Author Archive: Saad

Freelance artist.

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#18 Supreme President of the Armored Cheese-Fiends

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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A cheese based lifeform, cheese-fiends’ interest in Earth lied in her naturally superior cloning facilities. (Though most of them are appalled at how cheese-kind get treated.)

On at least one occasion, his plans have been thwarted by this guy.

Note: I’m uploading this and The Marvelous Man-Spider after posting all the stuff related to VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS and THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS.

#14 The Marvelous Man-Spider

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Sam Stabilo was an average spider until one day he got bitten by a radioactive man…

Note: I’m uploading this and Supreme President of the Armored Cheese-Fiends after posting all the stuff related to VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS and THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS.

#27 #28 #29 #30 #31 Doe Buck Coney Lago and Capon

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Aldegund’s Animal Buddies

A Saturday-morning cartoon chronicling the adventures five of Aldegund’s Animal friends that save the world from alien menace through their wacky hijinx.

Doe is naturally inquisitive, and likes to investigate things. She’s generally the starting point for most of the group’s adventures.

Buck is the unofficial leader.

Coney is the brains. He likes to fiddle with electronics in his free time.

Lago is composed, but can be a little blunt at times.

Capon is more of an easy-going, festive type.

#24 #25 #26 Atomos “Ann” Arnbjorg and Clemens

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

30_characters_24_25_26_atomos_ann_arnbjorg_clemens_11262013Venusians. They have come under the pretense of interplanetary alliance in an attempt to steal Earth’s supply of Ununoctium.

Once their lie was exposed, they decided to take a more direct approach, brandishing weapons far too fantastic, and horrifying, even by the standards of the distant future of the year 2000.

All that stands between them and destruction on a planetary scale is an uneasy alliance forged between humans and THE VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS.

#23 Doom Peddler

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Aldegund’s right-hand-robot, he spreads doom wherever he travels.

Definitely not somebody you wish to run into in a dark alley. Not even in the distant future of the year 2000.

#19 #20 #21 #22 Frank Walker, Ralph Thompson, Willie Robinson and Roy King

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Four volunteers in the enhanced soldier project, their physique has been augmented by modern medicine of the distant future in the year 2000.

The telltale signs of Martian technology, and the eventual appearance of Aldegund lends credential to the theory that VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS may be due to their desire to attain the enhanced blood to use for their own foul purposes.

#16 #17 Helen Stavros and Douglas Morris

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Daughter of Professor Stavros, and her college sweetheart, they dropped by the research center with the intent of throwing the professor  a surprise birthday party.

Things took a turn for the worse shortly afterwards.

In the distant future of the year 2000.

#15 Professor Stavros

| November 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

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In the distant future of the year 2000, Professor Stavros is a Nobel prize winning scientist working with the army on a top secret project. To create a better soldier.

Little does he know what lies in wait for him and those around him.

#12 #13 Bella Blasko and Aldegund

| November 7, 2013 | 0 Comments

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The otherwise average, happily married Bella Blasko is the first person to be reported missing under mysterious circumstances. In a week, the number of missing people would jump from one to thirteen. As the police tried to figure out the inexplicable disappearances, everything seem to be taking a turn towards the eerily strange.

<spoiler>

Aldegund, and his robotic minions, are the source of all the strange happenings in New Effin. Testing out fantastic & strange devices that render Terran technology inert on the small town before advancing their plans to a global scale. They have come from Mars to take Earth’s supply of blood. By force.

Can the VAMPIRE ROBOTS FROM MARS be stopped in time…?

</spoiler>

#10 #11 Harry Callahan and Clarence Hendrickson

| November 7, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Detective Harry Callahan and Sergeant Clarence Hendrickson. New Effin’s finest, trying their hardest to maintain order in a small town where things are becoming increasingly disorderly.

While not incompetent at his job, the primary reason behind Detective Callahan’s rank is that police work in the town rarely involved any deduction. Until now.

