Dominance War IV - 2D - Albers - No. 5

[Albers]

Hey guys - I'm a little late on here as always.

This year I kinda wanted to create some sort of machine guy. I wanted it to have and old feel - very mechanical, with gears and wheels and locks and whatnot instead of cybernetic wires and hoses. I'm toying with a few ideas - maybe it's solar powered in some way using a primitive form of solar cells/panels...I also was looking to somehow incorporate cosmic elements a bit...maybe at the machine's core is a tiny piece of a neutron star or something that could generate a large amount of power and could potentially be used to fire bursts of energy at its enemies.

[Albers]

I decided to try out a more slender body type for this next sketch and was looking at some art nouveau designs for inspiration. Not sure which one I want to go with yet - the bigger guy in the previous sketch seems more powerful but this guy seems more agile. I'm playing around with going more cyborg - inside the main body is a series of neurons and synapses of 'norms', giving the machine the edge of human reflexes. Kinda like a weird combination of machine and a human nervous system?

[Rory_M]

ooo i like where your headed with this. the combination of machine and a human nervous system sounds really cool too.

[Albers]

A few more thumbnail ideas!

[Albers]

Rory_M: Thanks man! I'm hoping it's not too ridiculous...

A couple more ideas - kinda leaning on C at this point. I thought it might be cool if the top of the machine opens up and a 'pet' is deployed - a little bot that repairs the rifts in space while the main robot blasts the demon dudes with its energy cannon. Maybe?

[Albers]

A couple ideas for the little bot dude...trying to keep it in the same style as the main guy.

[Albers]

And here's some reference I've been looking at. Basically I want to have 3 different materials - the big, broad, art nouveau-inspired shapes broken up by bits of gears and cogs and clockwork here and there. The third would be a glass-like material that I'm going to say will be solar cells. I think it would be cool to see mechanical bits underneath.

Any and all critiques are welcome!

[Centrifuge]

well, what can I say justin, your work continues to inspire me. great sketches man. the human organs inside the machine bit looks great, kinda reminds me of escaflowne. really great ideas you got here, definitely got my interest. gl to you man, looking forward for more

[walrus]

All I can say is WOW! These are just killer! What a great style for the robots, and your 2nd-to-last post assures me that the rendering on them is going to be just as cool as the designs themselves are.

As for the work in progress, the designs that appeal to me most thus far are:
* the first guy on the very first post: Nice and meaty, strong with a low center of gravity, all hefty enough to support those great shoulders.
* The shoulders and torso on post #2 (although the oversized thighs and spindly arms and lower legs feel physically weak, not a trait I associate with robots)
* post #4 - B - That hanging down bit really gives him an interesting silhouette that breaks away from the standard humanoid and makes him look like a 5-point star... a fun allusion to his neutron star, perhaps?
* Of the little bots, B and C. The first one has pretty much the same configuration as a "fuchikoma" from Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, which would be nice to avoid even if it is unintentional.

Anyhow, looking forward to more no matter which way you go. Good luck and have fun!

[iworkat]

Nice stufff... The steampunk look is starting to remind me of the short film by I believe blur studios... Looks good though...

[onelung]

And in the left corner............AAAAAAlllbertos! Welcome to the fight man. I have to agree with Walrus. I dig the first dude still the best, as far as body build is concerned. A, on post #4 would be rad if his shield opened up and you could see inner working/ razor face, lights, whatever, somethign to give it some life might be coo. I like little bug (A) mainly due to it doesn't look like a creature, but would be nice to pull that shell off there some, like with the others.
Or scratch all these and make a mech that turns into a giant slice of apple pie. Rock on man, can't wait to see where ya go from here.

