EXPLORING THE DSNG SCI FI SERIES - PART 1

A New Year, a New Destiny

Welcome, sci fi fan,

Time is a priceless gift. And with each passing second, history is made, as physical events roll into the past. Each person on Earth literally has the ability to forge their own destiny, making timely decisions that affect their present circumstances.

Now come with me, and dive forward into the imaginative realm of science fiction.
If characters in a neo-industrial world are to be founded in realistic environments, then that implies they must exist within time, amidst a peculiar space [often framed as an alternate reality, or a highly detailed distant galaxy, hosting several organized star systems].

When a protagonist is designed properly, then the author has to define the passage of time within the context of the saga; he or she has to initially write the history of the focal character, giving the hero an intriguing past, a dynamic present and mysterious future.

These are the principles that I always ponder: the essence of time, history and destiny.
And these are foundational cornerstones for the DSNG Sci Fi Series. The term "DSNG" is an acronym for Destiny Series the Neo-Genesis. And it is an evolutionary saga presenting the events that define the legacy of the main character, while giving glimpses of his past struggles and signs of his future plights.

[Above: Never-before-seen pics, showing the original DSNG Series Graphic Novel, dating back to 2006/2007. It wasn't released in stores. The Superman/Batman: Supergirl Novel by Michael Turner was included for size comparison]

No one writes an epic sci-fi saga overnight. It takes time to plan it right. And you have to understand how to intertwine the elements of action, drama, romance and comedy, while also inserting suspense at the appropriate junctures to keep the audience craving uniquely desired outcomes.

 

 

 


The six characters above should be familiar to you [Azzar, Kinera, Elena, Wandah, Vince and Chebeyah], if you've read DSNG Chronicles Book 1, the first volume of about 7 ebooks available now at Amazon.com.

It is possible to write a story that is fully bland, focused upon an upright hero; this has been done many times before. But one can also create a story about a hero who may become a villain, yet the audience will acclaim that protagonist if the character's persona has been designed in a certain way.

This Overview is Part 1 of 17 articles in this blog, focused on explaining the DSNG Sci Fi Series and showcasing the main cast, along with the diverse alien races [As more article are posted I'll add them to the list]. I trust that the expose on Prince Azzar Omenus [the main hero, a super soldier] and his associates will give life to the sci fi saga, just as colors give life to a poster...

[Above: Shella-Nita, aka Shelly. She is a famous Scalatan supermodel, from the Winguddon Clan. There are more beautiful pinup posters of Shelly over HERE. She is introduced in DSNG Chronicles Book 4]

DSNG CHRONICLES Book 1 is at Amazon, as a downloadable ebook to PC/Mac/I-Pad: Here 

And the New 99-Cent DSNG promo ebook titled UNUSUAL SUSPECT is available: Here

 

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LINKS TO THE BLOG ARTICLES THAT CONTINUE THIS OVERVIEW:

Part 1: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-dsng-series-part-1.html

Part 2: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-dsng-series-part-2.html

Part 3: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-dsng-part-3.html

Part 4: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-dsng-part-4-elena-eden.html

Part 5: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/02/exploring-dsng-part-5-alpha-senturi.html

Part 6: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/02/exploring-dsng-part-6-yatalia.html

Part 7: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/03/exploring-dsng-part-7-kinera.html

Part 8: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/03/exploring-dsng-part-8-scalatans.html

Part 9: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/04/exploring-dsng-part-9-scalatans-v2.html

Part 10: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/05/exploring-dsng-part-10-katarans.html

Part 11: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/06/exploring-dsng-part-11-usual-unusual.html
Part 12: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/07/exploring-dsng-part-12-beautiful-female.html

Part 13: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/07/exploring-dsng-part-13-fire-and-ice.html
Part 14: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/08/exploring-dsng-part-14-planet-entrados.html
Part 15: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/10/exploring-dsng-part-15-elena-vs-shelly.html 
Part 16: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/12/exploring-dsng-part-16-dinatour-alien.html 

Part 17: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2012/01/exploring-dsng-part-17-beautiful-female.html

NOTE: Concept art for the Thundercats 2011 remake are in the 2010 November Archives

XERO ERROR AND THE WORLD'S ONLY 7-STAR HOTEL

Cool Poster, Step by Step Images.

Last year I did two promotional posters for a project based in Dubai, for a buddy of mine named Ashraf Ghori. Ashraf is an innovator, the founder of the company Xpanse CGI, having an international client base achieved by supplying diverse media-based services including exceptional websites, concept designs, TV commercials, incisive product branding and CG animation. He has produced the first sci fi CGI movie in Dubai, and his superhero character is a sentient cyborg named Xero [XE7], who rises up as a national force for justice.

