CHOW #319 :: The Starbound Outlaw

[Havok Reed]

Character of the Week #319
The Starbound Outlaw
Deadline - Sunday, March 3 10PM GMT

In the distant future, mankind has technologically advanced to the point where space travel is a common thing. This has opened up a whole new breed of outlaws, pirates, rebels, what ever you may call them. They all have the same thought in mind, self preservation. They do what they want to survive without considering the consequences, as long as it benefits them. Most of these outlaws are rough around the edges, have battered bodies from violent conflicts and hardened attitudes. It's survival of the fittest in space.

Design a space outlaw based on this future. Space travel is a common thing. One requirement for the design is to include a form of a visible cybernetic implant/enhancement.

The Guidelines:

• Must be human.
• Can be male or female
• Must Include cybernetic implant/enhancement
• Think about what this character is out for. Money? Power? Thrill?
• Think about the type of gear a person would need to survive in the environment of space.

The Rules

• Finals must be posted in the finals thread before the deadline
• Final post must include the CHoW number and the artists username at the bottom of the image
• At least 3/4 of the character must be visible
• Sketches or rushed artwork will not be accepted into the poll
• At least two wips posted in the finals thread
• Background is optional
• Have fun!

[iamdio]

whoa I'm so in to this one!

[The Fez]

This is pretty much the best topic ever, so here we go:

[Sanjo]

If we're talking about the environment of space, are we to take that literally? Or can we do some sort of Han-Soloesque thing, without the whole bulky spacesuit thing going on? To put it simple: does our outlaw have to survive IN space or does he use a starship to travel from planet to planet / attack other ships? Would be nice to have something specific on this, since we might require to implement some sort of oxygen supply and stuff into the design.

[NickyBeats]

the fez - these are pretty much the coolest characters ever, already. ha loving the personality in these dudes, some real carefree sketching man i love it

[pastasauca]

The Fez- you're the man- those sketches are awesome!

I didn't get a chance to finish last weeks CHoW but I'm determined to this week- such an awesome topic!!!

[iamdio]

whoa early shot by The Fez! This must be interesting!

[MasterTroglodyte]

[Pixeltuner]

I'm reading Revelation Space atm. All over this ^^

[pastasauca]

Here's my initial sketches, the girl on the right is definitely the most promising. I've always found very intricate detailed designs a bit forced so I'm going to build her more. I like her attitude and can already kind of see what she would wear from her bust sketch.



I have a bit of a story in the works too.
Her name is Enno, she has always been a rebel, raised in the space slums and hanging around the wrong crowds. Three years prior to the portrait she was diagnosed with cancer, human's genetic hamartia. She was offered a place in an experimental medical procedure where her genes are spliced with a that of a regenerative newt-like alien race. Out of five participants, she is the only survivor and is paid well for partaking in the experiment.
Two years later the cancer begins to come back and she starts to deteriorate, the only cure is to collect a rare precious material native to the newt alien planet however, the planet has been off-limits for several years after a raid to mine the planet dry of the material she needs. This material gives the newt aliens their regenerative power and without it the race is dying. Since it is too expensive to buy, it becomes her bounty and finding the precious material is a constant race for survival and self-preservation.

[Cameli]

DAmn Fez awesome sketches already, really digging the left one

[Davie]

Let's see what we got here...

I'm trying to bulk up my sci fi characters, they invariably go the spandex spacesuit route and that looks damn silly. A perfect opportunity.

[worjord]

[worjord]

MasterTroglodyte, that is a fantastic sketch. Love the plates.

[Havok Reed]

@sanjo: no, you don't need to do any bulky space suits. Be creative with it. The only reason that is in the brief is so that we get sci-fi looking characters and not just some random looking dude that's supposed to be an outlaw. So think about things that they might need to survive in space. The earth protects us from many things because the atmosphere filters a lot of crap out. Radiation and uv rays, for example, are filtered. You can go Han Solo if you want but will it be interesting enough? Do some research.

Also if you guys haven't already, I posted a sticky thread, "new? Start here", that offers valuable insight on character design. I recommend checking it out.

[Sanjo]

Thanks Havok, appreciated I only used Han Solo as an archetype for the "guy-next-door-spacesmuggler" to clearify things, though. @The Fez: I really like your "asian touch" in the design, especially on the right one!

[first0]

this is my take on the outlaw/pirate so far. he uses a hovering droid as sidekick (guns/shield/radar), and i toyed with the idea of giving him a goodol' hook on his cybernetic arm.. but in the end that felt a bit too corny or out of place.

I hope i can get my hands on a tablet this week... if not, ill try to finish this the hard way

[Cloud-Yo!]

@ The Fez: Dang bro! ...I mean...ok..NEXT TOPIC!

Well...I worked on a piece for last weeks competition but I didnt finish in time...an extra dday and it would have been done.
anyhow here are some head sketches for this awesome topic!!! I too felt like doing a more roguish character...but we'll see

[z0mbi]

A couple sketches, looking for ideas. I approached CHoW #318 in the totally wrong way and I'm trying to hit this one from a true character design standpoint and less of an illustration standpoint.

I'm not much of a sci-fi guy, and honestly I'm having trouble coming up with ideas for what would make a character stand out as both a spaceship pilot/crewmember AND a pirate/outlaw.

[worjord]

z0mbi those are awesome!

[Pixeltuner]

I love me some space. Sketchysketchy ^^

[Lionsketch]

My initial direction but not sure if it is too close mass effect, so might start over tomorrow at least my girl version.
Looking good Pixeltuner

[Leoz]

Very very very early WIP

[Pixeltuner]

Thx! ^^ Here's some selection tool refining plus colour. Probably one more detailpass.

[DNVN]

Awesome Chow! everyones stuff looks sweet. here are some early sketches.

[first0]

a real pirate is not alone! i like the girl a bit more becouse she has a face to work with, maybe i should try a couple of drawing on the face of the male pirate.

[Kahel]

Time to whip out them space pants aww yissssss!

[B.D.B]

Awesome topic + awesome entries

here's my rough, hopefully I'll have time to finish this one. Best of luck to you all!

[The Fez]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! It is more than I deserve, truly.

I'm moving in slightly different direction (given that I don't think my original designs were "spacey" enough), and this
is simply an ancillary design to go along with the background narrative for the character in general:



I like the idea that these pirates/outlaws are former miners from asteroid mining operations that have gone defunct,
bankrupt, shut down, you name it. They wear a basic frame for an exoskeleton, at which point the necessary
environmental gear is placed on hard points and then secured. What's worse, most of these now belligerent miners
are former military, because generally the only people around with advanced exoskeleton training are soldiers. They
would use small spacecraft (think of something like a Zodiac, but in SPACE) to approach a target unnoticed, and
then use mining lasers to cut open a breach in their target's hull.

Also, boss submissions all around.

[Sanjo]

First sketch. I'm prooobably going to do a bunch more and refine the ones I like a bit more... @Pixel: Daaamn that is one sweet design