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Submitted: December 16, 2012
Image Size: 340 KB
Resolution: 1136×750

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Battletech - Experimental Marauderby *Shimmering-Sword

Digital Art / Drawings & Paintings / Sci-Fi

I noticed Catalyst has finally released the XTRO: Succession Wars ebook. My work on the book was finished over half a year ago but I had to sit on the art while it's release was delayed.

Here it is though and I'm excited to show it, a Marauder design that I collaborated on with Matt Plog. Turns out Catalyst was trying to redesign a marauder at the very same time I was publicly redesigning it, when they saw what I had done they pulled me in to help out. After we got the design nailed down Matt plog whipped up some great TRO line art of it and I came up with this painting, which turned out to be used as the cover.

Shown, a Free Worlds League Marauder-4X 75ton heavy mech going through live fire trials on the Ronin Inc testing fields. It uses special cooling jackets around it's blazers to keep heat in check.
Loadout:
2 Binary Laser Cannons
2 Short Range Missile 6's

Enjoy.

*Edit*
Thanks to ^3wyl and ^alltheoriginalnames for the DD. I'd like to again give a shout out to ~mattPLOG for the fun collaboration on this design. He's a great battletech artist.

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Given 2013-01-05

Battletech - Experimental Marauder by =Shimmering-Sword ( Suggested by ^3wyl and Featured by ^alltheoriginalnames )

Critique by ~gunmonkey Dec 28, 2012, 2:43:54 PM

This is great for a book cover illustration. It's not too busy so it won't detract from the title or branding. The damage fits well with the descriptions in the Battletech universe (there are several examples of the armor burned away from the myomer on the legs and the mech is able to keep limping along). I like how the armor is pooling up and melting from the laser fire as well. It makes the damage look more than abstract detailing that most artists put on their vehicles.

The cockpit also looks more functional, with substantial visibility for fighting other mechs. It is a bit large for a real combat vehicle, but Battletech steers pretty far away from one shot kills, and nothing in the game has enough accuracy to hit a target that "big," so it fits with the overall universe.

The arms feel too far forward and would disrupt the mech's center of balance, though it could be the angle. It feels like there should be something in the upper left corner, even though the design is for a book cover. Some helicopters/vtol strike craft might have helped without taking too much focus away from the mech.

Overall, a very good piece. I look forward to a Bushwacker :3

What do you think?

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Critique by ~Adeptuschematicus Dec 26, 2012, 2:43:40 PM

I like the overall concept, but the damage is somewhat unrealistic, and the left leg normally would have given way from that many holes. You were a little generous in inflicting damage on that leg. I also noticed that the lazer thingies aren't solid, they look more like crayon smears. The arms seem a little to thin to support the guns. I see this as more of a rough draft than a final concept. I especially like the realisticality of the treads and such, as well as the acess panels in key places. The background is interesting as well, but it lacks detail. This is an exellent start.

What do you think?

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*Shimmering-Sword Feb 4, 2013 Professional Digital Artist

All my work is either commissioned or for my own projects so I don't have anything to give away, you'd have to commission original work.

~ScannerArtly Feb 5, 2013

My friend, I would really like to accept work on commission, but please consider this...

Unfortunately as you see, if I should pay each artist 500$ for each image, I will surely have top works, but I would have to pay 250,000$ only for this, as I need 500 images.

I can bind myself by contract to use your images for free and then as it turns for commercial use, I grant you, each year, as the game keeps growing, a percentage of income, multiplied for the number of your images used in the game. And of course credits and your web address are granted to you.
(I have an appointment with a very capable lawyer, to write it down; and I'll send you and you send me back; keeping your copy of it, and your read it clearly, no strings attached).

I hope you understand that the initial start-up as a free-phase of the game is needed to carry on the project and its expenses; focusing on making it good, and widely spreaded.
This doesn't mean I don't pay Artists, I bind myself to pay them as the game will have an income, it is written and also will be in the contract.

And the expenses and work, and everything I do, about which I will never ask you to do more or pay me for.

Please consider my offer, and if you have not images available, please consider to let me have the chance to consider other available images of yours if possible, or to, if you wish, work on commission creating images that you can submit to my offer.

Anyway I respect your idea and opinion, whatever it would be, either good or not.