When I talked to him about the sort of promotional posters needed, he informed me about the origins and abilities of his futuristic character, showing me reference images as well. I soon  realized that beyond producing excellent work, it would be best to make a strong commercial statement with the art, utilizing it as an opportunity to showcase the national origin of the work.

A while back I did an article on Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible 4, which was being filmed partly in Dubai UAE last year: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2010/11/is-this-mission-possible.html
A segment of that forthcoming action-packed movie showcased the world's tallest building. And after thinking about it, I figured that landmarks would be best as background elements for the posters.

Here are a series of pics showing the coloring sequences that I did via Photoshop CS3, for one of the posters [it took about 2 days to complete]. When you zoom in, you can see the micro details that were added in order to enhance the visual reality of the image:

You can learn more about Ashraf Ghori's Cool XE7 project and his character via this link: http://www.facebook.com/XESeven. And the second exclusive promo poster I did for the Xero Error project can be found here: http://www.xero-error.com/xblog/

The building in the background within the poster above  is the Burj Al Arab, the World's only 7-star hotel. Those patrons that venture into this luxurious facility are treated like Arabian kings throughout their stay. I had to use references for drawing/coloring it, in order to ensure I got the structural frame and night-time lighting right. 

                                             

This building is magnificent. It's just one of those iconic structure's that stands out, contrived as an ascending spire and a ship's mast that actually has a disc-shaped tennis court near its crest. Creating something that was both unique and ultra-modern was definitely part of the architectural design theme. And the fact that this 1,053-foot tall hotel is created upon an artificial island in a warm climatic region means that it automatically yields an extremely relaxing vibe to its guests. 

In the last image above, what you see at the crest of the pic is a reflection on the roof in the dining area. One of the restaurants in the Burj Al Arab is called the Al Muntaha [which translates in Arabic as "The Ultimate"] and it rises over 600 feet above the landmass of the Persian gulf, offering a fantastic panoramic view of the flanking area.

Cool Links:

Check out DSNG CHRONICLES Book 1 [Part 1 of 6 volumes, ebooks at Amazon.com]: http://www.amazon.com/DSNG-CHRONICLES-PRINCES-PRIDE-ebook/dp/B003UHVIDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301636986&sr=8-1

 

 

DSNG Blog home page: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/ 

JEFF BRIDGES & THE REAL STEEL MOVIE PREVIEW

Salute to a Great Actor

Born on December 4th 1949, Jeff Bridges is an American actor, but he's not the star of the forthcoming sci fi action flick, Real Steel [we'll get to that later].

Jeff is one of those guys with a peculiar nostalgic impact; he gives unforgettable performances, but some people kinda forget him prior to his next performance. He almost looks like a new face each time he shows up in a blockbuster. Yet he is definitely someone that I respect, because he has what theatrical performers call "stage presence".

He's been around for a while; he turned 61 this year. And he's starred in 64 motion pictures since his debut back in 1950 [he was used as an extra, playing the role of a lil' baby boy]. I did some surfing on his filmography and found some peculiar stuff.

A few highlights from his resume:

• Back in 1972 he co-starred in Bad Company [two boys fled the U.S. civil war and became bandits]
• In 1974, he starred beside Clint Eastwood in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot [they were outlaws]
• In 1976, he starred in King Kong [he was a paleontologist, warning about the monster]
• In 1982 he starred in the sci fi movie, Starman [he was a human-like alien, who visited Earth]  

              

   

Now most of you reading this blog may not have been up to 20 years old when Bad Company hit theaters, so I'll skip ahead about two decades and give more recent works by Jeff Bridges.

• In 2003 he starred in Seabiscuit, with Tobey Maguire [Spidey]
• In 2007 he starred in the GGI animated feature, Surfs Up [penguin voice, Big Z]
• In 2008 he was in Ironman, as Obadiah Stane [the bad guy]
• In 2009 he starred in Crazy Heart [playing an old country music singer]
• In 2010 he was in Tron: Legacy  and he was also in the original Tron
• In 2010 he was also in True Grit [reprising the role of Rooster Cogburn, which was made famous by John Wayne back in 1969] 
• And in Saturday Night Season 36, Ep. 10, Jeff Bridges hosted the comedic skit show, having musical guests Eminem and Lil Wayne

He's done a lot more than that, but now you can see that he's not a stranger to Hollywood, per his diverse resume. Both Tron: Legacy and True Grit have already made over 80 million dollars respectively, in the U.S. domestic market.

