in a directory that contains your images (name it what you will, */
/* but make sure it has a ".php" extension). Then just link to this */
/* script to get your random image.                                 */
/*                                                                  */
/* I would recommend naming this file "index.php," and then you can */
/* just link to the directory itself (like I do in my example).     */
/*                                                                  */
/* [e-mail]                                            */
/* www.evilmerc.com                                                 */
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

if ($dir = opendir("."))
{
    $list = buildimagearray($dir);
    displayrandomimage($list);
}

// This function reads all the files in the current directory and adds all image files to the array $list[]

function buildimagearray($dir)
{
    while (false !== ($file = readdir($dir)))
    {
         if (!is_dir($file) && getimagesize($file))
         {
              $list[] = $file;
         }
    }
    return $list;
}

// This function selects a random image, determines the mime type, opens the file for reading,
// and then outputs the image

function displayrandomimage($list)
{
    srand ((double) microtime() * 10000000);
    $sig = array_rand ($list);

    $size = getimagesize ($list[$sig]);
    $fp = fopen($list[$sig], "rb");

    if ($size && $fp)
    {
         header("Content-type: {$size['mime']}");
         fpassthru($fp);
         exit;
    }
}
?>


Copy/paste that into a txt file and save it as rand.php.jpeg in it's own folder (which will be the folder you place all the randomized avatars in). And then of course, upload it. Then, just give the address for your rand.php.jpeg when the forums asks for your avatar, and it should automatically randomize any images in that folder. Lol. Sorry - thought people might wanna know.

-Age
Sorry for long-post!

[Buster Cannon]

Those are pretty good. The Quickman and Blossomman ones are my personal favorites. Just out of curiosity, have you considered doing this with the Megaman X characters?

[Pitch]

Watery Robot Master.. Another MegaMan 2 one? Because that would be awesome.

Aah.. you know now that I look at your descriptions, I think the lineart thing is mentioned in there. Sorry, I kind of skimmed those.

And I just realized I know Sharkman too.. haven't played that first game in years. So that's 2 out of 4 then. I played Battle Network up until #4. I stopped after that. I've heard 6 was good, but I don't really have the interest to play any more.

About Numberman.. I'd say it looks fine, but the method of lineart in the others really does lend itself well to the style. There's nothing wrong with the other style, but the difference is noticeable. Still, I'd be willing to bet that if you played around with that new style a little more, it would work very nicely.

Oh, but I like Hallowman. Some finer details would be nice(particularly the hands; maybe leave one hand as is, and give the other claws or something else scary), but that's still pretty original compared to most of what Capcom itself has done with the later games. But, honestly, how much else could you have done with pumpkins?

BlossomMan's really cool too(I love the plant-themed robot masters). The pose is.. interesting. Is he supposed to be like camera shy? Oh, and I see you said that's from some old “MegaMan 9 Doodles..” in light of the recent news about MegaMan 9, is there any chance you'll do some female robot masters?


I've seen those random image scripts before. I'd actually tried randomizing my siggy images once, but to no avail.. I'd assumed the PHP stuff doesn't work on Proboards, but I guess I was wrong. Either way, the effect is pretty nice, with the Powered Up pictures. *thumbs up*

[mirak]

I loved the design of Numberman, it's head looks better that way than the original.
Hallowman is simply adorable, but needs more metal planks, also i concur with green's point of view about another weapon added instead of a pumpkin ball for let's say, the right hand, maybe?

I need your price estimates for commisions.

[Dragge]

I really liked Powered Up and your art is amazing!

[Ageman20XX]

LONG POST AHEAD!!! LOL!!!

Jul 6, 2008 15:23:06 GMT -5 Buster Cannon said:

Those are pretty good. The Quickman and Blossomman ones are my personal favorites. Just out of curiosity, have you considered doing this with the Megaman X characters?