But please, don't think bad on me, because I'm not that kind of person, and really I don't want to be damaged or accused or prejudiced for have done nothing bad. Instead, I think I'm doing a good thing, and that can be of value also for Artists. It's a matter of trust, I know, but you can't imagine how much I'm happy when a good artist trusts my offer, because not only trusts me and it's very nice in these times of distrust towards common simple people, but because we are building a team, and a little dream to bring to reality together. And quality works will make the likelt of the game to survive, much bigger, and also for Artists to carry on and keep working not much, and have a very nice income, although annual, is proportioned to the used images of the artist.

Personally, I'm a Psychologist of Communication and Marketing, Specialist in Psychology, with Master in CS6, and more than 4 years of experience as clynical psychologist and 5 as marketing positions.

So believe me my friend, I'm not that lay.

Have a nice day, anyway!

*Shimmering-Sword Feb 5, 2013 Professional Digital Artist

You may think this sort of plan is necessary for you, but there are always ways to make something work on a tight or no budget without resorting to attempting speculative contracts with artists. It's pretty simple, whatever you are trying to accomplish it too great in scope, and what really worries me is that you give absolutely no details on what you are planning to do with everyones work.
Also, even if you did have money to pay me up front (and trust me, you don't need anywhere near $500 to get great art) I would refuse to provide you any because I would not want my work to be seen among the other artists you have chosen, most of it is terrible and this is going to make your product look bad. There is no publicity reward for an artist that makes a small contribution to a massive image library that consists of low quality. I would consider having my work in your product damaging to my reputation.

I don't think you're attempting anything "wrong", but you could be doing much better if you went about things in the right way. Image farming is not going to get you anywhere.
And a last note, I thought I'd mention that your portfolio doesn't apply much to an artistic career, so you may not want to boast it. if you want to impress an artist, show them all the games you have published.

~ScannerArtly Feb 5, 2013

My friend,

I cannot tell all because of competitors, its a way to protect my idea. I cannot reveal everything, I'm sorry, and I hope you understand that a contract is a good enough way to make things clear.

Also, I don't think I'm speculative on artists, because I don't see which way, if I propose with a contract that they will get their money, and I sign it, and they keep a copy of it. If I want to fraud them that will be very stupid, since the start, because I've exposed myself, and believe me, there are always prejudices... So I don't want to tell public my competences, because there are a lot of peope who would paint in their mind a worst image of me just because I'm what I am, and could be whatever, because people are very easily ethnocentric without knowing it.

I would like to show my portfolio, but I see no use of it. And for the same reasons, if I's offering a contract I see no harm. But I really appreciate your advice, that people could, unfortunately, get me "wrong", but I think it's in their own ways of seeing the world, and introducing me more would not help reducing prejudices but, instead, would fulfill them.

I hope you understand.

And I hope you'll also understand that I don't think, my friend, that paints a good image of you, criticising a work that you didn't see in the end. You think that your work will be damaged by mine, ok, I can respect your idea about my competences, but this prejudice on the game is an offense; because I don't think that you can read my mind and know exactly in the future how would it be like and if it would succeed or not. Anyway you can try and trust or not, and anyway the contract grants you an income, so it's not useless your effort to do a new image, or spread a new image of yours.

Also, if your image is good, that would be surely noticed in the game is it is ugly, and your image would be sparkiling among them. Like Leonardo da Vinci said "if you want to make an ugly tree look good put it among uglier ones". Anyway, my friend, I should be really very stupid to do a game with bad images... I totally agree with you, with the difference that I dn't think I'm that stupid.

Anyway, I respect your choice, and thank you for this conversation.

Hoping that you could keep working good, and maybe one day bring your very valuable art to carry some value into my game too.
Because even in a future, your visible talent is welcome.

Have a nice day!

=Amriah Jan 30, 2013 Professional Writer

Yay, mechs! Sitting on something like this must've been tough, this is gorgeous.

~stacielavis Jan 10, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

awesomw!!!!!!!!

~ROBOCOP603 Jan 9, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

This reminds me of when I used to play the first and second MECHASSAULT games while the original Xbox still worked.

MECHS! MECHS EVERYWHERE! :3

Anyways this is epic!

*Shimmering-Sword Jan 10, 2013 Professional Digital Artist

Fun games, I played MA1 a lot untill Halo2 came out.

~ROBOCOP603 Jan 11, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

I never really had money so I stuck with my limited edition copy of MA2. They already did, or they are in the middle of making a new legit one. I think its called MECHWARRIOR.

*Shimmering-Sword Jan 11, 2013 Professional Digital Artist

Hehe, Mechwarrior came long before MA, and yes a new one is already out.

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