Sergeant Hendrickson … has a week left until retirement. ’nuff said.

#6 #7 #8 #9 A whole bunch of folks

| November 4, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Clockwise from the top-left:

Theodore Henderson is the mayor of New Effin, and whether for better or for worse, that’s about it. A traditional-values minded family man, his great grandfather was one of the founding members of New Effin.

“Father” as he’s known, Leonard Boucher has been in New Effin for about as long as anyone can remember. A father figure to the town, only a revered few seem to call him “Leonard”.

Moon-man. Called so because he always smells of moonshine. A favorite past time for some of the more unruly kids, most of the adults in New Effin have a decent amount of sympathy for him. Stories & legends of him tell of an average New Effin man, that went off to the war, and what came back wasn’t quite all there. Some tried to blame the incidents on him, but enough people came to his defense, including “Father”, for the accusers to back off.

Principal Benjamin Crowe of the New Effin high school, is a man obsessed with discipline and order. One of the first people to completely lose it when… things started happening… and point an accusing finger at Beatrice Baker and Herbert Wright.

#4 #5 Judith and James Richardson

| November 4, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Judith Richardson is an average, friendly, outgoing high school student. In other words, she is the exact opposite of her socially awkward twin brother, James. And a little protective towards him as well.

James Richardson would much rather be left alone with his books. A life style that has gotten him into more troubles than one would expect from a straight A student. Granted it’s also gotten him out of trouble with the authorities.

As the frequency of inexplicably bizarre and mysterious happenings in New Effin increases, they choose to investigate. While Judith feels the adults should take care of things, she decides to help her brother on account of the fact that this the first time she has seen take an active interest in anything other than books.

#3 Eugene Bennett

| November 2, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Eugene, for most of his life has been the resident outcast & trouble maker. Or at least labeled as such.

As the small town of New Effin started turning on the out of town reporters, they found an unlikely ally in Eugene.

Will the veteran reporters & rowdy teenager be able to put their differences aside for long enough to get to the bottom the mysterious happenings?

#1 #2 Beatrice Baker and Herbert Wright

| November 2, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Both Beatrice and Herbert are seasoned reporters, with a decent amount of experience under their respective belts.

They came to the small town of New Effin under the pretense of reporting on the celebration the 75th anniversary of the founding of the town.

But then, something happened. It started small. Automobiles, radios, telephones & telegraphs started malfunctioning, and eventually stopped working. Even though no one could find anything wrong with any of the components.

As people of the small town started getting more and more paranoid, Beatrice & Herbert found themselves the target of increasingly severe accusations.

What happened? Who’s behind this? Will they be able to figure things out in time?

Characters 1 through 8 (-ish)

| November 7, 2012 | 0 Comments

“Brain” I said “What the hell? I thought we had the setting planned. Come November first, you were suppose to start creating characters. It’s been eight days.” “Well, you know…” Brain replied with a shrug, or the cerebral equivalent of it, “… the thing is, the more I thought about it the less… original …it seemed. I mean struggling to survive after a Disco Apocalypse sounds pretty interesting as a setting, but when you break it down, it kinda’ ends up feeling like a rehash of the last idea that I posted. A bunch of people fighting another bunch people.” “So what now, o creative one?” I asked. The reply was a drawing of an eel wearing headgear and a belt with a sword & scabbard wedged into it.

“That’s an eel wearing headgear and a belt with a sword & scabbard wedged into it.” was my rather obvious response.

“Hear me out” said Brain, “That’s not just any random eel wearing headgear and what have you. His name is Christiæn. He’s the warlord of a collection of schools living to the North-West of… someplace in the sea. He’s good enough with the sword to have carved his way to where he is now, but also intelligent enought to be the first to deveop a sense of what’s happening.”