Thanks! While I don't particularily like the QuickMan(s) very much (have my own reasons), I do like the BlossomMan one too! Haha. That one came from the heart. >_<

As far as X stuff...I dunno. As much as I love the X Series (and I really do), I just don't see myself ever doing an X Series Powered Up...I mean maybe someday, but I just don't think I will. No offense, of course, lol - I just personally don't think the X-series designs lend themselves to the Powered Up art-style enough. That being said though, you never know what'll happen. Maybe someday I'll try anyway?

-----------------------------

Jul 6, 2008 15:47:47 GMT -5 Pitch said:

Watery Robot Master.. Another MegaMan 2 one? Because that would be awesome.

Haha, you're on to me! *shhhh*

Aah.. you know now that I look at your descriptions, I think the lineart thing is mentioned in there. Sorry, I kind of skimmed those.

That's cool, I didn't really explain it very well in the descriptions anyway, and they are quite the read so I expect most to skim them anyway...lol. I just put them there in case...haha.

And I just realized I know Sharkman too.. haven't played that first game in years. So that's 2 out of 4 then. I played Battle Network up until #4. I stopped after that. I've heard 6 was good, but I don't really have the interest to play any more.

I played 2-5 start to finish. The first I dipped into years later (just to see what it was like) and I never laid a hand on 6. At the time, I liked 'em a lot, but I grew tired of the series after 3, 4 really pushed the line, and after buying 5 a second time on the DS I was done. The series certainly had it's shining elements - but overall it got old very fast. (I feel the same way about Star Force...which is essentially the same game)

About Numberman.. I'd say it looks fine, but the method of lineart in the others really does lend itself well to the style. There's nothing wrong with the other style, but the difference is noticeable. Still, I'd be willing to bet that if you played around with that new style a little more, it would work very nicely.

Hmmm, okay. I like the new style a lot - there are actually two very different things I did with the style. The first was having each outline change colour based on what it was outlining (obvious one) and then the other was obviously have all the lines the same thickness - mechanically drawn. If you don't mind me asking, which part of the new style (the colour, of the lines) distanced it from the official style more? Like, which part needs to be worked on (or scrapped)? Lol.

Oh, but I like Hallowman. Some finer details would be nice(particularly the hands; maybe leave one hand as is, and give the other claws or something else scary), but that's still pretty original compared to most of what Capcom itself has done with the later games. But, honestly, how much else could you have done with pumpkins?

Haha, thanks. And in future iterations of HallowMan (and if I ever plan to actually use him in something), I plan to refine his design a bit. Some of your suggestions might make it into the new one too...lol.

BlossomMan's really cool too(I love the plant-themed robot masters). The pose is.. interesting. Is he supposed to be like camera shy? Oh, and I see you said that's from some old “MegaMan 9 Doodles..” in light of the recent news about MegaMan 9, is there any chance you'll do some female robot masters?

About BlossomMan, yeah - he's camera shy. Lol. I thought that would be a nice part of his personality. Not sure if I mentioned this in the descriptions, but most of my made-up RMs or navi-conversions were actually to balance out the card game.

Not to go into too much detail, but the cards were actually gonna be grouped into "Wily Bots" and "Light Bots", with future expansions adding "Cossak Bots" etc. I figured that most of Light's robots had a kind/cute/innocent demeanor to them (even the turned-bad ones like CutMan, etc.) so when I needed a Wood type (the card game's "Grass Type") for Light...BlossomMan felt perfect. Lol. Because it's so cute. >_<

As far as females, I'll have to wait and see how Capcom designs this Splash Woman...so that I know what kind of elements define a "girl" RM in the Classic Series world. Then I just might make some lady bots. (Although, to be fair, I really don't like the use of "Woman" in the name.... I'd prefer they took the Battle Network route and named the ladies just without the "Man" part... Like "Ring" instead of "RingMan", etc.)

I've seen those random image scripts before. I'd actually tried randomizing my siggy images once, but to no avail.. I'd assumed the PHP stuff doesn't work on Proboards, but I guess I was wrong. Either way, the effect is pretty nice, with the Powered Up pictures. *thumbs up*

Thanks! Hope it works for you in the future (if you ever plan to use it, I mean.)