I enjoyed his performance in Ironman 1, since as a villain he was extremely bold and rather intimidating. There was just an inner strength about him, which made him both a father, a mentor and a also worthy potent opponent for Tony Stark. In that movie, the villains [arms dealers] respected him, and his associates feared him.

One of my fav lines from Tron: Legacy is during the father and son discussion, on the aerial bullet train ride.

At one point Sam mentions Wi-Fi as a recent technological development, and Jeff Bridges [playing the role of Kevin Flynn, who has been imprisoned in the Tron game world for 20 years] says:

"The Internet, huh? I thought of that back in 1985"

Hopefully Jeff Bridges will continue to inspire other actors and fans, as he strives to show the mastery of his craft each time he appears on the big screen.

_________________

The brainchild of Ironman and Rocky

That's approximately what the forthcoming Real Steel movie seems like to me. At first when I read the brief synopsis of the movie back in May, it made absolutely no sense. But about a month ago, the first official trailer was launched, helping me to actually see the director's vision.

It stars Hugh Jackman [Wolverine, The X-men Trilogy] and Shawn Levy. I'll let the trailer do the plot explanation:



You almost expect Bumblebee to jump out of the bleachers in the middle of that clip.
Will it be worth checking out? Lets hope so, since it looks like it cost about 100-mil to make.

Real Steel hits theaters on October 7, 2011.

YOKO LITTNER POSTER [GURREN LAGAAN]

Sexy Anime Art Gallery!

      

 
Fan art [inked and colored images] of Yoko Littner, from the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan anime. And the Third image of Yoko above is by a DA artist named MZ09.
And here are other beautiful / hot pics of Yoko from the Web, with her 50-caliber sniper rifle along with Simon [another male protagonist]

 

    

Anime characters [cartoons created in Japan] tend to be drawn with certain facial styles and often exaggerated proportions. I strive to stay true to that genre, whenever I create fan art posters that are linked to the anime / manga series. It does fall into the "Cheesecake style", a western terminology that describes beautiful pinup/glamor models that have hour-glass figures.

The main blog article with Yoko and an overview of the Gurren Lagaan anime is over Here

And Cheetara [Thundercats] fanart is over Here

YOKO, AND GURREN LAGANN!

Reaching for the heavens!

She is probably one of the most alluring femme fatales in anime history. And although the series with her as a co-star is no longer ongoing, there is still something intriguing about a sexy girl who carries a really big gun. Yoko was part of the cast of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which was a sci fi mecha anime series, drafted by Gainax Studios and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami.

[Yoko Littner, from Gurren Lagann]

Launched in 2007 over in Japan, it ran for 27 episodes [two explosive seasons] and aired on TV Tokyo. In 2008 it came to the west and was aired on Sci Fi Network [ Now the Sy Fy Channel] and also Animax and Super Channel. Featuring a 14-year-old gifted boy named Simon [pronounced as "See-mone"] and his "big brother" Kamina, Gurren Lagann takes place in a fictional future in which human beings have been forced under Earth's surface and live in isolated subterranean civilizations.

[Simon and Yoko, from Gurren Lagann]

Gurren Lagann Brief Series Review

In this series, buried habitats have been the dwelling of the human race for over a century, thus the people really don't know anything outside of their hive-like underground existence. The surface of the planet [an alternate Earth] is a mysterious feared place, where mechanical monsters and Beastmen roam. One day, young Simon finds a small drill and this special glowing drill is the key to a compact drilling robot, buried elsewhere in his village. And this is a discovery that changes Simon's life forever.
Turns out the small drilling robot is the head for a giant mecha robot, later named Gurren Lagann.

Link to Opening Theme of this anime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS0yOYqragk&NR=1

Simon is a young orphan, whose parents died during an earthquake that resulted in a cave collapse. He struggles with inferiority and fears, but he is still a diligent boy with buried talents; for within his timid persona is the heart of a roaring lion, and this later manifests in the series. And his mecha reacts to his swirling courage, drawing strength from his own physical heart and channelling it into the mechanical limbs of the combat robot.

Early in the series after the main heroes are introduced, the bad guys soon attack the subterranean hideout of Simon and his village. And with the help of a mysterious female who appears with a giant sniper rifle, Simon and Kamina [along with their cool little robot that has transformable drill-like weapons] are able to escape their underground habitat, and they breach the surface for the first time in their lives, to behold a bold new world, with an actual blue sky and a distant radiant sun.

Yoko comes from a surface clan of rebels who have been battling the evil Beastmen for a while, so the intriguing surface sights are not new to her. Eventually, the robot body unit of Gurren Lagann is discovered - and Kamina gets to pilot that mech. Later, the two mecha units combine and become a mighty robot. Now this anime series trailer will make more sense to you:





Animated evolution!