“What exactly is happening?” I asked. “I don’t know,” said Brain “but whatever it is, it cost him his son and second in command, Matheus. Something of a tragedy too. The poor kid had such potential. An unparalelled tactician. However, the death of Matheus is what gave Jooris, a sea slug of rather lowly origins a chance of a lifetime. Whether he uses it or not remains to be seen.”

“Alright… so why are you drawing an armored great white shark?”

“Arethusa. Matriarch of the Southern-ish-region, kinda’… She spent her early life as a mercenary, but somewhere during the near-continuous wars she found herself leading a formidably sized school. A decent number of her ex-opponents were quick to judge her by her appearance. She’s one of the first leaders to consider Christiæn’s claims of what might be happening. She does not, however, act on those considerations directly, due to web-like nature of the balance of power between the warring schools.”

“Web-like balance of power?”

“Web-like balance of power.  Complicating things are the complex definition of territories.  For some, it’s purely physical locations, for other, it involves magnetic fields, some define their territory by currents, some by the deposits on the ocean floor.

As things stand, the different schools have fought themselves to something of an n-way standstill where n is of an equal or greater value than three. Anywho next up is-“

“An octopus wielding… sickles?”

“An octopus weilding six sickles and one shield. Enghel. Leader of a school of master assassins. The armor, eyepatch and weapons are all a part of an act though. If it needs be, he can blend into the environment like nobody’s business. He’s convinced that something is … off… due to the behaviors of Christiæn & Arethusa. Two of his underlings, Engel and Goossen have gone missing. They will be discovered in various states of insanity, getting worse with time, before they die under mysterious circumstances. Goossen’s attempts at communication almost implicates-“

“A hammerhead shark in a Darth Vader mask?”

“Pauweline. Leads a nomadic school of hammerheads. Unparalled with a sword. She and her ilk have a sixth sense, of sorts. Nothing too precise, but it’s enough to save their skin quite a few times. She has something of a history with Gerardus.”

“Would that be the Jellyfish or the Pomfret?”

“The Pomfret. Living up to his name, he is pretty good with the spear he carries around. Atleast two of the major scars you seen on him were due toe Pauweline. Aside from that, he functions best under pressure. During times when peace seemed imminent, he was prepared to retire to a life of farming. He’s the last of the group to be affected by whatever it is that is happening.

The Jellyfish, Lord Bertholmeeus, as you can see, was hideously disfigured sometime in the past. Almost half of his body is covered in an armored shell, with blade tipped chains where the tentacles used to be. I believe he will be the first one to die in the story.”

“There’s a story?”

“Ofcourse, it makes the process of character creation a little smoother.”

“Characters like the body-painted nunchaku wielding spider-crab.”

“Yep. Wylyame. Started off as a loner, and eventually developed a following amongst the area where he was staying. He’s not exactly fond of being dragged into the politics, and couldn’t care less about the other schools fighting amongst themselves. He is the third of the leaders to unofficially support Christiæn.”

“And the tattooed Coelacanth?”

“Perceval. A berserker by trade, currently rules the Western bits. There’s a decent amount of argument regarding the mental facilities of Perceval. One group prefers to argue he’s a lucky individual to survive battles, rushing head first into frays the way he does. The other group argues that at times he seems a bit too lucky, and most of the battles that involve his feats of berserker rage are intentionaly picked and/or arranged for such outcomes. Either way, his reputation makes him a living legend amongst his schoools, regeardless of what the reality of things might be. Anyways, that should bring up the character count to eight, not counting minor characters like Matheus, Jooris, Engel, Goossen and Bob-“

“Bob?”

“Yes, Bob, the indescribable horror from the great beyond, the eye with a thousand sores and what have you.”

“What?”

“The story, man. You have different schools fighting amongst themselves, and slowly things start happening. Nightmares. Whispers at the edge of consciousness. The usual Lovecraftian bits. At fist the schools start blaming each other.  Eventually most of them realize the scope of the situation,  band together, and try to deal with it.

Uneasy alliances will be forged, friends will become frenemies, etc.”

