Defined Green Lantern Comic Rings

[Gregatron]

More tweaking. An endless series of minor adjustments in regards to the height, shape, and proportions of various elements.

And I’ve gone back to tweaking the V1.

22mm and 23mm, in both the organic and squared-band varieties. It’s really hard to decide which one to stick with, since Gil Kane went with both, although the squared-band was used more frequently. Test prints will hopefully help me make a decision.

 

[DexAntares]

Pulled the trigger on a fresh Kyle ring based on the model I made. The proportions should be closer to the DC Direct ring than my current iteration. I'll post pics once it arrives, and once I've got some glow resin in there too.

 

[Gregatron]

Pulled the trigger on a fresh Kyle ring based on the model I made. The proportions should be closer to the DC Direct ring than my current iteration. I'll post pics once it arrives, and once I've got some glow resin in there too.

Keep us posted!

It wouldn't be hard to get my own designs done up in, say, sterling silver, but they...wouldn't...be...green.

Although I may end up getting a silver ring or two for casual wear, since anodized green would surely scratch and chip quickly. We'll see.

 

[DexAntares]

Keep us posted!

It wouldn't be hard to get my own designs done up in, say, sterling silver, but they...wouldn't...be...green.

Although I may end up getting a silver ring or two for casual wear, since anodized green would surely scratch and chip quickly. We'll see.

Personally I like doing mine in stainless steel. Much as I love silver, steel is more durable. I'm just wondering if I should try selling these things.

 

[Gregatron]

Made a few more tweaks. As noted previously, I’m now aiming for suspending translucent resin gems above raw glow powder added at the bottom of the gem sockets, rather than impregnating the resin with the glow powder. To that end, I’ve added small retaining rings/lips at the bottom of the gem sockets to ensure that the gems sit at the proper height, and don’t seat too far down inside the sockets (or sit too proud of the rings’ faces) when being installed.

I was kinda hoping to avoid this so as to allow for the V2/V3 variants that don’t have gems (since the gem sockets wouldn’t need or have such a lip at the bottom), but it seems like a good move to add the lips.

I’ve also finally ordered a new batch of test prints: V1 (squared band, 24mm disc), V2 (tri-band/flat gem variant), V3 (24mm symbol), EMERALD DAWN, REBIRTH, and Patrick Gleason V2.

I could have ordered a few more (Sinestro Corps, Gardner, standard V2, etc.), but the designs now being printed were specifically chosen so that the data and measurements from the prints can then be applied to the unprinted models, in order to save on printing costs.

These cheap plastic test prints aren’t actually very expensive (usually between $4-15 for a single part, depending on design), but the multi-part designs cause that cost to go up. For example, the V1 is designed in four pieces, so the cost of one full ring is in the $20 range, rather than the $5-$10 it would be if printed as a single piece. So, for six complete rings (plus shipping), it’s nearly $100.

 

[Gregatron]

Turnarounds for the printed models. It’s always hard to know how these things will look and feel in actual, 3D reality. We’ll see.

 

[Gregatron]

…what a difference three-plus years makes. We’ve come along way, baby!

 

[Gregatron]

Just for funzies, I decided to tweak the V1 design and create a variant representing what a properly real-world ring would look like, as opposed to the BIG honkin’ disc seen in the comics. This version has a 19mm disc.

Meanwhile, as I wait for the test prints, I think I might pass the time by modeling some of the more obscure variants drawn by various artists (Dave Cockrum, Don Heck, John Byrne, Darryl Banks, etc,), over the years.

 

[Gregatron]

Just for funzies…


Don Heck’s V2 design from GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW #122, with the curvy band:

Darry Banks’ V1 from GREEN LANTERN (Vol 3) # 50:

John Byrne’s V3 from TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL # 3:

 

[Gregatron]

Here’s a unique one…Dave Cockrum’s design from GREEN LANTERN # 128 (also reprinted in #177):

 

[Gregatron]

And here’s the very simple signet ring drawn by Pat Broderick for the first eight issues of GREEN LANTERN (Vol. 3). I made three variants, since the rings were sometimes colored a solid dark green, other times with a dark green body and a lime green symbol, and at least once with the indication of a gem in the center of the symbol.

