Defined Green Lantern Comic Rings

[Gregatron]

Man, that new ring is looking better and better Gregatron . So I dunno if it's come up yet but do you have a favorite design among all the models you've done so far?

Also I took a pic of my rings together. Left is my newest, right is my previous, and middle is the DC Direct official replica.View attachment 1769528

It's SO hard to choose. If I had a clear favorite design, I'd probably just stick with modeling that one. But there have been so many great designs by great artists, over the years.

And your comparison is very neat. I'd love to get some dimensions on them, when you get a chance.

My own Kyle-style print should be arriving in a week or so.

Interesting that the DC Direct ring is the smallest. I'm sure that both they and you played the same scale game I've been obsessing over.

Just how BIG should that symbol be? Too big, and the ring looks like a gaudy kids' toy. Too small, and it looks like a band with a dinky little charm on top, and not like the comic rings.

 

[DexAntares]

It's SO hard to choose. If I had a clear favorite design, I'd probably just stick with modeling that one. But there have been so many great designs by great artists, over the years.

And your comparison is very neat. I'd love to get some dimensions on them, when you get a chance.

My own Kyle-style print should be arriving in a week or so.

Interesting that the DC Direct ring is the smallest. I'm sure that both they and you played the same scale game I've been obsessing over.

Just how BIG should that symbol be? Too big, and the ring looks like a gaudy kids' toy. Too small, and it looks like a band with a dinky little charm on top, and not like the comic rings.

You're right. It's hard to nail a good look for the symbol. I liked my original, the one on the left, which is actually slightly smaller than the DC Direct replica. But I've noticed that most depictions of Kyle's ring have the "bars" at the top and bottom clear the band in front. So my original was slightly inaccurate, despite how good it looks. Meanwhile I feel like the current one is a bit TOO big, but I'm getting used to it. A couple months back somebody on the R/Greenlantern subreddit went on a binge posting pics from Kyle's earliest adventures and I noticed the face of his ring was actually pretty sizable.

I will say this much - my current ring has the best resin inlay I've ever done. For the longest time I just added small amounts of glow dust to the resin after laying it down in the ring face, but dumping a bunch in the resin first and mixing it really well seems to be working out much better. It cured better, it glows better, and the color saturation is perfectly even.

 

[Gregatron]

You're right. It's hard to nail a good look for the symbol. I liked my original, the one on the left, which is actually slightly smaller than the DC Direct replica. But I've noticed that most depictions of Kyle's ring have the "bars" at the top and bottom clear the band in front. So my original was slightly inaccurate, despite how good it looks. Meanwhile I feel like the current one is a bit TOO big, but I'm getting used to it. A couple months back somebody on the R/Greenlantern subreddit went on a binge posting pics from Kyle's earliest adventures and I noticed the face of his ring was actually pretty sizable.

I will say this much - my current ring has the best resin inlay I've ever done. For the longest time I just added small amounts of glow dust to the resin after laying it down in the ring face, but dumping a bunch in the resin first and mixing it really well seems to be working out much better. It cured better, it glows better, and the color saturation is perfectly even.

Yes, I did a cursory evaluation of Kyle's ring styles, early on. Darryl Banks essentially just drew the same Staton-style ring which had been around since the 80s. Sometimes he clearly used the MOSAIC promo ring as a reference, too.

Meanwhile, I'm going back and forth on whether to impregnate the resin gems with glow powder, or to suspend regular resin gems above a bed of glow powder glued into the bottom of the gem sockets.

The in-progress test prints have been designed with the latter in mind, so we'll see how that method compares to mixing the powder into the resin.

 

[DexAntares]

Yes, I did a cursory evaluation of Kyle's ring styles, early on. Darryl Banks essentially just drew the same Staton-style ring which had been around since the 80s. Sometimes he clearly used the MOSAIC promo ring as a reference, too.

Meanwhile, I'm going back and forth on whether to impregnate the resin gems with glow powder, or to suspend regular resin gems above a bed of glow powder glued into the bottom of the gem sockets.

The in-progress test prints have been designed with the latter in mind, so we'll see how that method compares to mixing the powder into the resin.

I'd impregnate the gems with powder. If you go the other route the resin gems themselves may block a lot of the glow coming from the powder underneath. But hey, give it a try. If the gems are clear enough it could work.

 

[Gregatron]

I'd impregnate the gems with powder. If you go the other route the resin gems themselves may block a lot of the glow coming from the powder underneath. But hey, give it a try. If the gems are clear enough it could work.

That's what this particular experiment is all about!

 

[DexAntares]

That's what this particular experiment is all about!

Rockin'. I wish you luck, sir. Can't wait to see how it goes

 

[Gregatron]

Playing with scale. The newest iteration (center) is bigger and more robust than the previous one (left). I’m also wondering if I sound go back to the circular bezel instead of the ellipse.

 

[Gregatron]

Circular vs. ellipse.

