… it kind of looks like his blood is spilling out of his visor and onto the floor. I suggest having him blast something in the air instead, like a drone or skeet disc.
Nice model!
dont understand his “beam” ? also…
and: these “panelloop dresses” seem to overtake everybody by now 
Thanks for the feedback TheArtMonkey & Jake Rupert!
Please forgive me for not writing a summary on the first post. The intent of this piece (the first in a series) is to depict a collectible sculpture in a life like presentation of each character from X-Men’s Blue Team. The finished products are limited to each character’s color themes from the 90’s while paying artistic tribute to the iconic designs from that era. This includes taking production variables into account. Things like, “What material would each component be made of? How would that material hold up against gravity? Where could it possibly be lit with LEDs or Fiber Optics? How large would the base need to be to accommodate the electrical components to light it?”, so on and so forth. While my knowledge on some of these topics is somewhat limited in this particular market, I have worked in production fabrication for almost a decade, and have a rough idea of what is achievable and where I would like to see production limitations pushed (even if they are costly since it is a prototype presentation). I approached this as an entire piece, not as a single character, as it would ultimately be viewed 360°.
In regards to the beam, the material would be made of a colored acrylic. It would be lit by an LED diffuser on the base, and an LED in the head (run up through the leg and torso from the electrics in the base). As a portion of the composition, the beam is meant to work with the base to display the power behind it. It is wrapped around the base and up to the character as a lead for the viewer’s eye to move around the piece. I did not include a drone or disk that would be exploded on the beam to avoid gravity concerns in the physical production of an acrylic ‘beam’ piece. The acrylic would already need to be injection molded, and somewhat thin to scatter as much light as possible from minimal LED lighting. It would also break the composition by blocking view of the character more than necessary since an exploding drone would need to be a sizable sculpt (added weight, added scale, added money, etc.).
However, I do agree completely that the sculpt of the beam is smooth and fluid like, resulting in a ‘blood’ like look. Since it has been raised as a topic for discussion, I gave it a little more attention, and I am more than happy to refine this portion of the model for the community. As a self-crit, I would like to improve the gesture of the pose, clean up and refine details in particular areas, and add additional sculpting to the beam around the visor (enough to not block the visor or face).
I greatly appreciate your feedback and hope be more involved in the ZBC community once more! Thanks!
If the intent is to do an homage to the 90’s versions of the character, then it’s a good start. However, I will also point out the “panel loop style” for his costume seems a little out of character (too high-tech). If you want to show him in some body armor, maybe make it more like modern military-style? Or maybe like a riot cop? Cyclops was never a tech-oriented hero like Iron Man, is what I’m getting at.
More on topic: his thighs look a little meaty to me, although it could just be the angle. The right thigh in particular seems a little thick.
As for the optic beam, I’m wondering if a sculpted beam is necessary at all. Maybe having him stare straight ahead like he’s unleashing his power and having a red LED in his visor might do the job all by itself (no need for separate injection acrylics).
On the other end of the difficulty spectrum, I sketched up something that might provide both a nameplate and a clearer example of his power. It also introduces quite possibly far more work than you’d care to handle.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing more installments from this series of yours. Good luck!