This series grows on you. And the characters actually grow and mature as well. The breaching of the surface is only the beginning of the true adventure of Simon, Kamina and Yoko... as they keep meeting new associates on the face of the Earth, and eventually rise into the sky. Their high-tech mecha robot unit, Gurren Lagann, evolves as well; it gains wings from an enemy robot and undergoes a peculiar metamorphosis, acquiring the ability to fly.

    

[Yoko and Gurren Lagaan. The other giant robot in the background is the  Dai Gurren: a "heavily armed walking battle ship" commandeered from the bad guys, and it becomes the armored transport of the heroes]

Perhaps it the inherent cybernetic upgrades tied to heuristic algorithms, or the presence of a "ghost in the machine"..... I'm not certain of the true origins of Gurren Lagann's advanced adaptive robotic interface, but he has the ability to transform, expand, stretch, and project a wide diversity of drill-like weapons. Some of these can be projected as missiles, while others become similar to the spikes of a porcupine upon the robot's entire outer hull. And he can even generate sword-like weapons from his arms, contrived from sharp custom drills as well. I don't have any explanations for that ability. Yet only the creators of this series truly know the "how and whys" of their robot machines.

A heuristic algorithm is a code programing style for an adaptive machine system, which allows the embedded computer to virtually learn from past mistakes.

Remember Pacman, and the way the ghost drones seemingly got smarter over time, learning what you had done in the past as they strived to corner you? That's the core manifestation of a light heuristic algorithm within the gaming system's mainframe, where elementary motives are aligned like layered programs, similar to the levels in a multistory building. At the basic level, the system's output goes easy on you, and it acts naive/dumb while it observes your user inputs. But at higher levels, it becomes faster and more incisive, and acts in counteractive ways tied to what the system has learned from your own playing tactics.

You often have to reboot or restart the gaming program before you observe what it has learned from interacting with you. But this is the sign of an adaptive system, a near trait of an attentive machine mind. I use this and other concepts in writing about the adventures that unfold in the DSNG sci fi series, where mortal men interact with sentient AIs on a regular basis amidst a futuristic neo-industrial world.



Sexy Redhead

As the anime continued into its second season, Yoko also grew as well. She got bustier :) and most fanboys were delighted at that development.

[Yoko is shown on the left, Playboy bunny style]

She also became a brave commander, having her own giant mecha to pilot. And she was also the crush of a few male characters in the series. But Yoko eventually faces some competition from Princess Nia, a new character who is actually suffering from slight amnesia.

And it turns out that Nia is the daughter of an evil dictator [the King of the Beastmen], who wants to destroy all the "inferior humans".

I don't want to give away too much, but this series also pulls at you emotionally, because some beloved characters die along the way. And that sort of thing really gives Gurren Lagann a realistic appeal, as you watch the main characters struggle to cope with the tragic loss of their dependable comrades.

Not to worry, for those that pass on leave an intangible essence that continually motivates and encourages the living characters to press on and reach for the heavens!

The sci fi anime adventure ends in deep-space in Season 2, with some sort of intergalactic confrontation between the good guys [led by Simon, Yoko and some others] and the Anti-Spirals, an ancient alien race that preceded the humans, who have vile plans for initiating mass genocide per a diabolical plot that involves the moon...

                                                                
[From left to right, Simon, Kamina and Yoko -->]

Whenever you have the time, visit http://www.veoh.com/ or http://www.animeshippuuden.com/tengen-toppa-gurren-lagann/tengen-toppa-gurren-lagann-1/  and browse around for Gurren Lagann. Trust me, if you enjoy dynamic animes, you won't be disappointed...

More sexy Yoko fanart by DSNG is Here: HERE!

RYU VS. BALROG - COLORS

Here are two versions of the poster. Ryu and Balrog are owned by Capcom, from the Street Fighter franchise.

     

 Check out the DSNG Blog article with beautiful female aliens: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/07/exploring-dsng-part-12-beautiful-female.html

Explore the DSNG sci fi series!: http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-dsng-series-part-1.html

TRON: LEGACY REVIEW, AND OTHER THINGS...

Brief Movie Review
TRON: Legacy was advertised by Disney for the past 2 years.... and the rumor is, it cost them about 100 million dollars to advertise it globally, in diverse media outlets [even ESPN got in on the Tron movement, and Marvel Comics had a set of about 6 comic book covers featuring their characters wearing Tron-styled costumes]. This strong publicity effort, for a movie that cost over 170 million dollars to create, was a daring feat.
   

