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[Duston]

Yay! First post in the Art section (It was looking kinda lonely...)

Here's a first (and very rough) attempt of a design at Rocket Fellow's outfit, based on Spark's description and the in-game screenshots.

He wears a leather suit over which are some scaled plates of light armour. On his back will be some sort of contraption that'll power a strength-enhancing exoskeleton, which I've hinted at around his shoulders. In one hand is his famous harpoon spear, with interchangeable spearheads, and some handcuffs in the other. Then of course some hefty rocket boots on his feet. Eventually he'll have some gadgets added and the standard-issue utility belt, but for now I'm concentrating on his clothing.

It's still very early days for this guy, so all feedback on what works or doesn't work is welcome. I'll go back to my hole and refine it based on what you say.

[Arainne]

That looks absolutely fantastic, as everything you draw seems to do =p Keep it up, Dusty!

[Sparkyle]

In the words of the evil corporate chain = lovin' it

One thing - the round 'eye' on the goblin helmet would lend him a blank, emotionless quality. He does speak somewhat like a robot, and was indeed mistaken for a runaway droid by several Guards, so... maybe a little more mechanical?

I dunno... Barlowe is the man to ask here. Oi, Barleyo! Speak up!

[A.J. Barlowe]

Blimey! Blimey.

I will attempt to limit expressions of my admiration (no easy task as there is much of it) and instead return my thoughts on the suit: it's quite different to how I imagine it looking. The banded/slatted armour is about right though, especially the gloves. Might cover a bit more of him - as Sparks says, colder somehow. I like the jetpack frame/harness over the shoulders. The helmet, however, looks a bit too modern and clever. It looks more like a diving helmet or that of a steampunk astronaut, more like one huge blank eye the size of an entire face, the head bulbous and awkward, the fin, perhaps, much higher and straighter so it can actually be used to steer (they might also be on the arms or boots, but that would be impractical). Overall my picture was always less slick, and more gawky, than this is. Think of astronauts, and how silly they look.

Here's an example picture, but to be honest you should just go with what you think looks good. Apart from the helmet. That has to be so!#

(also in the pic he is holding the harpoon above the handle, which probably wouldn't happen. I guess the handle would be longer)
(also it may not be clear but his boots in the pic have toes that point up like that of a fairy. I find this hilarious)
(also also it says "steam powered" but that's not actually what powers it, it's probably something to do with phlogiston. I imagine all the tubes and his boots and the harpoon and the flamethrowers all working by channelling ROCKET FORCE from the ROCKET.)

[Sparkyle]

One thing that bugged me for a while is that he's built more like Batman than the Joker (if you see what I mean... Rocket Fellow is tall and gangly, which perhaps makes him seem that little more mechanical in comparison to some trad muscular chap out to bust folk in the chops like Stallone).

But... I had a little epiphany (more like realization falling on me like a crapcicle from a 747). This isn't Rocket Fellow. Not really. This is an artist drawing him from his blurry picture in the paper and adding some artistic licence. Making him more like a conventional hero.

[Duston]

Some excellent feedback there, I'll get onto the next version in a mo. The example pic will be particularly handy! 

Spark's right about the physique, I was thinking that if Stormwind was going to have a costumed hero, the man paying the artist (i.e. Morton) would want him to be a human - certainly not some elf foreigner. They already steal our jobs and women, we don't need them thinking they're better at fighting our crims as well!

I've also been using the romantic imagery of the rocketeer as reference, which is why he looks more heroic than realistic. That's the sort of style I'd like it to end up with, kind of like "the idea is greater than the man" sort of thing. Someone who can inspire the masses, even if it's not his intention... at least until he slips up and we make him out to be the villain of course!

[A.J. Barlowe]

Oh yeah, I forgot it was IC. Because my whole perspective on the matter is that some big muscly autistic blacksmith's son jumping around in a home-made rocket suit is stupid. It's absurd, it's ridiculous, it's dumb as hell. And so Rocket Fellow looks a little ridiculous in my mind.

But if it's being done IC, by artists and journalists, well, it'd be totally in their interest to make the man look heroic and human and in line with Stormwind values. To that end you might consider looking at medieval armour and Stormwind armour as reference for the suit - he could be made a bit knightly, like an avatar of the kind of synthesis between old traditions and kingdom heritage and modern commerce and technology that people like Perry are trying to advocate. Dunno how relevant it is but I remember drawing a kind of steam knight which could be useful to you.

[Duston]

Next version of the suit, been listening to lots of superhero movie soundtracks for this one:

Lots more plating plus a new helmet, which is kind of a cross between the goblin space helmet and Hellboy 2's Dr. Strauss. He's got a nice big viewport now so he should have decent visibility without having to move his head too much. The backpack needs more work, although I've made it a bit smaller (looking at it now, probably too small) so that he isn't too weighted down. I've included the build of the character I'm using - tried to make him thin but still decently muscled. The suit bulks him out a bit, so perhaps something more body-hugging might be better?

I do agree about IC view being a wee bit silly. I'll keep the design fairly OOC for now. Once the basic look's been settled on we can see if it needs any exaggerating.

Also, very cool steam knight  .

[Zeleran]

Dusty, ur art skills are amazin as usual..

im jealous -.-

[Arainne]

... i can has

[Sparkyle]

Whoa. Much more robotic. Has that diving suit asthetic, plus I like the bigger "eye" - it'd give the Rocket Fellow this larger green point of reference that would act as a point of focus for people interacting with/viewing RF, while at the same time acting as a blank 'face'. Somehow I'm imagining it as being featureless and black, and then suddenly lighting up from within. I'd lose one antenna though... leave it a little asymetrical.

Once again, absolutely cracking work Dusterino

[Duston]

Work was kind enough to give me naff all to do for a couple of days, so thought I'd have another go at this bloke. I wasn't too happy with the previous versions and reckoned he looked a little on the light side... Hopefully this heavy-duty version is more in keeping with the proper look of the character!

Clicky for Big Version

Let's hope Stormwind's rooftops are fully reinforced

[Quint]

Wow, that looks terrific - especially the boots, speargun and steam-jet-pack. The only thing I don't like is the helmet, which looks a little too space-age...

[Sparkyle]

Whoa. Looks like the boy is gonna punish some space monsters in that suit. Reminds me of an ABC Warrior, actually.

That is seriously neat, Dusterino. I like. Mk 1 Iron Man always was my favorite