I don't hate the movie costume... it's workable, and I'm really looking forward to the trailers. But I do think that it shows a heavy amount of over-work on the design (outlined quite well a while ago by Ian), so I did a few things in photoshop to pull things back to the classic Kirby version.

I do like the bulky layered look of it all, actually... It does give it more of a combat feel. The main problem is that they didn't trust that layering to materials alone... someone decided to throw that gray into the top half of Cap's body to divide it up more. It shouldn't be divided up more, though. It's nice to have the extra layering for detail and visual interest, but when you squint at him you shouldn't see his top chopped vertically into thirds. Simply making these straps the same shade as the blue of his chest solves this well enough.

I respect that they went with as much saturation in the blues as they did (of course, films are so heavily color adjusted in post production these days that the shade and saturation seen here are hardly more than a hint of what the end product might be.) I actually toned the blue on my version down a bit. I have no problem with his shield being the most vibrant part of his look... it's the best target he could hope enemies choose, after all.

His head needs help, though. I have to reject the calls from everyone who says the wings on his head would be too dorky if the alternative is the look they went with. A chin strap never looks cool and destroys the heroic set of the chin. That had to go. I simply extended the leather over his ears down to his neck to visibly tie the helmet to the rest of his body so it would look secure enough, and that alone was a good improvement. I also thinned out the helmet slightly around the nose to make it closer fitting like a traditional mask, although I did like the back jutting out to keep that separate helmet feel to it. Finally, wings. There's something about actual, physically jutting wings that transforms Cap's cowl. Without them, his head looks squashed, and the shape of his helmet makes him look all-wet, as if someone with usually good hair just surfaced from underwater. A bald head is a look that has to be pulled off just right, proportionally, and I don't think the shape of Cap's movie helmet does that job without the wings to extend it vertically.

For the 5 minutes I spent on painting over the picture, I actually quite like the look of the costume at the end. Here's hoping it gets a nice revamp for the Avengers...

Attachments

cap revamp.jpg (800 x 402)

Well done, sir. I especially like you putting the 'wing' back in 'winghead'!

While I like your version a whole lot better, it's the *texture* of the movie costume that bothers me rather than the colors. It's like it's custom made, but trying to pretend it's not. If they wanted him to look less custom they should have gone for a cross between Superhero and Indiana Jones instead.

The combat/workwear feel of the materials is good. The unattached helmet might take more getting used to. I guess the stiffness and deformation problems from a tight one-piece cowl wouldn't have worked on-screen for such a dynamic character (the guy in the Flash TV series had to turn from the waist, not the neck) but the chin-strap is ludicrous. Your continuation of the leather section is a good move, as is the removal of those distracting shoulder-stars. Couldn't agree more about the wings. Wings all the way.