SCI FI FUTURISTIC CONCEPT ARMOR AND MECHA DESIGNS - PART 2

More Samples of Inspiring Sci Fi Character Designs.

This article continues a previous blog post that I made about 2 months ago, showcasing concept armor for a variety of sci fi genres. Today we continue along that same enlightening course, as we focus upon MECHs / MECHA designs.

MECHA is an abbreviation for "Mechanical", and most of the Western World got a heavy dose of that design category due to the Transformers Movie Trilogy directed by Michael Bay. And the past article that focused on the Transformers Movie Concept Art showed the extreme amount of details that went into the robotic designs. The Gundams Anime Franchise is also directly linked to MECHA designs, and the giant robots in that cartoon series are often capable of transforming into jet modes or alternate combat modes. BTW, the image on the left above is by JPRart, while the one on the right is by Mandrykart.

In the DSNG Sci Fi Series, one of the most popular villains is Kinera Foxx, the Golden Assassin. Kinera has an extremely feisty character and a sharp mouth. She utilizes a variety of armors and costumes in the ebooks. And she is a character designed with streamlined MECHA themes.

Although Kinera is not a sentient transformer robot - she is an attractive affluent woman and her alternate identity was shown in this past DSNG Blog Article - she is still affiliated with mechanical design concepts due to the armaments and arsenal that she utilizes as her golden body armor. And her nanotech engineered armor gives her enhanced speed, agility and strength. The first article on Kinera that includes a host of other pictures was posted HERE.

We can dive deeper into the MECHA designs as we observe a host of digital works done by an artist that I respect. His Web-name is Mandrykart and his exceptional work is in an elite category all by itself.

A lot of his designs can be viewed as futuristic sci fi combat armor, battle armor, and exo-suits. And some of these designs are even worthy of considering as advanced cosplay costumes.

 

Next, These MECHA posters / Wallpapers are tagged as design palettes, in which you have one character's costume presented in different colors, along with often varying armaments.

 



A lot of these sci fi mecha / armor costumes seemed designed for combat amidst harsh environments; and those familiar with video game franchises like Star Craft or even Gears of War will be familiar with armor designs that are rather bulky in terms of the alloyed chest plates, shin guards, gauntlets, shoulder pads  and other accessories that cover the body of the soldier. And those themes are done probably to emphasize the amount of protection that is needed for the delicate human frame, a frame that can easily be harmed by direct fire or the rippling violent shock-waves that result from concussive blasts.

The other two mecha armor designs below were done by an artist over at DA named Alessandro Baldasseroni. I believe the video game he created the sleek exo-suit for was "Section-8". And this armor could even pass for a cool cyborg concept design. Visit his Website and you'll see his amazing demo reel.

 


**UPDATE - November 1st 2012:

I've found some more Sci Fi soldier concept armor  designs, ted to the MMORPG game titled Tribes: Ascend. Check it out!

 

 

You can check out PART 1 of this Blog Article over HERE!

Explore the characters from the DSNG Sci Fi Series HERE!

SCI FI FUTURISTIC CONCEPT ARMOR AND COSTUMES - PART 1

Samples of Inspiring Sci Fi Character Designs.

This article features a collection of Sci Fi costumes and high tech armor worn by various characters & futuristic soldiers, displayed by some concept artists that I respect. From sci fi gaming series like StarCraft and Mass Effect to fantasy hits like Dragon Age and Magic The Gathering, each of these video games have a unique identity that can be linked to the setting and the attire worn by the characters. Even the giant Astartes characters [genetically enhanced soldiers] in the explosive Warhammer series have their own distinct look.

Jim Raynor from StarCraft II is shown on the left, along with some characters from Magic the Gathering on the right [Those familiar with the StarCraft I & II storyline will understand the pun I placed on top of the pic of Jimmy]. And on the extreme right, there is a pin-up poster of the classic character Little Red Ridding Hood, and this concept art was done by Nick Deligaris. And Ms. Red has been given pyrokinetic / fire-generation powers, per the artistic rendition of her as a mystic warrior.