“And then?”

“I have no idea.  For the time being, I am off into the cold embrace of the night. I think I’ll let things roast in their own juices for a while. See what develops. Goodnight.”

True story.

Honest.

*GRUMBLE*…stupid brain… *GRUMBLE*

| August 6, 2012 | 0 Comments

So… I’m sitting in a bus in the middle of the traffic jam that Dhaka’s become (in)famous for, and wondering how to pass the time. Well, I figured I’d spend my time doodling (and possibly coming up for a base, of sorts, for the 30 characters challenge, 2012), which lead to inadvertently developing back stories for some of the figures, on the spot, which lead to developing short back stories for ALL of the figures.

So… here I am, with a little over 30 starting points characters, and a doodle, all done within the confines of two traffic jams and twenty seven minutes.

The overall theme was a gang war raging in the streets, something along the lines of old school beat-em-up games, like Final Fight, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage.  To keep things simple, the “characters” (figures?) are listed starting from the top left (instead of  the order they were drawn in) :

01 – The first of four mysterious masked cosplayers that accidentally walked into the street fight on his way to a convention, and walked out a man.  He refuses to discuss the incident to this day.

02 – The second of four mysterious masked cosplayers that accidentally walked into the street fight on his way to a convention, and walked out a man.  He also refuses to discuss the incident to this day.

03 – The third of four mysterious masked cosplayers that accidentally walked into the street fight on his way to a convention, and walked out a man.  He too refuses to discuss the incident to this day.

04 – The fourth and thankfully final of the four  mysterious masked cosplayers that accidentally walked into the street fight on his way to a convention, and walked out a man.  He refuses to discuss the incident to this day as well.

05 – A performing bear named Buddy who happens to be in a very disagreeable mood at the moment.  He had a falling out with his trainer over the career decisions that was being made on his behalf, and felt like a victim of typecasting.

06 – Emilio, a member of the “43rd Street Gang”, who is contemplating the virtues of loyalty and running like hell from an enraged bear.

07 – Larry “Two Q” Jones may look like an average middle aged man nonchalantly mulching, like he usually does, in his back yard despite the gang warfare right beyond his walls, when in reality, he’s actually an average middle aged man nonchalantly mulching, like he usually does, in his back yard in despite the gang warfare right beyond his walls while reminiscing about the way things used to be.  One day he just might find the courage to do something about it, and switch fertilizers, but not today.

08 – Chett, founder of “the Leather Face Movement”, is starting up her chainsaw, because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her years with another gang called the “Asps”, it’s that bringing chainsaws to a fistfight is generally a good idea.

09 – Nick generic thug of the “Insane Cogs”, is enthralled by Ivy (#10) and is just beginning to listening to the part of his brain that’s been screaming “DUDE THERE’S A CHAINSAW REVVING BEHIND YOU!”

10 – Ivy, a newcomer to “Pythons”,  is acquiring practical knowledge regarding why it’s not a good idea to wear revealing clothing in fights.

11 – David, one of the top members of “The Hawks”, is wondering whether or not to hit Ivy or hit on Ivy.

12 – Keith, low ranking member of “The Original Wolverines” -  a deadly rival to The Hawks and Pythons,  is wondering the same.

13 – Justin, founder and sole member of “The NEW Wolverines” is listening to his [unbranded digital audio player] annoyed that some idiot that bumped into him, and then  just ran away without apologizing.

14 – Adam, hired muscle for “The Axels”, did not get beaten unconscious.  He fainted at the sight of Buddy.

15 – Mark, Buddy’s trainer & handler, is actively responding to his disagreements with Buddy.  (Especially whether or not Buddy’s roles as an out of control angry bear is really “typecasting”…)

16 – Habib, is technically not a part of any gang.  He was not expecting “fight a man who can rip a hydrant out of the ground and hit you with it” to be a part of his initiation into the “All Star Scrappers”.

