133 replies to this topic

[Bishop Steiner]

Marcobra, on 19 November 2013 - 02:46 AM, said:

Fherot, Bishop, thank you guys for the quality feedback. I'll admit that I sometimes cringe at paintovers (even from my AD, hehe) but don't worry I don't let that gut reaction take away from the intended message. I think you guys are both right about pulling the torso forward more. There's a lot of little things that will always bother me about the image, but isn't that always how it is?

Here are some quick crits to return the favor...

Fherot - You have some really solid linework here, something I personally admire because I'm so lousy at it I understand that you're not fully comfortable painting up your images yet, but I don't think you have anything to worry about there. If anything I'd say the technical issue that made this difficult to read was the choice of lighting. Backlighting is a tricky thing to pull off if you're just starting out with rendering. It requires a lot of commitment to hard shadows and a pretty advanced knowlege of form. It's generally used for dramatic effect and it's not typically good at showcasing design either. I would recommend sticking with a more simple overhead lighting situation until you feel comfortable moving on to a bigger challenge. I really do dig the design and it was an easy "like" from me. I do think the cockpit is a touch on the tiny side, but that's just my personal taste.

Bishop - Another easy "Like" with this one. You mentioned having some trepidation towards going digital but I honestly think your designs would really sing with some cleaned up linework which I think you could easily handle in Photoshop. Yours was easily one of my favorite designs in the contest. My only real crit would be that the angle and pose that you selected make it difficult to see what's happening with the legs. I think that if the torso is going to be so twisted, then we should be able to see both hips for a quicker read. I also think hiding the rear foot behind the hill makes it look a bit awkward, but the clarity of the front foot certainly helps. To be honest, while I really liked your design, it wasn't my #1 pick in the beginning. However there are a lot of elements that really resonate with me and the more I look at it the better I appreciate it. In fact, my final vote came down between you and crow, and I think you might be surprised by who I went with

Great feedback!

And an admission, the stupid foot ended up hid behind the hill because I was having one of those days I just couldn't get it to look right!!!!

My trepidation is more in going to purely digital, as I have used gimp as an editing tool a fair bit. I am having trouble divorcing myself from the concept of looking at what my pen is doing. Never had any art classes or training, so the whole "look at the nude model not your painting thing" never really was learned!

[WarHippy]

When I first looked at these five designs 1, 3, and 4 stood out to me as the best of the five. I ended up eliminating 4 after I decided something about the cockpit and up gun mount didn't sit well with me. The cockpit, while visually impressive seemed impractical with the armor extension above and below it. I was down to 1 and 3, and while I really liked both I ultimately chose Bishop's because it looks more in line with what a 75 ton mech should look like for me. Three just looked too bulky for a 75 ton mech in my opinion, however the art work was excellent.

[Peter Thorndyke IV]

I voted for Submission #4: by ResidentCrow, it is more or less the image i first imagined as i read the gray death legion trilogy. alien-insectile, menacing, forward jutting and on top only vaguely simmilar to a glaugg's.
The other designs are also superb, but ResidentCrow's take on the MAD is just what my imaginaton was about as i read Keith's Marauder description.

Great work by all contestants!

[Shadey99]

I kinda want Marcobra's with the cockpit from Shimmering's submission... Since I can't have that, I voted #3...

[Cimarb]

Karyudo ds, on 18 November 2013 - 09:24 PM, said:

The Urbanmech sir. Not sure if the TRO used the word "cute", but if not then it was a missed opportunity.

Oh, I'm not saying that there aren't "cute" mechs, but I personally wouldn't put the Urbanmech in that bucket. I know its the current underdog favorite on the forums, but it was a very specialized design that happens to resemble R2-D2 and has been adopted as the ugly duckling by everyone. It can be drawn "cute", but so can pretty much any other mech. I know any infantryman that stumbled upon an enemy Urbanmech probably wouldn't describe it as cute, that's for sure.

Karyudo ds, on 18 November 2013 - 09:24 PM, said:

Did you ever see it run? It looked bad running. I think it was more mention for flying and leaping really. I don't think design was bad when actually drawn well, but it was intended to be alien space magic and that doesn't come with a warranty. Unlike other mechs like the Tomahawk, Defender, Gladiator, or basically designed for what Battletech was about, so those worked out a bit better. When the Marauder's pilot is 40 feet tall, things are bound to not add up

Yeah, I agree the original art wasn't meant to be functional, obviously. I think it was along the lines of the aliens from War of Worlds, or the HKs from Matrix, looking back.

[C E Dwyer]

sad to say pictures mean nothing to the 3d modellers at pgi. tge shadow hawk was so far removed in design from the art, that if it hadn't been for the cockpit and the ac5 I would have thought it a different mech

[Viges]

Bishop Steiner - Marauder
Marcobra - Marauder II

(I'd choose ResidentCrow but with Bishop Steiner's head and shoulders)

[DocBach]

Marcobra's Marauder looks like a beast and a half. Love it.

