Defined Green Lantern Comic Rings

[Gregatron]

Interestingly enough, Joe Staton drew a front view of the V2 ring as a decorative element for the creator credits box on the title page of GREEN LANTERN CORPS # 208:

Doesn’t look too far off from the model shown upthread, although the symbol-piece is integrated into the band in such a way that it sits just above the finger-hole. This clashes with some of his other art, which very much shows the symbol-piece sitting on top of the band.

 

[Gregatron]

Modified the new V1 to have a separate outer ring to allow for easier installation of the resin insert.

 

[Gregatron]

And a few more tweaks to the REBIRTH. Both the V1 and this model now have 6mm shanks.

 

[Gregatron]

I rather like the idea, in-universe, of the REBIRTH ring being a smaller and sleeker version of the Silver Age design, in addition to the obvious symbol change. It indicates improvements in Oan technology, over the years.

There’s nothing in the books to support this, of course, especially since Hal Jordan’s REBIRTH ring is actually said in the story to be a duplicate/spare of (ostensibly) his GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW-era V1 ring.

 

[Gregatron]

Tinkering with the REBIRTH. More aggressive filleting allows for an even curvier and more organic band, as well as a rounder bottom for the shank, which you can see in the first three images, in comparison with the flatter look of the previous model.


New on left, old on right.

 

[Gregatron]

More subtle tweaks to the REBIRTH.

And now I’m rethinking and tweaking the V1. Here are mock-ups with 23 (right) and 24mm (left) discs.

 

[Gregatron]

Modified the V2 and V3 to have 6mm shanks, for consistency with the new V1 and REBIRTH.

 

[Gregatron]

And here we have three fully-constructed models with removable disc-rings and lime-green inserts. From left to right, we have 24mm, 23mm, and 22mm discs.


As has been noted many times, Gil Kane’s artwork was wildly inconsistent, be it due to his various inkers and/or his own tweaks to the design. These new models are based on a variety of images, as well as images of real signet rings. Some Kane artwork features a much flatter and less organic-looking band than what is seen here, and so I may have to experiment by easing up on the filleting.

And here they are with the REBIRTH and its 20.5mm disc (which sits higher above the finger-hole) and its less-tapered band.

 

[Gregatron]

Created a Sinestro Corps variant of the REBIRTH.

 

[Gregatron]

I keep bouncing around between the designs to make them all reasonably consistent with each other in terms of details like shank widths, fillets, etc.

Currently, I have the space between the finger-hole and the disc on the REBIRTH at 1.5mm, and the disc itself at 3mm. I then applied that basic philosophy to the others. The V2’s band is now 1.5mm from finger-hole to symbol-piece, and the piece itself is 3mm, etc. For the V3, that means 4.5mm overall from the finger-hole to the top face/symbol, which looks maybe a little TOO tall. We’ll see. I also altered the distance from the bottom of the shank to the bottom of the ribs on either side of the shank (formed by the sidebars of the GL symbol extending down and around the band) to 1.5mm, to mirror what I’m doing with the finger-hole-to-disc/symbol spacing.

It’s just a matter of calibrating and tweaking. I genuinely think I’ve been on fire, recently. I think some of these designs are now in the final stages of tweaking before I lock them down. It’s really just nitty-gritty things that need to be buttoned up, at this point. As well as the tolerances and engineering of the signet-rings and their resin insert pieces. The V1 is a problem, because, unlike the REBIRTH (which has the edges of the GL symbol attached to the disc, allowing the resin insert to mount from underneath, instead of going in from the top), the V1 requires two separate resin pieces. And the center piece (in the center hole of the GL symbol) would be difficult to mount at the exact same depth as the outer resin piece while also leaving room for glow powder beneath it.



Of them all, the REBIRTH is probably closest to where I want it, followed by the V2. The V2s symbol-piece size and thickness still needs some consideration, as does my commitment to the new method of attaching the symbol-piece to the band.

The V3’s overall size is still a question-mark, as is the height of the face of the ring and the degree of tapering for the sidebars.