17- The cleverly named Rob Ott, is a mechanical construct, remotely controlled by an alien.  The aliens’ approximations regarding the capabilities of the human body were a little off…

18 – The dog, coincidentally, is also named Buddy.  He just had the disturbing experience of having his toilet piss on him.

19 – Dawson, right hand man to the leader of “Game Cocks” in getting the worst purple nurple of his life.

20 – It’s not clear from the figure, but in the course of administering said purple nurple, Melvin, an ex-police officer who quite the force because he could no longer stand the rampant violence, has spun his body to face the camera.  Several times already.

21 – Moses was the founder of the “Wise Guys” back in the day.  However, he currently spends all his time on the restaurant he owns.  He passed out from exhaustion on the street after working three shifts in a row, due to a sudden shortage of workers, owing to gang violence in a streets.  He will be unpleasantly surprised when he wakes up in the hospital a few days later looking like he’s been trampled by a bear.

22 – “Big Howie” administering a flying kick to “Little Joe”.  The brothers Howard & Joe have a long standing rivalry.

23 – “Little Joe” is being bitten by “Little Howie”.

24 – “Little Howie”… is… making the most of a situation.

25 – “Big Joe” is inadvertently giving “Little Howie” a reason to bite his brother a little harder.

26 – Feinberg, a Funky China Man from Funky China Town,  is attempting to channel his spiritual energy into a weaponized form.

27- Jimmy, member of the “42nd Street Gang” is unconscious on the street.  He  is going to be trampled by Buddy (the dog), which is not nearly as bad as being trampled by Buddy (the bear).

28 – Guy is yet another generically named man has nothing to with the gang warfare either.  He was merely a victim of a vicious prank involving sleeping medication and laxatives.

29 – Rick, was enjoying a relaxing night out in the deserted streets with his trusty boom box until things suddenly went to hell.

30 – Law, leader of “Shadow Law” is jumping over a rolling oil barrel (one of many that roam these streets like they own them)  LIKE A BAWS!

31 – Mike, a member of the “Piledrivers” is contemplating if he can sue the videogame and/or wrestling industry for what is about to happen.

32 – “Knuckles Juan” brother in law to the leader of the infamous gang “Makiwara” is thisclose to earning the nickname “Falsetto Juan”.

33 – Jacqueline, founding member and leader of the “Bare Knuckle Bears” is debating the quandary over whether or not to eat a suspiciously perfect looking slab of roast beef lying in the middle of the streets.

34 – Officer Ervin was the first officer to arrive in the middle of the fray. And with only two days until retirement too…

35 – Konosuke is something of a random street thug using the fighting around him to mug someone at knife-point. He is also of the impression that he’s too cool to fall for the old “there’s-a-police-officer-on-horse-back-right-behind-you” trick.

36 – Berkowitz, a professional dancer by trade, is thankful to the powers that be that the man mugging him thinks “he’s too cool to fall for the old ‘there’s-a-police-officer-on-horse-back-right-behind-you’ trick.”

All I need to do now is finish the artwork in ink.  And color it.  And develop the back stories further.  SIGH. :’C

2011 Challenger: Saad Azim

| October 20, 2011 | 0 Comments

Self PortraitUhhh… Hi. Like the title states, my name is Saad Azim. I’m a freelance artist from Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have waaaaaay more interest in cartoons, comics and videogames than I probably should. So much so, I spent a decent part of last year understanding the image “format” supported by the 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System; because really, if you can’t create artwork that can theoretically run on an NES, what’s the point of creating it?

I found out about the 30 Character challenge from Vito Delsante, and figured it would make for an interesting challenge. I’m aiming for … something different? Weird as it may sound, I’d prefer not to think about this until November starts. I mean if I’m thinking about the characters before November 1st, they no longer fall under the 30-day-30-character rule, do they…?

What else… my single biggest artistic influence is Sergio Aragonés. Don’t know if it shows though. Errr… that’s all.