 

[Gregatron]

After going back and forth between circular, ellipse, and a hybrid (circular inner diameter, elliptical outer), I’m again leaning toward the ellipse. It just seems to flow better, visually, since it hugs the contours of the band more closely.

In line with the whole “streamlined” notion behind the design, it almost looks like someone took a blowtorch to the REBIRTH ring, with the disc sort of melting/flowing down and flattening out over the band.

 

[greatwazoo42]

That is really neat!

 

[Gregatron]

Tinker, tinker, tinker.


Been playing with different degrees of filleting and shape for the bezel. Some have been very flat and squared on the edge, while others are very rounded and organic.

I think this version is pretty darn close to the comic reference art. An organic shape with a relatively flat/squared face. Previous versions were almost the opposite—a curvy face with squared/90-degree sides where it meets the band.

It’s taken me 3 1/2 years to get this design anywhere close to what I wanted it to be. Numerous failed and abandoned starts, and lots of confusion as to how exactly to go about it. But here we are.

 

[Gregatron]

Okay, I think I’m calling this one done for now, until such time as I get it printed. Just made a few more tweaks to adjust the bezel, including getting it to blend with the edges of the finger-hole. Unless anything tweakable pops up when it gets printed, I’d say this design is pretty much where it needs to be.

 

[publiusr]

It looks like a tokamak now--great!

 

[Gregatron]

…and here’s a variant with the extra ribbing.

 

[Gregatron]

Playing around with some of the Neal Adams variants. Here’s a one-piece signet ring with separate sidebars on the symbol.

 

[Gregatron]

Good News: The test prints arrived.

Bad News: A few parts were somehow printed twice, and others (V1 main body/symbol, EMERALD DAWN symbol) were missing entirely. The V2, V3, Gleason, and REBIRTH were all intact, fortunately. Just gave them a shot of green paint.


Upon reflection, I’m kind thinking that I should just go back to the initial plan of using gems impregnated with glow powder, rather than experimenting with resin gems suspended above raw powder. As a result, I may just paint and glue the gem masters into these test prints and call it a day, rather than going to the trouble of molding and casting them.


Photos and detailed thoughts on the prints to follow.

 

[Gregatron]

I contacted Shapeways about the missing parts. We’ll see what comes of it.

Meanwhile, I painted the gem masters lime green.

Once everything is dry, I’ll assemble the rings, take some photos, and begin the analysis. I’m very pleased, at a cursory glance.

 

[DexAntares]

I've been a bit busy myself. Wasn't 100% satisfied with the inlay I did for my Blue Lantern Ring so I stripped it and started fresh. This time I mixed blue and aqua glow dust. The aqua has superior glow brightness, evenness and duration but when not glowing it's that off-white of GitD stuff. The blue doesn't glow as brightly as long, but when not glowing it's an obvious fluorescent blue. By mixing them I got the best of both worlds.

BTW Gregatron if Shapeways is giving you problems you might wanna consider CraftCloud as an alternative. That's where I get all my printouts from now.

 

[Gregatron]

I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!

 

[Gregatron]

I’ve had some time to wear and study the rings. I’ll get some photos in the daytime.

Meanwhile, here are some preliminary notes:


*The tolerances on some of the parts were a bit tight when assembling them. Gonna have to loosen them up a bit.

*I’m exceptionally pleased with the Kyle-style V2. The ribbed band turned out perfectly. And, since this is also a stand-in for the regular V2 (with the only differences being the tri-band and the flat gem), it serves as a good proof-of-concept for that version, as well.

Frankly, I’d say the V2 is very close to final, now. The symbol size, thickness, and overall aesthetic are right around where there should be. MAYBE the symbol could be bumped down from 24mm to 23mm, but that doesn’t really seem necessary, unless I go for a very slightly more streamlined and realistic look. The symbol size has always been tricky business, since reducing the length of course also shrinks the symbol proportionately, which affects the overall look.

Also…



*As noted, I’ve been trying to keep the symbols on the V2 and V3 the same size. That said, unlike the afforementioned Kyle V2, the V3 still seems a little too chunky and oversized. The previous 22mm print from many months ago seemed more spot-on, whereas the 22mm V2 seemed too small.

Of course, a part of that may also come from the height added to make the face a full 5mm from the finger-hole. The other rings all look solid with a 5mm height.

I need some time to wear them and think on it, but the logical conclusion is that 23mm would be a happy middleground for both designs.



*The REBIRTH also seems close to final, now. Very pleased with the overall shape and size. Although I may end up bumping the disc back up from 19mm to 20mm, both to be more comic-accurate and also to make the taper of the band slightly more pronounced.




*I’m also very pleased with the Patrick Gleason design. As with the Kyle ring, the 24mm symbol seems to be spot-on. And the chamfered face is really subtle and slick. Flattening the gem somewhat so it didn’t peek out of the gem socket was also a good choice. Of course, printing this one was more for fun, than anything.