 

[Gregatron]

Okay, listen. I’ve been doing these variant rings more for the sake of thoroughness and for the challenge than anything else. So, there’s no real reason to get too obsessive about making them super-accurate.

That being said, I’ve had a nagging desire to perfect the Byrne design. It’s an obscure design worn by an unnamed character in a six-page story from an Annual. But I find it to be a very unique and cool variant of the classic Mike Grell design.

That being said, it appears in only two panels which show any kind of detail.

Note that, in the first panel shown above, the inner edges of the GL symbol’s sidebars connect to the central ring section at an angle, with the sidebars being trapezoidal, rather than perfectly rectangular. However, the artwork is inconsistent, since a few other panels seems to show the standard GL symbol:

And this slight symbol variant also appears in some of Byrne’s other GL artwork, such as this Hal Jordan commission:

Artistic shorthand, or a deliberate tweak?

Anyway, trying to match all of the key details seen in the one good closeup panel from this story (the angled sidebar connection to the central ring of the symbol, the sidebars being parallel in profile view and blending into the lower band, and the central ring section emerging from the main body at about 2/3 the ring’s height) has been a considerable challenge.


But, after some wild experimentation, I finally cracked it.

And, because the art and coloring don’t make it clear, I made no gem, flat gem, and domed gem variants:

 

[ExtremeSail]

The Byrne and Cockrum designs are really interesting. Great translations from page to model!

 

[Gregatron]

The Byrne and Cockrum designs are really interesting. Great translations from page to model!

Thanks! I try to do these things justice!

I need to start digging through old issues to find other weird variants. And I still haven’t done G’nort’s paw-band ring.

 

[publiusr]

Ironically, a Marvel THING cartoon had a ring to turn some into the Rocky character.

Wasn’t there another interlocking pair?

 

[Gregatron]

While waiting for the test prints, I’m doing some preliminary V1 tweaks.

The models currently being printed all have a 5mm height between the finger-hole and the face, as do the others. Depending on how the prints turn out, I may loosen up on keeping the designs consistent, and incorporate individually varying heights and whatnot to allow for better shapes and proportions.

While I like the look of the V1 being printed, I do wonder if it shouldn’t be shorter, with less of a gap between the finger-hole and the bottom of the disc.

To that end, I’ve created shorter, stockier V1 variants, in both 22mm/23mm and squared band/organic band flavors.

Overall, I’m really pleased with where the V1 has gone. It’s taken a lot of work to crack. The only variables I’m still not sure about are the band style, the disc diameter and the amount of material between the hole and the disc. Hopefully, examination of the test print will help narrow things down even more.

And once I have this design pinned down, I can go back and re-model the straight-band variant from the early Gil Kane run, as well as the original Abin Sur design.



22mm, squared:

23mm, organic:

 

[Gregatron]

Back to playing around with the original Mike Grell design. Used the 24mm V3 model (the one currently being printed) as a basis, then made the appropriate mods. Might still tinker with the shapes a bit.

 

[Gregatron]

Tinkering with the early Gil Kane V1 in 22mm/23mm flavors.

 

[Astyanax]

Really amazing work there! I really don't have the skill to model myself, but I have been unhappy with the 3D prints and merchandise rings out there...wish I could just print my own comics-accurate ring like yours designs.

Keep it up, and let me know if you'd like some help with some printing!

 

[Gregatron]

Really amazing work there! I really don't have the skill to model myself, but I have been unhappy with the 3D prints and merchandise rings out there...wish I could just print my own comics-accurate ring like yours designs.

Keep it up, and let me know if you'd like some help with some printing!

I didn’t have modeling skills, either. Practice makes perfect.