-----------------------------

Jul 6, 2008 16:37:47 GMT -5 @mirak said:

I loved the design of Numberman, it's head looks better that way than the original.
Hallowman is simply adorable, but needs more metal planks, also i concur with green's point of view about another weapon added instead of a pumpkin ball for let's say, the right hand, maybe?

I need your price estimates for commisions.

Thanks about NumberMan! I didn't think I'd like him when he was just in pencil form, but I actually do like how he turned out, so thanks a bunch!

As far as HallowMan, again, I agree. Expect a new and improved version sometime in the future...lol.

As far as commisions, I've never done one before... so yeah. PM me and we'll discuss it. Thanks!

-----------------------------

Jul 6, 2008 19:46:13 GMT -5 Dragge said:

I really liked Powered Up and your art is amazing!

Thanks a bunch!

-----------------------------

Well, sorry for the long-ass post. >_< Just wanted to make sure I replied to everyone! I'll post the new Powered Up as soon as I'm done, so hold tight! Haha.

Also, you should check my site if you like my stuff...which is in my sig.

Thanks again to everyone who commented!

-Age

[Glitcher]

I've always admired your PU artwork, Ageman, particularly Air Man whom I had saved when he was featured on the weekly gift art. You've done well in capturing the art style and spirit of the characters like the maniacal Crash Man. Your original character's aren't too bad. I'm getting a Plant Man vibe from BlossomMan, but I think he's different enough to distinguish himself. Although HallowMan's eyes are creepy, I don't think it fits the established style. How many Robot Masters do you know have glowing, beady eyes?

Nevertheless, this is a great accomplishment and I'm eager to see more of your PU art.

[Pitch]

I played the Battle Networks in order.. 1 and 2 were already out when I started; shortly after I got through those, 3 came out, played that, loved it, played 4 in Japanese, loved it, played it again when it came out in English, did a double take, then turned and ran away.. somehow this story overlaps with the one about how I ended up here, actually.

On the matter of the new NumberMan style, my main concern is the appropriately varied thickness of the lines. It's a bit more of a cartoony look almost, and that works quite well with the Powered Up style. Or maybe it just seems like a little more detail. I'm really not sure; stuff like this is probably why I fail at art. Anyway, I think what I want to say here is that it's probably more a matter of my personal opinion that the old style looks cooler.

[Ageman20XX]

Jul 9, 2008 18:32:55 GMT -5 Glitcher said:

I've always admired your PU artwork, Ageman, particularly Air Man whom I had saved when he was featured on the weekly gift art. You've done well in capturing the art style and spirit of the characters like the maniacal Crash Man. Your original character's aren't too bad. I'm getting a Plant Man vibe from BlossomMan, but I think he's different enough to distinguish himself. Although HallowMan's eyes are creepy, I don't think it fits the established style. How many Robot Masters do you know have glowing, beady eyes?

Nevertheless, this is a great accomplishment and I'm eager to see more of your PU art.

I can't say how much it joys me to get a comment from you. You've been one of my biggest art-idols for a while, always striving to be as flawless-in-execution as you. Lol. So...thank you. A lot.

That being said. I agree with everything you said about HallowMan - he's probably the one I want to redo the most (but that's for another time). As far as AirMan is concerned though, I can't believe you like him! Lol. He's one of the ones I'm kinda "meh" on, but if you like him I guess he isn't too bad. XD

Anyway, thank you so much for all you said - it's really awesome to have someone like you comment on my art. <3

Jul 11, 2008 0:06:54 GMT -5 Pitch said:

On the matter of the new NumberMan style, my main concern is the appropriately varied thickness of the lines. It's a bit more of a cartoony look almost, and that works quite well with the Powered Up style. Or maybe it just seems like a little more detail. I'm really not sure; stuff like this is probably why I fail at art. Anyway, I think what I want to say here is that it's probably more a matter of my personal opinion that the old style looks cooler.

Yeah, the lines are kind of...different. I like the NumberMan line-style a lot, myself, but I think it would be better reserved for some other kind of art. As far as Powered Up art is concerned, I think I'll work some more on getting the official style down...

