Polycount - Generals - [LoTekK]
polycounter lvl 17
Been lurking for what must be at least two years now; I think it's time to get off my ass. I'm nowhere near the skill level of the talents here, but we all gotta start somewhere, right? 
Okay, so rough backstory (I don't have a name for the guy yet):
---
In the Forgotten War of 2946, ??? quickly made a reputation for himself as a promising young military commander, rising quickly through the ranks of the CGChat Army. While cursed in childhood for his diminutive stature and less-than-attractive visage, he was nonetheless blessed with unsurpassed intelligence, and showed an uncanny proficiency as a military tactician. Despite his physical stature, he was an "old-school" commander, as they say, leading from the front, often with merely a sidearm - owing largely, no doubt, to his fascination with military commanders of a time long forgotten by most. Along with his personal bodyguard, who rapidly became his closest friend and confidante, praise and admiration followed him wherever he went. As nature would have it, however, there also existed among his own peers an expanding circle of envy, and outright jealous rage at his success, as well as key figures in the government who felt increasingly threatened by his prowess.
This jealousy culminated in a heinous attempt on his life in the winter of 2951, as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from wounds sustained at the Battle of Fro'hik'e Pass a month prior. A team of assassins had been dispatched to dispose of him, with orders to make his death as painful and drawn out as possible. No effort was spared, and while his bodyguard mounted a valiant defence, killing the entire squad of hitters, the encounter left both himself, and the General, mortally wounded.
The ensuing public outcry ensured that the perpetrators would not get another chance to finish the job, but their silver lining came in the form of highly-controversial medical procedures with which the two men's critical condition gave ample reason to experiment, under the public guise of saving their lives. A team of top surgeons and scientists was assembled, and they set to work immediately.
What followed can only be described as tragic and Frankenstenian, and when the two men finally regained consciousness, they did so as a singular, grotesque monstrosity. Their horrific appearance, coupled with the dawning realization of the events that had transpired to lead up to this nightmare, threw them into a murderous, uncontrollable rage. Within minutes, over three dozen doctors and scientists lay dead, in twisted, broken piles of flesh and bone. In the aftermath, the General wished vengeance upon the legions known to all as CGChat, and vowed never to rest until all were defeated.
And so, history was made, as the once-proud General of the CGChat Army offered his services to the legions of Polycount.
---
And now a quick concept (it's barely half done, but I'm entirely too excited at the moment).
Physically, a good bit of inspiration came from Quato, from Total Recall. The General will still lead from the front, and still armed with just a pistol. A really really honking huge handcannon of a pistol.
Anyways, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the bodyguard's limbs. I figure at least one of his arms will be more or less normal, with the right arm being either some kind of crazy-large arm grafted on, or a completely mechanical one. No clue about the legs, though. Maybe an exoskeleton sort of thing? I'll play around with ideas.
Okay, so rough backstory (I don't have a name for the guy yet):---
In the Forgotten War of 2946, ??? quickly made a reputation for himself as a promising young military commander, rising quickly through the ranks of the CGChat Army. While cursed in childhood for his diminutive stature and less-than-attractive visage, he was nonetheless blessed with unsurpassed intelligence, and showed an uncanny proficiency as a military tactician. Despite his physical stature, he was an "old-school" commander, as they say, leading from the front, often with merely a sidearm - owing largely, no doubt, to his fascination with military commanders of a time long forgotten by most. Along with his personal bodyguard, who rapidly became his closest friend and confidante, praise and admiration followed him wherever he went. As nature would have it, however, there also existed among his own peers an expanding circle of envy, and outright jealous rage at his success, as well as key figures in the government who felt increasingly threatened by his prowess.
This jealousy culminated in a heinous attempt on his life in the winter of 2951, as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from wounds sustained at the Battle of Fro'hik'e Pass a month prior. A team of assassins had been dispatched to dispose of him, with orders to make his death as painful and drawn out as possible. No effort was spared, and while his bodyguard mounted a valiant defence, killing the entire squad of hitters, the encounter left both himself, and the General, mortally wounded.
