You know him as the creator of the UDCU skins that have yet to be released. He’s an avid Deadpool fan and has made several green lantern skins that many FF players enjoy. We take the time to shine the spotlight on Murs47 today so that we finally may know whether or not his insanity is in fact some rare form of genius or a horrible ploy to get us all to lower our shields around him.

FREEDOM FORCE

You’ve skinned a variety of characters over the years and many of those have been characters no one else has touched. What inspires your skinning choices?

My choices can vary. More than likely it’s based on what comics have captivated my interest at the time. There have been a few occasions where the character has never been skinned and I skin it just so it’s available for myself and the rest of the community. Once in a while I’ll skin a character that just looks cool to me without knowing anything about him/her.

You have a fairly distinctive style as a skinner. Do you think your background in the arts informs any of your aesthetic decisions?

Distinct? Is that a nice way of saying crap? I hate you. Spotlight terminated.

I kid, I joke. I joke…then I kid. Vicious cycle. Back to the question. It most certainly does affect my decisions. I think my UDCU skins illustrate that the most. They’re relatively simple designs. A “less is more” attitude was forced on me in school so I apply that to most things I’m working on. Of course, rules can be bent and broken.

What would you consider your favorite skin you’ve done and your most difficult or most time consuming skin?

My favorite would have to be Cyborg Superman. I feel like I really nailed the cybernetic sections of his body but also gave those sections an original look rather than a perfect translation of the comics. The rest could use an update however. :P

Most difficult and time consuming? Ultimate Wonder Woman. No doubt. I think I’ve lost my mind three times already because of that skin and it’s still not done. Sad thing is, I’ll probably consider it mediocre upon completion. Blah!

Out of all your recent projects, the UDCU skins are the most anticipated. What inspired these skins, do the characters have a background story for their setting, and what is the expected time of arrival?

It was a combination of a lot of things that inspired me to this project. I’ve always wanted to do my own take of iconic characters and doing mainstream characters as is had become stale for me. So, I planned and schemed with a fellow Freedom Reborn-er (you) to create a deliciously evil little world for my new creations. I didn’t want a post-apocalyptic universe, that had been done before, so I opted for one that reflected our actual reality to a degree. I made some rules for myself, no time traveling and no mythological/religious figures. Unless, of course, it’s some lunatic that thinks they are one of said figures. A lot of the times I would ask myself, “How would (insert character) fit in our world? What would he actually be like?” Of course, opinions differ from person to person and some/most/all won’t agree with my interpretations. But that’s life.

Expected Time of Arrival: TBD

You’ve been around the community for several years now. Who or what has inspired you as a content creator?

The desire to re-create my favorite fictional characters. A big plus is the huge positive community we’re all a part of. Most online communities have a pretty negative attitude.

As a retiree, what are some skins you wanted to make but never got around to producing?

Dr. Doom. I mean a full blown, fully rendered, no holds barred Dr. Doom. So much detail that I’d skin it at a super high resolution and everyone that downloaded it would hate me because of its size. Other than that, finishing my UDCU and more characters in the Green Lantern universe.

The reimagining of the DC universe wasn’t your first attempt at creating alternate versions of characters. You also helped to do this in the Exiles: Aftermath mod with the Avengers. Do you find reimagining characters or creating new looks more fun than “straight” skinning? Also, what is your process for creating these redesigns before applying paint, so to speak?

I find it much more challenging and rewarding than “straight” skinning. My process for these designs differ. Sometimes I’ll actually sketch it out, or just wing it inside photoshop. For UDCU, I actually used micros for the concept work. Some didn’t translate well so it wasn’t exactly a great idea. That’s trial and error for ya.

You’ve gotten a bit into skoping with your last batch of skins. How difficult would you rate your experiences with nifskope and would you say it helped you in any significant way?

I’ve already forgotten how to use nifskope…Doh!

It’s of particular note that you usually shy away from original skins. Is there a reason you choose to do mainstream over totally original designs?