[grandyu]

need i say more?
those are fantastic drawings

the shapes are strong, idea is very interesting too
i like the steam punk approach

if the main bot is a clock, then the little bot would be the pocket watch

option 'C' reminds me a bit of the sakura taisen mechs, it's great
and 'A' reminds me of Dunbine, a slightly insect feel

honestly i think they're all great

[cetrian]

hoo man, what a cool design, those are just pro sketches mate, i love the second sketch bro, i would go with that one, now this one is in my favorites:thumb:

[sephirothsav]

what a nice sketch, i like ea lot your desing, kinda hard to choose one...:think: :think:

[Destructica]

great sketchies.reminds me of warmachine legends.

[dragongladiator]

Better late then never,aye I like your idea's and the sketches are great. Can't wait to see more Cheers.

[axelalonso]

Hey Justin, Nice to see you join with your great imagination! :thumb: I am sure enjoying the Art Nouveau curves around all the designs in here, And I do like having the energy cell system based on cosmic star energy! makes sense having an intelligent system to recover energy no mater what, it´s very machine like thought wise, since sun power it´s a bit more depending on something else.. And could be blocked easily from demons strategies, having said this, the nervous systems in a cyborg machine, makes perfect sense to me, it´s full of potential, for the agility type of bot on the second post, and also dig so much you bot that repairs the damage while the main one stays on the fire line :thumb: my favorite so far it´s the ¨B¨ has a slim design, that could be easier to make all the repair tasks on hand. :lucky: As for the main one;
1st- I like the combination of the chest area, and manta ray fish head
2nd- the cool way his legs have a wider length for faster results,
3rd- the tale, adds again that manta ray fish look, but has potential to become powerful cannon

So far I think having a good combination of, movement, energy strength, and maintenance, the machine get a proper life system already! Will keep my eyes on you for sure!

[osiRis]

Strong designs! Really loving the direction your heading. art nouveau <3

[Blk Biscuit]

Hey Justin, nice to see you back this year. Really nice work so far....I like the art nouveau agi feel to him....he looks awesome....

I agree with onelung...I like A the most ...but i really like the legs from the second one down from the top... I'm assuming you intended it but, I thought that a couple of the versions where meant to be somewhat transformerish in a good way...(just adding to what onelung was saying) in that if certain parts of him folded out and that bug pet popped off of him or something...and grew/unfolded to be bigger?....or you saw machine guts or a hot slice of apple pie too....lol....anyhoo...great work as always, goodluck. Keep it coming.

[Albers]

Walrus: Thanks man! I will ditch the Ghost in the Shell ripoff! Thank you for the critiques and suggestions - I plan on riffing off the first one, keeping the guy big and meaty. I will work on incorporating the torso from 'B' on post 4.

iworkat: Thanks! I'll check it out.

onelung: As always, thanks dude. I liked 'A' too, until it was brought to my attention that I basically stole it. I'll keep going and see what I come up with.

grandyu: Thanks! I need to watch my influences tho!

cetrian: Thanks dude. I did like the second one too but I worry that it might appear sort of weak in structure? I dunno...

sephirothsav: Much appreciated man. Some of these have some major flaws tho...

Destructica: Yeah! That IP has some great stuff...I'm sure subconsiously I was drawing influence from that. Those bots have lots of cool shapes!

axelalonso: Thanks man! You're right...gotta find the right balance/combination of movement, energy strength, and maintenance. Wish me luck! I have some experimenting to do.

osiRis: Thanks! I'll try to do the motif justice.

Blk Biscuit: Hey!!! Thanks man. I appreciate the comment...I'll see about working those legs into the first concept and see what happens. I like the idea of transforming stuff - plates moving around and things coming out of things...I'll see what I can do and if I'm smart enough to figure this stuff out!

Okay guys - did a bit more work, mainly riffing off concept 'A' as was the general consensus...trying to figure out my shapes and thinking about how this thing might actually work. I had an idea for some sort of beam cannon that the main guy carries...but meh. I also tried out a few more designs for the mini-robot guy. Maybe it doesn't have legs at all but flies? On thumbnail 'C', I had this goofball idea that maybe the bot passes over the holes/portals opened by the demons and lays in some sort of fabric that closes up the space rips. It sounded cool at the time but now it seems a little ridiculous!

Crits and comments welcome as always!