PETROL/BLOOD Inspired - Two Listen (2D)

Two Listen

So polycount has a new contest going on, PETROL/BLOOD, which I'm super happy to see and I'm really excited to see what folks come up with for their entries.

While it is a 3D contest with a "next-gen" workflow type focus, and I'm not a 3D artist, I do still really like the idea that's driving the contest's focus and I think I'd like to work on some 2D stuff in that same vein. I think my portfolio is really lacking when it comes to conceptual type work, and I have also been wanting to work on paintings with more movement/action. This seems like a good opportunity to try some new things while being able to participate, unofficially, in my own fashion.

I am uncertain of how much I'll do or will be able to achieve over the next couple months, but I'm starting like I usually start - with some sloppy pencil sketches to help generate some ideas.




I'd love to get a solid portfolio piece and some accompanying concepts out of this, but with that much time it's possible I could wind up working on several different ideas.

Only one way to find out!

deohboeh

The first concept looks really cool! Is that a sword or a shield? Cant wait to see more!

Two Listen

Hey there deohboeh, thanks. Concerning the weapon, I was actually thinking both, and used a similar concept (in a very different way) in the second one. The second concept is the one I think I'm going to try and develop most immediately.

I wanted to think of a vehicle that might actually stand some sort of chance in a vehicular deathmatch, but also didn't want to do your typical mech/armored vroom vroom pew pew type vehicle. Some time ago I saw the anime Utawarerumono, and a character in the series asked for a sword that would never bend, would never break. She was crafted a massive, ridiculously heavy "sword" that really looked more like an angular pillar, see below:



I wanted to see if I could implement something similar in my vehicle/rider combo, as I wanted a melee weapon that could potentially cleave the larger metal vehicles you're likely to see in a deathmatch of this sort. The weapons in question would need to be massive to achieve this (unless you want to go down the whole "super ninja skills that cut through steel" thing, which I didn't).

The second concept of the opening post is essentially 3 large pillars/swords, large enough that they could effectively serve as protection. The rider sits on a hover bike which uses anti-gravity pads not unlike those seen on ships in The Matrix films, and a similar technology to help hold up the pillars while they're in proximity to the bike. While in such proximity to the bike, the pillars are light enough for the driver to move them as needed for shields, etc.

I think 3 is excessive, so I'm considering dropping it to two sword pillar things, one for each arm. Being large enough they could still nearly encapsulate the driver with a fair bit of protection. Really rough front view of an idea below:



I've considered unique methods of movement that could be achieved with this sort of design, using the momentum and the weight of the pillars to pull off really sharp turns and simultaneous attacks - such as by letting one of the pillars drop:



I'm thinking that to pull off that sort of thing and not be torn apart yourself, you'd almost certainly need to have some body modifcation in the way of mechanical implants/prosthetics. This might serve as a decent way to illustrate an emotional connection between the driver and their vehicle - literally having to modify their body to be able to use the vehicle effectively.

I've mostly just focused on how the vehicle might be used at the moment, so next I'll be focusing on the actual design of the vehicle and driver, with the thoughts related to movement/usage in mind.