I don't think I should describe to you the whole idea of this so-called "Fan-Made Concept Art" to you, as I believe, you'll easily get it later. Instead, I'd like to explain of why I chose the Ghost Rider universe for this first attempt, to start off. As a comic book fan, I see that the two movies that we've got now did the character no justice at all. Yes, I'm not a big fan of Ghost Rider, either, but I've always been interested into the character, especially after reading a few old issues of the comic book series. It's impossible for me to catch up with every single issue of the series, of course, so I was expecting for the movies to show me what the character (and the surrounding universe) has got. Long story short, both movies failed to accomplish that goal, and with a great feeling of dissatisfaction, I took a time to think about why the movie failed; and most of all, how to make a movie that does the character justice. (Since personally, I think the character has a cool concept to begin with.) There are a lot of aspects, but here, I'm focusing on how to translate the characters into the big screen correctly.
As we all know, the first Ghost Rider movie received a lot of complaints due to its unfaithful physical portrayal of the characters, mainly the villain Blackheart. I know, that translating characters into the big screen isn't an easy thing, especially with today's realistic demands, et cetera. Furthermore, it gets even more difficult for the characters of Ghost Rider, as most have a lot of horror aspects in them, and if you miss a spot in the design, the character can easily look like a cheap stuff. That being said, changes in the characters' designs are surely necessary, and that's what I'm trying to do here: To alter the characters in such way it can be portrayed well in the big screen, while also retaining their comic book aspects that fans are familiar with, both at the same time. Keep in mind that I've got reasons for all the alterations I've made, so read on all the descriptions. If you find the reasons unacceptable, I'd be glad to discuss it below. And now, without any further ado, check out the images I've made right below. (Don't forget, that you can click on each image to view it in full-size.)
GHOST RIDER
If there's one thing that's done correctly in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, it should be the looks of the characters; mainly the Ghost Rider himself, and his trademark motorcycle. And so, I don't think many changes are necessary for the character. The only change I made for the Ghost Rider is the type of jacket he wears, so that it resembles his classic comic counterpart more (I've never seen that type of jacket in real life, though, but I'm pretty sure a custom jacket can be made for a movie), while for the motorcycle, I'd go with the classic cruiser-type motorcycle as opposed to the standard type depicted in the movie - since I'm going with the Johnny Blaze incarnation of the character this time. Oh, and I also added a convolution of chain around his hands, representing his ability to generate near-indestructible chains.
MEPHISTO
I've been through quite a hard time deciding how the character should look like for a movie, as...well, you know, it's not easy to translate a character like his comic book counterpart to live-action medium, being a half-naked, gigantic character, with an inhuman skin color. But then, the frost giants from Thor came into my mind, and I decided to make the design close to those creatures, as they look quite similar, physically. I also gave him additional armors, which are enough to give him a little bit of king-like overall look; while not too much, either, so that it can fit with his comic book counterpart. Now, as for his "human form" (I think no matter what, the demons still need to possess human forms), I don't think there's much problem with Peter Fonda's portrayal in the first movie. Only, this time, I give several allusions to both his "demon form", through the ten rings on his fingers (which represent the finger carvings that I created on the "demon form" - I don't have any idea of why I gave him those carvings, though); and to his comic book counterpart, with the wide jacket collar (which represents the high collar the comic book counterpart usually sports).
BLACKHEART
Blackheart's features, including his long black hair, wide eyes, mouth-less face, and tail, make him an even tougher character to translate compared to his "father", Mephisto. That's why, I decided to alter the character quite greatly. The main inspiration for this design is Prince Nuada, portrayed by Luke Goss in Hellboy II: The Golden Army (thus, I kind of imagine him to be portrayed by an actor like him); who, in my opinion, shares a little resemblance with the character, mainly the long hair and demonic features. And then, I also gave him a few coverings in the form of pants and shoulder armors, to give him a sort of prince-like persona, being the son of the "king", Mephisto. As for the face, I imagine him to be a combination of Lord Voldemort and Beast from X-Men: First Class. Meanwhile, instead of giving him a tail, I designed him to have a protruding spine on his back. (Which is connected to the coccyx, thus indirectly giving him a somewhat extended "tail".) For the human forms, I decided to create two designs. The first one is the typical bald bad guy, with a rough, fierce-looking face, dark eyes, et cetera. (As I mentioned before, imagine someone like Luke Goss portraying him.) The second one, meanwhile, is modeled after his appearance in Venom #13 (check out the image here). Now, I'm not that much of a reader of the title, so I can't tell of why or how does he get that look in the comics. However, while it is quite believable to serve as a human form of a demon, I also think that such look may be seen by some people as being "emo", which of course, can end up with the idea being rejected. That's why I decided to make two alternatives for it, and I'm not sure which one is better.
VENGEANCE
For this character, I decided to stick it close to the Ghost Rider design I've made - you have the chain convolution, et cetera. Like his comic book counterpart, however, I also gave him one feature that distinguishes him from the Ghost Rider, which is the protruding ribcage. Now, for his initial look, I decided not to give him his trademark "spiky" skull; I think it should be saved for his later appearance in the movie. (Thus, I created two different types of skull for him.) What's important for the character is not to give him the purple color tone like his comic book counterpart, as of course, it will make him look odd. Although the image is colorless, I intend him to have the color scheme of the Kowalski incarnation of the character (albeit with slight purple tone from the flame). The same thing goes for his motorcycle. While it still retains its classic features, such as the dragon skull on the front part (for this one, we should tone down the realism a little bit, so I let it to have its trademark feature), I think a darker color scheme would look better on the big screen.
ZARATHOS
Yet another tough character to adapt. In the comic book series, Zarathos was once depicted as a living, flaming skeleton, and also depicted sometimes with a purple tight suit, complete with a cape, boots, and gloves. For a movie, however, I think he should be depicted as a more mythical character, and so I designed the character with a long robe; imagine something like what Matai Shang dons in John Carter, only with a darker color scheme. And then, I imagine him to have an armor-like covering behind the robe (visible in the image around the thighs), which I modeled after the Destroyer from Thor. Additionally, he also wears boots similar to Mephisto's above. For the colors, I intend him to be covered in blue fire, which gives the overall black skull a slight reddish tone; so that the character can resemble his comic book counterpart pretty well.
Since this is my first attempt, I decided not to draw so many images first. (Besides, any other characters do not necessarily need that much change; and if I was to make the movie, these characters would be the only ones I include, with a few other human characters.) However, if you like it, I will make more of this - of course, from other franchises, characters, and universes. Share your thoughts below; comments, feedbacks, and critics will be greatly appreciated.
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