Oh...and by the way....



FINALLY!

I've been wanting to do this one for a while, but never got around to it. I always hint at it too, but end up disappointing when I don't actually do it. Lol. Anyway, here it finally is! Only a few more MM2 'bots before I can start doing random requests (a few I remember being SkullMan, Duo, TopMan...who else was there?).

Wow, this took a while. Might not seem like it, being posted so soon after NumberMan Powered Up, but this really did take a long time. I worked on NumberMan casually throughout a single day - this one I worked on non-stop for hours spread out over three days.

That being said - I really like how it (finally) turned out. And I don't just say that because it took a long time to CG - I've had this drawn for quite a while now - maybe over a year? It's just now that I finally felt I could CG it and despite a few...falters...I think I did okay for myself.

Overall, I think he's super cute and I'm glad I finally got him out of the way because I knew he'd be a challenge. Not quite sure why, but I wasn't looking forward to him. He's got a strange angle and I wish I would have picked a better pose while drawing, but that's how it goes.

As far as CGing goes, there are a few things to be said. Shading and all that jazz is pretty standard Ageman-quality stuff here - not great, but also not bad. Lineart, however, was a little bit strange for this one. I tried using the same method I did for NumberMan, but had to slightly tweak it. This actually made things much more difficult than normal. The fact that there are a lot more lines [than NumberMan] didn't help, but I managed. The other thing about the lineart is that this time I didn't use the same outline-matches-fill approach that I did for NumberMan and kept with the single-colour dark green.

I think it turned out fairly well but if I'm going to be honest, I still feel I have a long way to go before I reach official-art quality.

Oh, by the way - this [Flash] file used a LOT of layers. This made it easier for some things (like rearranging body parts) and extremely difficult and time-consuming for others. Lol. I'll probably refine the process by the next Powered Up.

As far as design is concerned, he's okay. Cute even. I took a lot of liberties, as always, and some I'm more happy with than others. The proportions were a big one, being Powered Up and all, but also the size (and shape) of his head. I wanted to present him as a playful, baby-like robot and I think the big head helps. Haha. The eye lids also gave me a lot of trouble - having to redo them several times - but the final result serves it's purpose, I think.

(On the first attempt at his eyes, he looked very high...not something I wanted in the final but I did find it rather amusing...maybe I should post it too?).

On an end-note, I'd like to apologize for the long description, but I've decided to take a blog-like-approach to all my descriptions from now on (seeings as they eventually make their way to my new blog anyway). That, and it's nice to be able to go back to these in a few years and really have an idea what was going on with the piece.

Anyway, thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think in the comments!

-Age

[Buster Cannon]

Wow, that Bubbleman is awesome! You should definitely do more water/ice (my personal favorite) element Robot Masters when you get the chance. I wonder how Frostman would look like in the PU style. That'd probably be a challenge, trying to make him cute but threatening. ;D Diveman or Waveman would probably look awesome too. Not really requests on my part, just speculating here.

[Ageman20XX]

Thanks a lot! I still have some more MegaMan 2 bots to do...but I can promise you there's another water/ice type on the way as soon as their done. Who will it be?

-Age

[Glitcher]

Ah, Bubble Man. The more the merrier. It's a cute pose and design, but I think you could have done a lot more with this addition. What happened to the thick line art seen on your earlier designs? I think it emphasized the cartoony look. And if you've seen the art of PU Cut Man and Elec Man, you'd know that his eyelids should be lower in a threatening stare. Oh, and be careful which way you curve the lines on his face mask depending on the viewing angle. Schoolboy error, Ageman. *slaps wrists*

[Ageman20XX]

XD

Maybe I should redo BubbleMan with my old style?

As for the eyelids, I used to have 'em lower, but it just made him look stoned. Maybe I could try again? As for the mask, I tried to make it a lot more rounded than the original...maybe that's what you're referring to? I can't find the problem(s) with the curves you speak of. :S

-Age

EDIT: I looked at BubbleMan again in comparison to the other Powered Ups I did - are his lines really that bad? :S