WB Animation, Character Design, GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS, "Abin Sur," Atrocitus. Pencil, Digital color.

For the segment called "Abin Sur," based on the comics story, "Tygers," by Geoff Johns, this is the original design interpretation for Atrocitus before it was ultimately tweaked for the screen version. Initially, the direction was to depart from the DC Comics version of the villainous character. Executive Producer Bruce Timm, and Producer Lauren Montgomery wanted to push things to make some of the interplanetary cast more outlandishly alien, and less humanoid. However, somewhere along the line after I moved on to YOUNG JUSTICE, the decision was made to scale back just a bit, and Atrocitus was given more normal feet. It's my guess that this was done to facilitate the animation process. In any event, I'm presenting my original design here, which I think is a bit bolder, and a lot more fun. Haha!

Okee-dokey! I was inspired this time by various insects, and crustaceans. Despite the frail appearance of the slender areas of his body, I wanted to convey tremendous power, not fragility. And in low-gravity, otherworldly settings, ordinary rules need not apply. It's about having fun with the shapes, and the ominous characteristics of these shapes. I opted for hard edges, and lots of sharp, needle-like points which instantly make the character look dangerous, and mean, even evil. I returned to the double-thumbs theory, because it's extra-creepy. Giving him a crown made of bone added to the evil, even if it makes no sense. It just looked cool.

The original adapted script contained a scene depicting the character battling Green Lantern Abin Sur in close quarters, within a confined space. Atrocitus had to climb the walls like a spider, and so I designed these grotesque appendage/spikes that could sprout out of his back at the shoulder blades ( [link] ). Similarly, there are smaller spikes that can pop out and retract from his body up around the collarbone. These can be used marginally for defense, but primarily they represent a threat posture, much like a cat arches its back to appear larger and more menacing.

Finally, I added a metal harness with a shackled collar, and a broken manacle so that we get the idea that the character is an escaped captive of some sort, probably a prisoner. The color selections here, as always, are my own. The choice of gold was originally going to be used offensively against the Green Lantern's power ring, referring to its ineffectiveness against anything yellow.

Designing monsters is fun! Thanks for viewing! Cheers!

*Green Lantern, and all related characters are the legal property of DC COMICS, and WARNER BROS. All rights reserved.