[Cool Promo artwork by Marvel artist, Mark Brooks]

But now that we've seen it, it appears that the new movie had phenomenal CGI graphics, yet it lacked a sound intriguing plot. Those familiar with the original Tron movie released back in 1982 will remember that it was staged as a live video game, featuring human sprites dashing about.

And this new movie tries to push the envelope even further, inserting vehicles with neon-lighted outlines that create cool streaks in the rear wake of their zooming path. The scale of some of the gigantic machinery and the layout of this techno world are stunningly epic. And there is a visible futuristic fabric engrafted into the dwellings and modeling style of the environments shown throughout the movie.

For the original articles I did on TRON: Legacy, check out these links:
LINK 1 [where an overview of the original 1982 movie is presented, along with teasers of the sequel]
and LINK 2 [where cool screenshots of TRON: Legacy are shown]

In the new movie, the character named Kevin [played by Garret Hedlund] was actually portrayed quite well. You could watch his facial expressions and sense the true emotions he was attempting to convey, while engulfed in the arduous task of rescuing his father and escaping from the computer game world of Tron.

Some people don't realize it, but Garret [who plays Sam, the lead star in TRON] also co-stared in a movie called TROY. He was Brad Pitt's cousin, who got killed by Hector while impersonating Achilles [Brad's character].

In this Tron movie sequel, Clu [the leader of the bad guys, who often wears a cape with golden glows on his black suit] has betrayed Sam's father, and taken over the Grid [the virtual domain system that powers the Tron world]. And now, Sam must rescue his dad, Kevin, and escape together from the Grid, with the help of several characters like Quorra [shown in the pic below]. Simultaneously, a plot by Clu that could lead to the destruction of the human world is discovered, thus the three heroes have some tough choices to make.

Being set in a video game world, this movie did have a host of terminologies that made it rather unique, giving alternate names to various things/issues commonly observed in the real world.

For example:
De-rezzing - Killing
Sea of simulation - A deep ocean
Rectified - Brain washed
Programs - "People" in the game world


There is a faint flashback to the classic TV series American Gladiators, which some observant fans will notice in the first act of the movie [when Sam first enters the gaming world of Tron and has to go through a "rite of passage"].

Additionally, there appears to be a slight struggle between presenting the movie as a live video game vs. showcasing it as an imaginative sci fi feature. You can notice it when you observe the full de-rezzing sequences [when the characters die, they actually shatter, almost like glass. I found that occurrence a bit hard to swallow].

At certain stages the characters appeared to undergo fusor-like transformations, using customized rectangular shafts to generate video game vehicles [like the cool jets and light cycles]. It was very imaginative, and there is an aerial dog fight scene in the third act that is extremely fascinating. I also had flashbacks to a cartoon series viewed in my childhood called Pole Position, during some of the racing scenarios. This is definitely the kind of movie that has to be seen in 3D, in order to fully appreciate its visionary presentation.


Inspirational Nostalgia Bite:



And at the very end of Tron 2, the heroes triumph, but not without a sacrifice. And there may even be room for a sequel...

Overall, this movie was very good, not great; since the writers could have done a better job on the script. Everything seemed to be set on fast-forward from the start. And Sam literally knew how to do every task presented to him perfectly in the game world, with no training. It almost seemed like the good guys could have been victorious a lot sooner, if Kevin had just "reintegrated himself" with Clu, the main villain.

But I still recommend this movie. If you enjoy high-speed chases and sci fi worlds, you'll enjoy it.



As if SKYLINE wasn't enough...
Although I previewed it last month, I did not see Skyline. But I heard a few incisive remarks about it from various blogs:

"It sucked like a vacuum"
"It was basically a movie about aliens, with a few humans in it"
"A boring waste of money"
"Cool special effects, but they should have hired better writers"


Apparently, Hydraulx, the CGI production firm in charge of the special effects in that movie, were also hired by Sony Pictures to create another alien invasion feature called "Battle: Los Angeles", which was filmed late last year.

And this year, Sony was contemplating suing Hydraulx for creating Skyline, claiming that they used "ideas, supplied equipment and resources they had gained" from working on the Sony feature to make their own personal sci fi alien feature.
No formal lawsuit has been filed up to this day. Apparently Sony execs were laughing their asses off when they saw Skyline [since they probably believe that their own alien invasion movie is 10-times better].

But per the trailers that were released about a month ago, Battle LA may really not be worth checking out either...




It does star Michelle Rodriguez, who is famously known for her role in The Fast and Furious movie franchise, and she also played a military pilot in the 3D blockbuster Avatar.

Maybe she'll be the sole reason people will want to check out "Skyline 2" in movie theaters next year, on 03/11/2011...