[Egomane]

I believe this contest is a fantastic idea and I the artists among the mechwarrior/battletech fans are at least equally fantastic (probably even more). If only I could draw like this ...

Personally, I do not believe that HG will give a green light to one of the top fives. So we will probably not see them in the game anytime soon.

Good luck to the top five!

As this thread is related to a fan contest and not really a feature suggestion, I'll move it to the appropriate sub section of the forums.



For your information: Next time you can self report your thread for movement! Do you want me to close the old thread?

Edited by Egomane, 19 November 2013 - 11:11 AM.

[Richard Strong]

Well sorry for starting negative but I hate the one that looks like the winner (#3, Marcobra). The cockpit looks atrocious and while the artist obviously has talent, the rest of the thing looks like a Mech for steroid abusing Tapout/Affliction junkies. The legs on the thing look like a gym rat who only does leg days, and they must weigh way more than the entire rest of the mech. If he could fix the cockpit and reduce the legs it might be good.
Edit: On second thought the original marauder had huge legs too and I like the idea of adjusting your playstyle to target legs if they are big and vulnerable like that so if he could just change the cockpit I would be happy. Right now the cockpit looks like an office window and while it isn't alone in looking like that, it looks even less useful than a jagermech cockpit, and more out of place than a shadow hawk cockpit.

Edited by Richard Strong, 19 November 2013 - 12:39 PM.

[FireSlade]

Egomane, on 19 November 2013 - 11:07 AM, said:

I believe this contest is a fantastic idea and I the artists among the mechwarrior/battletech fans are at least equally fantastic (probably even more). If only I could draw like this ...

Personally, I do not believe that HG will give a green light to one of the top fives. So we will probably not see them in the game anytime soon.

Good luck to the top five!

As this thread is related to a fan contest and not really a feature suggestion, I'll move it to the appropriate sub section of the forums.



For your information: Next time you can self report your thread for movement! Do you want me to close the old thread?

I really hope that you are wrong about the green light but deep down I know that you are right.

[MoonUnitBeta]

Egomane, on 19 November 2013 - 11:07 AM, said:

For your information: Next time you can self report your thread for movement! Do you want me to close the old thread?

Haha okay, I was kind of scared to report it because last time (a while ago) my thread got deleted haha. But I'm glad it's in the right spot now. And yea, you can delete the old thread, I'll fix the links in other threads if the link changed at all

[ConanTheGamer]

All of them are awesome submissions and it was hard to decide.

[MoonUnitBeta]

wow third place is close...
Shimmering: 57
Karyudo: 58
Bishop: 56

*bites nails!*

Edited by MoonUnitBeta, 19 November 2013 - 03:10 PM.

[Aiden IIC]

I agree with Bishop's critique of Marcobra's design (which I voted for), with one additional defining characteristic. His Marauder has a double reverse knee design, like that of the Mongoose:


But if you look at all the other designs, including the original Marauder, the legs are a single reverse layout, like what's on the Catapult. Move the torso joint further back, giving it a more hunched over look, and the design is, IMO, perfect. Hell, add a couple of fins on the side and you can use the same design for the Marauder II.

Edited by Aiden II, 19 November 2013 - 03:35 PM.

[ho1mes]

My favorites from the first round of this contest were #3 Carrioncrows and #4 Dadrick. Not to say I don't like any of the top 5, because for the most part, the top 5 are all awesome. Just not as awesome as the above two. Still mulling over my vote, but I might be leaning towards my choice. Not sure yet.

After my initial excitement and enthusiasm about the King Crab thread though, I just hope these Marauder threads sparks something in PGI.. Please?

[BadgerWI]

I went #3 because as it was said earlier it looks awesome and very unlike the original while keeping with the spirit. #2 and #5 are great but instant law suit. I'd love to see #1 and #4 in game as new completely original mechs for the 3050 era. How about the Mongol and the Hun. Both as Medium Mech off shoots of the Marauder the same way the Mad II and Night star are assault off shoots.

[Trex Mauser]

Marcobra for the detail and artwork which is amazing, they all are really, and Resident Crows I think is a unique take on Battletech art and love it. For one that I could see in the game, Bishops edited Marcobra art, the change of the legs and the torso shift makes it look like something I could see in MWO and heck if it was in game got my cash.

[Troa Barton]

I hope there are more of these

[Will9761]

It was a hard choice between MarcCobra and Shimmering Sword. I respect both of their designs, as well as the other top 5 designs, but I in the end, I voted for MarcCobra's Marauder. This design has a sleeker appearance and it feels more MWO-ish in style.