The Dark Knight Batsuit Discussion Thread

[javi1024]

im not crazy about the red lining. and overall i thought your earlier design was better.

im assuming you used prisma markers and not corel painter for the colors right? this looks great.

 

[Wams]

^ THE initial concept.

Sigh....

 

[Wams]

im not crazy about the red lining. and overall i thought your earlier design was better.

im assuming you used prisma markers and not corel painter for the colors right? this looks great.

It's not a "red lining" the black I used was not picked up on my scanner.
It is supposed to be black.
The suit is to be slick black and dark matte graphite gray....
With copper belt attachments.
And yes...Markers are my..."modus operandi"

 

[tang126]

With the ongoing discussion about the "plain black bat" vs. "yellow oval/circle + bat", has anyone mocked-up a compromise and gone with a yellow (or gold/copper, depending on belt and all) bat? No oval...the color on that bat itself, popping off the dark grey/black chest plate?

Is that a nice halfway/meeting point between the two sides?

Or is that too much like Batgirl or others?

Not a bright canary/lemon yellow, mind you. But whatever the tone of the belt is, which is a muted gold in a lot of these pics and drawings (or the "BB" suit).

Hell, it's been everything else: no oval, big oval, circle, yellow oval, silver oval, silver bat, black bat, about 125 different bat shapes and sizes, etc. over the past 60 years in various mediums. So no one can say "that's too much a departure" because there doesn't seem to be a hard, fast rule on this...

I don't know...just something I was thinking.

 

[nightwing07]

bats suit was fine however the cowl could be more flexible, in scene bats couldnt move his head fluidly. i think the memory cloth idea was awesome but sort out the gauntlet gun thing! its too big and bats uses many lines so this needs to be addressed!
in certain scene bale had a double chin so the cowl need to be improved, bats always has a strong jaw referncing the comics!
everything else is fine the colour, fabric and the style works well within the context of bb origin!

 

[Seen]

I'm not one for the whole Grey/Black Tights argument... but damn.... this is hella awesome.

Agreed.

 

[nightwing07]

maybe bat jet should be added as harness
an idea from a dream lol

 

[Johnny Drama]

The only place I see the oval these days is in the kiddies section.

The only place I see the oval is in every entertainment medium to feature batman for the better part of a century, minus the past 5 years...

 

[Muziko]

LoL. Yeah, the oval has been around for a loooong time. I think if you asked the average person to draw the batman symbol...they'd do it with an oval. Personally, I don't want to see the oval ever again... at least not live action. I like the new look they came up with on the chest symbol for Batman Begins, but I'm not going to say that the oval is not the most commonly used symbol in the history of Batman.

 

[Johnny Drama]

It really depends on the suit. The bat looks nice on gray, the oval looks nice on all black. But All black with a black bat logo is just plain boring...

 

[javi1024]

It's not a "red lining" the black I used was not picked up on my scanner.
It is supposed to be black.
The suit is to be slick black and dark matte graphite gray....
With copper belt attachments.
And yes...Markers are my..."modus operandi"

well just overall, the shape of the cowl, the position of the ears, the utility belt, they all look better in your first design.

 

[lujho]

Batman has, in the main comics, had the oval for only a couple of years longer than the plain Bat. For the first 25 years he existed, he had the bat - there was no oval until 1964. And now, for the last... what nearly 10 years, he's had the plain Bat again.

Also, during the oval period, the 2 highest profile Batman works (DKR and Y1) used the plain bat.

Neither is more right than the other, but to say the plain bat is just some passing phase or something that hasn't been around long is wrong. You certainly can't say one is "right" by how long he had it because it's just about equal.

 

[Saint]

Anyone expecting the oval to be used in this iteration of the franchise is dreaming. Understand that this is a matter of branding: the oval symbol was created to unify all Batman related-material under a single, recognizable brand. This is why that symbol has, until now, been found on merchandice, movie posters, and, of course, the costumes in the films.

Now, I realize some of you are going to say "that's why he should wear the oval," but that's not where this track leads. As always happens, the visual identity of the brand has become too familar, or too stale. Worse, it is now associated with with an outdated, undesirable product (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin). As such, an updated, modern, and fresh identity became necessary. Hence, we have the square-winged Batman Begins symbol.

Now you may say "Oh, but it's not recognizable!" Well, that's a non-issue. Recognizability is always sacrificed when a new brand is designed, but it is a necessary sacrifice to contemporize the visual identity. Oftentimes, enough of the previous brand is retained so the average person can connect the dots and recognize the new brand (for example, anyone who did not connect the Begins symbol to Batman is mentally deficient). Take AT&T. Compare their old logo to their new logo. The brand has changed, but everyone would recognize the latter as being AT&T, even without the wordmark present.

To put it more concisely: recognizability is not a valid argument, as all brand images evolve, and anyone with a functioning brain will connect the batsymbol with Batman, whether it has the oval or not.

To return to my original point (that anyone expecting to see the oval is dreaming), since we have established that this is a matter of branding, it is extremely unlikely that you will see the oval for the sake of the new brand. Consider other high profile franchises, such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Spider-Man. The visual identity for each film in the series is always the same; the same icons, the same typefaces, the same visual language. For this reason, the oval will never appear on any promotional material (posters being the primary example) until the creative direction changes (for example, Batman Forever being a directional change from Burton's films). The square-winged Begins symbol will remain.

As it relates to the suit, the recognizability argument is downright silly, because nobody is going to say "That's not Batman!" if he doesn't have an oval on his chest. Indeed, there will never be even a moment of doubt as to his identity, with or without the oval. If you think the oval should be on the suit, great, but this "recognizability" stuff is silly. If there is to be any change in the chest symbol, it will be to the square-winged symbol. If you recall, the costume designers said the square-winged symbol looked awkward on the curve of the chest, which is why they created the variation with bent wings. I hope they find a way around this, because I think the square-winged symbol is an excellent reinvention of the logo and would look great on the costume.