The V1’s disc size is still in question, but I’m now leaning back toward 23-24mm. My breakthrough with the band design really hit the sweet spot, and I finally feel like I hit on the look I wanted for this variant. Meanwhile, the straight-band V1’s remaining questions would be the disc size and the attachment to the top of the band (full “O” or “U”).

The EMERALD DAWN remains the furthest behind in development. I need to commit to a specific design philosophy and just run with it.

 

[Gregatron]

In skimming through Staton’s work once again, I find myself confronted with a number of different band styles, from curved/signet…

…to parallel…

…to tapered…

…to curved and flaring out beneath the sidebars:

Some art looks to jibe with my newest design, which mounts the circular part of the symbol-piece directly to the band, with no undercut, while other art (such as the first image seen above) features a shadow under the symbol, indicating an undercut.

 

[Gregatron]

And here are some turnarounds of the current V2 and V3:

 

[Gregatron]

Upon reflection, I may have to abandon this whole notion of a consistent finger-hole-to-face height for all of the rings, because the V2 symbol-piece looks a little too short and the V3 face a little too tall, to my eye.

 

[Gregatron]

On the V2, I reduced the space between the finger-hole and the symbol-piece from 1.5mm to 1mm, and increased the thickness of the symbol-piece from 3mm to 3.5mm. It’s subtle difference, but it improves the overall look.

I’ve also been tinkering with more aggressive filleting to create a rounder band, a la the REBIRTH, but the current model sticks with the flatter look.

As for the V3, I reduced the height of the face from 4.5mm to 3.5mm, which greatly improves the look, I think.

The result of all this is that the two designs are almost equal to each other in height, but now have more pleasing shapes/proportions.

 

[Gregatron]

Slightly tweaked the REBIRTH to reduce the disc diameter from 20.5mm to an even 20mm.

Currently tweaking the shape of the 24mm V1 and comparing it to the REBIRTH. The goal is to keep the designs distinct from each other. The notable difference in disc size and the different band shapes help with that.

 

[Gregatron]

Slaving away on the EMERALD DAWN. Such a frustrating design to pin down, because of the art variances. I think I’m heading in the right direction, though. This one has a 22mm disc.

 

[Gregatron]

Bumped it up to 24mm, among other tweaks.

The ED design is perhaps even more vexing and inconsistent than the curved-band V1.

It goes from being a very organic band gripping a disc from the sides, with the disc squaring off the top of the finger-hole…

...to much more of a traditional signet ring.

I can build the former, but the big problem is the filleting on the bottom of the disc, because it doesn’t properly mesh with the band when they’re modeled as two separate pieces, and also won’t fillet when the two parts are modeled as one piece.

So, by default, I’ve been pushing toward the latter, with a full finger-hole.

 

[Gregatron]

Knocking back the filleting on the V1 (left) to go for a closer match to some of Kane’s art, which sometimes features a flatter band.

Still working with the EMERALD DAWN. I may end up giving it a curvier look than the V1 to distinguish them from each other, since the ED already has the curve-lipped disc, as opposed to the V1’s hockey puck.

 

[Gregatron]

I’m liking where this is going. The V1 has a 24mm disc, and a relatively squared/flat band. The EMERALD DAWN has a 23mm disc, a very organic band, and a slightly more compact shape.

 

[Gregatron]

Getting close to ready for test prints. Here are the current V1 (24mm disc) EMERALD DAWN (23mm disc), and REBIRTH (20mm disc). After much consideration, I decided to detach the symbols from the V1 and ED and turn them into separate pieces in order to maintain better control over the fit and depth of the lime-green insert pieces (which have themselves gone from two pieces to one). This way, the symbols will lock into the resin inserts, and then into the rings, with room for glow powder beneath the inserts.


Setting aside the fact that the EMERALD DAWN was the post-CRISIS retcon design for the Silver Age V1 ring, I rather like the fact that you can get a sense of evolution across these three designs. Smaller and sleeker as time and Oan technology progress.