I can’t come up with original characters for the life of me. I don’t even have an avatar for crying out loud! :O I don’t even know what a “Murs” is? Who am I? What do I do? Will you marry me? Gawd!

MISC.

You’re a huge fan of Deadpool. What is it about this character that draws you to him?

He’s an idiot. The Peter Griffin of comics if you will. And I find that humor to be very entertaining. So when I’m picking up my DP comic for the month, I know I’m getting my money’s worth. Well, not at the moment ’cause some nubcake named Daniel Way who eats frozen corn dogs covered in failsauce every morning is currently writing it, which is incredibly depressing and now I want to stab small cuddly furry animals, so not cool.

SAVE THE ANIMALS! FIRE WAY!

*ahem*

K. With that out of the way (pun not intended), let’s continue.

You are also a major Green Lantern fan. What’s your favorite GL and why?

Guy Gardner. Why you ask? Is that a rhetorical question? What’s 2+2? Silly question, Prev….silly question.

It may not be well known, but you have some type of graphical skills. How would you describe your style and why?

My background is in illustration and graphic design. I began my college career as an illustration major but after acquiring a few freelance gigs designing business’ identity and being heavily rewarded for less time consuming work, I switched majors.

Watchmen: The movie…love it or hate it?

Loved it. It stayed as true to Moore’s story as possible while still keeping a high entertainment value. A perfect balance.

The X-universe has had quite a shakeup in recent years. Are you a fan of any of the ongoing books or any miniseries at the moment?

I’m a fan of progressive characters and shaking things up to do so. I’m especially fond of what’s being done with Cyclops. Here we have the “boyscout” of Marvel burdening himself with the responsibility of mutant survival. He’s willing to sacrifice his morals and even his soul (figuratively) to ensure it. Even the most timid of animals will fight to the death once cornered, and that’s exactly what this is. Mutants are near extinct and Scott’s fighting tooth and nail to make sure it doesn’t happen. I think some readers fail to see that. It’s a very Magneto-esque path Scott’s walking. Of course, as great as these ideas are, they are hindered by poor execution for the most part.

Out of the current series available, X-Force is by far my favorite. A top 3 Marvel book in my eyes and a pleasant surprise.

As you know, Daniel Way has recently taken over the reins of Deadpool. How do you feel about his run so far?

*stabs small and cuddly furry animal*

Every one needs a good book to read. What do you consider a good read in your spare time?

You mean like book-book? Or comic book/graphic novel? I’m going to assume comics. Without a doubt, “Scalped” by Jason Aaron. I can’t even describe the awesomeness of this title. Aaron just throws the reader in all but forgotten facet of our current society (Native American Reservations) and keeps you there. It’s so different, yet familiar. It’s a very captivating series and I absolutely hate turning the last page of each issue ’cause that means I gotta wait another 30 days. *cries*

There’s a such thing as too much TV. Despite this fact, what would you recommend as “need to see” TV?

TV has become so bombarded with “reality” tv series that I can’t stand it anymore. Other than sports, I don’t watch it at all. Recently, a buddy of mine turned me on to the HBO series, “The Wire”. It was slow to get into, but after the 2nd episode, I was hooked. That is what I call good television. The rest of Cable TV needs to catch up ASAP.

Reality tv is all the rage, right? If you were the main star of a reality show, what would it be named and why?

“Monkey Madness.” Each week I’d travel to a different zoo across the nation in search of a primate with the furthest dung flinging abilities. It would be full of win.

And finally, with all the hero related movies coming out in the next few years, which one are you most looking forward to and why?

“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Surfer”. Who isn’t looking forward to that?

And as Murs showed here today, he is quite the silly person. Almost too silly. Deadpool silly. Obviously, he is a clone. What other things did we learn? He attacks small cuddly animals, is somewhat living in the past, and has a background in illustrations. If you want to grab some of Murs’s stuff, you should give his yahoo group a look. If you want your mind to resemble his, you should obviously be reading more Deadpool.