When it comes to the oval argument, personally, I just prefer the black symbol (Alex Ross variation, though, not the Jim Lee version that everyone around here seems to favour). Not because of recognizability or stealth or any of that fake garbage; just because I like it. If the oval made a return, I would be extremely annoyed. However, if a circular version was created (The bat contained within a yellow circle, rather than oval), I think that'd be cool as hell.

Understand that this post is not meant to argue that the oval is bad, or not as good, or whatever else (my personal feelings notwithstanding). I am only explaining as to why it hasn't been used, and why it will not be used in the near future. I suspect if it returns, it will be years from now when it's nostalgic value can be cashed in on (much like many of the choices in Superman Returns were made to cash in on fond memories of Superman: The Movie, the best examples being the music and title sequence).

 

[BatScot]

Sigh...

I suspect that was Finger's initial reaction also.

 

[BatScot]

The only place I see the oval is in every entertainment medium to feature batman for the better part of a century, minus the past 5 years...

That’s some seriously faulty math there GW... not to mention that you neglected to subtract the first 25 years.

Now let's see how the numbers really add up:

• 1939-1964 = 25 years with bat only
• 1964-1997 = 33 years with oval
• 1997-2007 = 10 years with bat only (see note below)

Total: 35 years with bat only, 33 years with oval… that’s certainly a far cry from your statement that the oval has been a feature of Batman’s iconography for the “better part of a century”.

NOTE: The change back to the bat only logo first occurred in 1997’s The New Batman Adventures animated series

 

[Darkest Knight]

Exactly. Quite flexible.

 

[Wams]

Batman has, in the main comics, had the oval for only a couple of years longer than the plain Bat. For the first 25 years he existed, he had the bat - there was no oval until 1964. And now, for the last... what nearly 10 years, he's had the plain Bat again.

Also, during the oval period, the 2 highest profile Batman works (DKR and Y1) used the plain bat.

Neither is more right than the other, but to say the plain bat is just some passing phase or something that hasn't been around long is wrong. You certainly can't say one is "right" by how long he had it because it's just about equal.

DKR also had the oval bat insignia.
My small Batman animated statue (with oval bat insignia) kicks as much @$$ as my lifesize Begins (without the oval) statue.

 

[lujho]

DKR also had the oval bat insignia.

Yeah, but Miller got it torn/shot up and got rid of it to make way for the plain bat. He clearly prefers the no-oval version, he's used it in every other version of Batman he's done.

 

[Wams]

Yeah, but Miller got it torn/shot up and got rid of it to make way for the plain bat. He clearly prefers the no-oval version, he's used it in every other version of Batman he's done.

 

[Dark Guardian]

Oh
My
God!

THOSE ARE AMAZING!

Dude seriously though, those are really, REALLY great. They not only would make a great chest emblem, but also awesome Batarangs. Hell, a great emblem on the front of the Batmobile for that matter. Just amount anything!
Where did you find them?
And if you made them, you are...well...you're either Batman, or God...or Both.
t:

 

[The Batman]

That’s some seriously faulty math there GW... not to mention that you neglected to subtract the first 25 years.

Now let's see how the numbers really add up:

• 1939-1964 = 25 years with bat only
• 1964-1997 = 33 years with oval
• 1997-2007 = 10 years with bat only (see note below)

Total: 35 years with bat only, 33 years with oval… that’s certainly a far cry from your statement that the oval has been a feature of Batman’s iconography for the “better part of a century”.

NOTE: The change back to the bat only logo first occurred in 1997’s The New Batman Adventures animated series

For one thing...if you're using the animated series, its only fair to use the fact that "The Batman" cartoon has been using the oval, and has been on tv for three years, and then add another two, because, as i clearly recall, the comics were still using the oval...and in fact...add another year to that, because in the JLA series, Batman was in fact still wearing the oval for a short while after the main batcomics switched to the black bat.

 

[dark_b]

Oh
My
God!

THOSE ARE AMAZING!

Dude seriously though, those are really, REALLY great. They not only would make a great chest emblem, but also awesome Batarangs. Hell, a great emblem on the front of the Batmobile for that matter. Just amount anything!
Where did you find them?
And if you made them, you are...well...you're either Batman, or God...or Both.
t:

yeah the designe is very good. but to make this 3d would be hard. some parts dont make sense. as a photoshop pic it looks good but who knows how would it look in rea llife.

nice designe.

 

[Steelsheen]

indeed, those are good 3D designs

 

[Muziko]

Looks like it would be an awesome throwing weapon... but they look like they're made from a rare dark jewel... and therefore too expensive to be throwing at a villain (I don't care if it is Billionaire Bruce Wayne... or that he's throwing them at the most badass of villains: The Joker) LoL. Kiddin'

... awesome design by the way.

 

[BatScot]

The only place I see the oval is in every entertainment medium to feature batman for the better part of a century, minus the past 5 years...

For one thing... it was GW, not I, who introduced the idea of using the animated versions.

if you're using the animated series, its only fair to use the fact that "The Batman" cartoon has been using the oval, and has been on tv for three years, and then add another two, because, as i clearly recall, the comics were still using the oval...and in fact...add another year to that, because in the JLA series, Batman was in fact still wearing the oval for a short while after the main batcomics switched to the black bat.

I had considered ‘The Batman’. But the fact remains that the occasional use of the oval in certain circumstances is over shadowed by the predominant use of the bat in others.