STRYFE
What do you get when to mix a gimp on steroids with a food processor? You get one of the most ridiculous characters and costumes the 90's ever spewed forth, Stryfe! I'll hand in my geek card and admit that I know next to nothing about this character other than he's a clone of Cable and whenever he pees he has a 50% chance of turning himself into an Unsullied. I don' t understand his costume at all. Is it all metal? It can't be, how the hell would he sit down? So, if it's not metal then maybe some sort of vinyl or latex? Which just makes me think he's into some kinky fetish stuff. Seriously, it's like Liefeld got wind that everyone was making fun of all his pouches, so he shat out this pouchless, monochromatic character but still couldn't resist adding nonsensical spikes and blades protruding off every limb. He must have loved Wolverine's mask so much but it wasn't quite extreme enough so he just added 3 more! Oh, and if there was ever a design choice that could sum up the 90's, it would be... off-centered metal nipples.
Ok, ok. I'm probably pissing some people off. Despite the ludicrous design, he does make for a cool ass action figure!
The recipe is once again very simple:
Head/Body/Arms: Marvel Universe Colossus
Lower Legs: Marvel Universe Omega Red
And an EXTREEEEEME amount of sculpt!!!
So my customer and I went back on forth on how he wanted this figure to look. He didn't want the perfectly smooth chromed out look, and he didn't want the more techy modern look. So we settled somewhere in between. He's still covered head to toe in armor, but we wanted to make it look like he's actually been in a few battles. I also took some artistic license and ditched the metal nipples. Sorry purists. Seriously, male nipples are already worthless, so why the hell would you add them to a costume? If those have some stupid lore behind them, please enlighten me. Actually, please don't. I don't want to know.
The armor was made with a combo materials. I used polystyrene to allow the armor and blades to extend off the figure. For all the rigid armor I used Aves. For all the pieces that needed to retain flexibility like the spikes, loincloth belt thingy, and shoulder pads I used the 60/40 blend of Procreate. If you'd like to see how I made these types of armor pieces check out the tutorial here. The helmet was made using all three techniques! The fine detailing on top was sculpted with Aves, the mask portion needed to be flexible so I made that out of Procreate, and the fins needed to be sharp so I attached carefully cut pieces of polystyrene to the sides of his head. That was by far the most difficult part of this whole figure. My customer didn't want the flat layered fins that he's usually shown with, but rather 3 individual fins on each side of the head to create a more dynamic 3D effect.
After I sculpted everything I smoothed it all out with a LOT of sanding and polishing. Then I took a knife and jacked it all up! But really, I added some carefully placed divots and scrapes so he didn't look like he just came out of the dishwasher.
And lastly I made him a sweet wired cape. Maybe one day I'll invest in a sewing machine so I can make perfectly hemmed garments but I'd rather leave that up to the other talented artist out there who have dedicated themselves to that art form. If you'd like to see how I made the cape check out my tutorial here.
He was then finished off with a chromed out paint job. I used Spaz Stix mirror chrome which can be airbrushed over a gloss black base coat to give an ultra shiny finish. I then added a black wash to bring out all the detail and battle damage. The only issue I've had when using chrome paints is if you handle the figure too much it can wear off. So, to protect the paint I added a light gloss coat which dulls the chrome finish a little bit but that plays in with the whole gritty look we were going for.
Thank you for looking and feel free to ask a question or leave a comment below!
Ok, ok. I'm probably pissing some people off. Despite the ludicrous design, he does make for a cool ass action figure!
The recipe is once again very simple:
Head/Body/Arms: Marvel Universe Colossus
Lower Legs: Marvel Universe Omega Red
And an EXTREEEEEME amount of sculpt!!!
So my customer and I went back on forth on how he wanted this figure to look. He didn't want the perfectly smooth chromed out look, and he didn't want the more techy modern look. So we settled somewhere in between. He's still covered head to toe in armor, but we wanted to make it look like he's actually been in a few battles. I also took some artistic license and ditched the metal nipples. Sorry purists. Seriously, male nipples are already worthless, so why the hell would you add them to a costume? If those have some stupid lore behind them, please enlighten me. Actually, please don't. I don't want to know.
The armor was made with a combo materials. I used polystyrene to allow the armor and blades to extend off the figure. For all the rigid armor I used Aves. For all the pieces that needed to retain flexibility like the spikes, loincloth belt thingy, and shoulder pads I used the 60/40 blend of Procreate. If you'd like to see how I made these types of armor pieces check out the tutorial here. The helmet was made using all three techniques! The fine detailing on top was sculpted with Aves, the mask portion needed to be flexible so I made that out of Procreate, and the fins needed to be sharp so I attached carefully cut pieces of polystyrene to the sides of his head. That was by far the most difficult part of this whole figure. My customer didn't want the flat layered fins that he's usually shown with, but rather 3 individual fins on each side of the head to create a more dynamic 3D effect.
After I sculpted everything I smoothed it all out with a LOT of sanding and polishing. Then I took a knife and jacked it all up! But really, I added some carefully placed divots and scrapes so he didn't look like he just came out of the dishwasher.
And lastly I made him a sweet wired cape. Maybe one day I'll invest in a sewing machine so I can make perfectly hemmed garments but I'd rather leave that up to the other talented artist out there who have dedicated themselves to that art form. If you'd like to see how I made the cape check out my tutorial here.
He was then finished off with a chromed out paint job. I used Spaz Stix mirror chrome which can be airbrushed over a gloss black base coat to give an ultra shiny finish. I then added a black wash to bring out all the detail and battle damage. The only issue I've had when using chrome paints is if you handle the figure too much it can wear off. So, to protect the paint I added a light gloss coat which dulls the chrome finish a little bit but that plays in with the whole gritty look we were going for.
Thank you for looking and feel free to ask a question or leave a comment below!