LINK: Project Rooftop

PROJECT ROOFTOP

Project Rooftop is where cartoonists and illustrators bring their costume design skills to task in tribute to the superheroes and villains we’ve grown up with. This site is intended to promote positive costume design as well as foster continued interest for these amazing characters.

This site was inspired by a lot of different things, including the recent Batgirl Meme, and AdHouse Books‘ Project: Superior, the television program Project Runway, the videogame tribute site Lifemeter, the introduction of the superhero fashion designer Edna Mode in The Incredibles, and the growing number of indie comics artists, especially on LiveJournal, where superhero redesigns have become something of a trend…

Indie comics artist Dean Trippe and comics journalist Chris Arrant put this project together as a way to showcase this art in tribute to classic superheroes, and as a catalyst to improve costume design in the industry.

In the aftermath of the internet-sweeping , redesigned superhero costumes have reached a boiling point. They’re cluttering up the blogs and homepages of artists across the world, fans and pros alike. It’s time for Project Rooftop.

This looks like it could be a lot fun once it gets rolling. So far, there’s two revamps posted, Iron Man and The Falcon, the former a dramatic but interesting overhaul; the latter, subtler but equally effective. In the Falcon’s review, Chris Arrant makes a point about the mask that I never realized — that weird gold thingee is a freakin’ beak?!?!

Of the two, only The Falcon’s seems to adhere to Brian Cronin’s Ron Frenz Rule of Costume Design, which states: “All costume designs must be done so that, if Ron Frenz were to draw it, it would look normal/cool.”

Here’s an example of Frenz’ work to set the bar (image via CatskillComics.com, where you can purchase original pin-ups or commissions):

Check them out and judge for yourself.

Written by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Chief Content Officer for LibraryPass, and former publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest. Previously, he was also project lead for the Panorama Project; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for the original Digital Book World.

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