For this project, I had the opportunity to come up with my own superhero. It was up to me to decide what her powers were, her back story and of course, her costume. I designed two costumes for her, one that would be seen in a traditional comic book and another for a modern film adaptation of the character.
My superhero is named Luna, aka Samantha Smith. When she was a little girl, she was kidnapped and tortured. Blinded and left for dead, she was nearly gone, when the moon shone down on her and revived her. After that day, she found that she had extraordinary powers at night: her hair turns white, she can see in the dark (being blind during the day), control water, and shine powerful beams of light from her hands which are capable of freezing people momentarily.
In high school, Samantha began to use her powers, coupled with her martial arts abilities, to help those in need-particularly busting up human trafficking circles and sexual predators. To protect her identity, she goes by the superhero name Luna.
Comic Book Design
I decided that, based on my research, I would use simpler colors and a more feminine silhouette for the costume from a comic book. I used water colors and markers to give the rendering punchy colors and only used cobalt blue and an orange-yellow to decorate the costume. I decided to give her a flowy skirt, cape, lace up shoes and a crown of stars which all look cute, but are not practical for actual combat. I also gave her hair and makeup that is more in-tune with the period.
Film Adaptation
For the movie, I wanted the costume to be more practical. She wears a jumpsuit and boots which fit closely to her body and are less likely to get caught on things when she is fighting. I also used water color and pencils in order to give the costume more texture. The ombre effect draws the eye to the yellow moon of her costume which is an essential aspect of her superhero identity. The colors are softer and easier to reproduce on screen than in a comic book. The yellow is less intense and the blue is more of a navy color fading into light blue, than the cobalt in the comic book costume.
Costume Design 