The ensuing public outcry ensured that the perpetrators would not get another chance to finish the job, but their silver lining came in the form of highly-controversial medical procedures with which the two men's critical condition gave ample reason to experiment, under the public guise of saving their lives. A team of top surgeons and scientists was assembled, and they set to work immediately.
What followed can only be described as tragic and Frankenstenian, and when the two men finally regained consciousness, they did so as a singular, grotesque monstrosity. Their horrific appearance, coupled with the dawning realization of the events that had transpired to lead up to this nightmare, threw them into a murderous, uncontrollable rage. Within minutes, over three dozen doctors and scientists lay dead, in twisted, broken piles of flesh and bone. In the aftermath, the General wished vengeance upon the legions known to all as CGChat, and vowed never to rest until all were defeated.
And so, history was made, as the once-proud General of the CGChat Army offered his services to the legions of Polycount.
---
And now a quick concept (it's barely half done, but I'm entirely too excited at the moment).
Physically, a good bit of inspiration came from Quato, from Total Recall. The General will still lead from the front, and still armed with just a pistol. A really really honking huge handcannon of a pistol.
Anyways, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the bodyguard's limbs. I figure at least one of his arms will be more or less normal, with the right arm being either some kind of crazy-large arm grafted on, or a completely mechanical one. No clue about the legs, though. Maybe an exoskeleton sort of thing? I'll play around with ideas.
Replies
call-outs are nice, but you as you develop the character, try and make the design elements speak for themselves. that whole backstory should speak through the physicality of the character. looking forward to seeing you develop these twisted guys.
Oh, don't mind the position of his left hand. I'm not sure why I drew it that way. o_O
so try and think through the costume/armor/weapon designs as a natural outgrowth of how life would be for these two guys. also, it might be worth investigating slightly different ways of adding in the "mr. quato wannabe" because that's exactly what he looks like now, a pretty straight take from Total Recall... the designers for that movie had to design within the constraints of a prosthetic/puppet/animatronic kind of deal, whereas you are free to consider a lot more esoteric possibilites.
my other suggestion at this early stage in the design, consider playing around with the silhouette with some thumbnails. just get a big fat black marker (or fat black brush in photoshop) and allow yourself only to draw the outer silhouette in front, profile, whatever... good characters are often immediately recognizable just from their silhouette. right now the guy is looking kind of mushy, some explorations into some more interesting proportions would help out.
you've got a good start here and plenty of time to develop it--i like the idea of going with napoleonic-style uniform stuff. be sure to find some good reference, i personally think that the dragoons from that period have especially neat uniforms. good luck!
Thanks a bunch for all the great advice, it's definitely going to help me get on the right track, and it's certainly set the dusty old cogs in my brain in motion.
Anyways, settled on a couple of thumbs that I like. Quatto's back to growing out of the gut, but I made a few important changes, the biggest of which is that the bodyguard is now female. Because nothing screams creepy like a nasty little guy growing out of a chick's stomach, reaching up to cop a feel during a lull in the fighting.
Gonna try and do some more thumbs to see if I can come up with anything more interesting. Gauss, thanks a bunch again for the advice. It really got some gears turning, and I'm liking the alternatives that are coming out of it. Oh, the little thing in front of the quatto guy (I really need to come up with a name
I stuck fairly closely to the general designs of French uniforms during the Napoleonic period. The chick's head will be completely shaven, save for the bit at the top that serves as the plume.
The laser rifle thing will be mounted on some kind of rail+pivot mount on the large shoulder guard, and it'll stay on the shoulder, sort of like a bazooka. The little guy (I might end up calling him Napoleon) will get some sort of armor, but I'm still in the process of designing it. I originally had the idea of having him unarmored, with the chick's oversized and armored left hand shielding him, but that wasn't working out (since he still needed to look like a general, and it wasn't very practical anyways).
Victory pose will be fun, when all is done. In my head, this general's a bit of a pervy bastard.