The sci fi costumes are constantly a fusion of the following elements: the environment; the imaginative world; the futuristic era; and the fantasy realm, which the focal characters thrive within.

First I'll present work by Theo Stylianides, who has a phenomenal gallery over at Deviantart.com.
He resides in the UK and his personal conceptual works "Heavenmaker and the Helldivers" are actually extremely popular on the Web. If you are familiar with this sci fi blog and you've seen the article on futuristic Hovercrafts and Hovercopters, then you may recognize the art style of the first image in that article, which was done by Theo.




These two costume sets shown below were done by Wesley Burt. They appear to be created as outfits for freedom fighting soldiers & scavengers surviving in a planet that is probably covered with desert landscapes, where the temperature drops tremendously at night while the daytime has turbulent winds. By closely observing the "baggy outfit" design and the insulating features in the costumes, you'll understand my hypothesis on their staged world / plausible planetary setting. And Wesley also did some concept designs for Sega's sexy video game character named Bayonetta, shown on the second row. BTW, the concept design of the Fantasy Knight Warrior with the large broad sword was done by Nick Deligaris:

 



Now we'll look at the classic StarCraft armor and combat attire worn by Jimmy Raynor & the infamous Marines. Most of the pics shown below with concept high tech armor came from artists at Deviantart [right-click and save the hi-tech armor pics and you'll see the name of the artist in the description]:

 

 



The Ghost shown above [aka Nova, a blonde female marine / psi-ops soldier from StarCraft 1 & 2, gifted with telepathic and psionic powers], she almost had a game of her own released from Blizzard Ent., but it was cancelled for unspecified reasons. There are two Spectres [male and female black-ops soldiers] shown above, who are also developed on the same hi-tech platform that was used to contrive the popular Ghost characters.
The sci fi character concept designs below depict some broad swords and energy weapons [derivatives of the classic light sabers], along with a special exo-suit for female soldiers. The Holy Baron concept art on the left was done by an artist named Soulsurvivor. And the five poses of the female space marine was done by Rafael Grassetti.

The set of fantasy weapons above [broad swords and battle axes] are samples created by one of the artists at the ITSARTMAG.com Web site. Can't remember his name right now, but his signature is the right hand corner of the pics.

Some cool Fantasy and Steampunk costume designs are shown next. The two "knights armor" designs are by a guy named mohzart at Deviantart, while the Steampunk costumes are also from cosplyers at DA. And Concept artist Paul Kwon [he's also at DA] did the last two images in the set, for Blizzard Entertainment:

   

 

The classic DSNG Blog article on the Steampunk genre [along with explanations of other sci fi categories] was posted Here.

When it comes to sci fi & fantasy costumes and concept armor, the interactive environment usually dictates the sort of attire that the humanoids will wear. This blog article was intended to be a resource as well as an inspiring reference for those artists interested in creating their own sci fi armor and costumes. The image below on the left is tied to Mecha / Mech design, showing sexy female fantasy characters and their combat robots. A cool Gears of War 3 poster is also shown. And Commander Shepherd from the Mass Effect video game franchise is presented as well in the second row, with two of his shipmates:

Starting back in 2007 as a breakthrough sci fi game produced by the Canadian firm Bioware, the Mass Effect franchise has gotten better and better with each interpretation. And the third installment of the adventures of Commander Shepherd and his band of merry men [and feisty alien women] looks like it is tinkering on the verge of a global catastrophe, as the insidious Reaper Aliens are attempting to devour the earth and destroy its inhabitants via their mechanical monstrosities. The fun fact about Mass Effect is that with each new game, you can import previously saved files that will literally transfer the past decisions you made in previous games, bringing them into the new game. And this effects your game sprite's reality in a radical way. Mass Effect 3 will be released later in this year, 2012, on all major gaming consoles.


**NEW: PART 2 of this article is HERE!

More Cool Links:
Blog Article on Hovercopters & Hovercrafts was posted HERE

The Blog Article on DSNG Chronicles book 4, plus sexy artwork: HERE 

More details on the DSNG Sci Fi Series, where Hovercopters are frequently utilized: HERE