First Concept Art

The first art work I did was the soldier girl. Although the focus of the game was on mechs and machinery, the reason for creating the character was to establish an aesthetic and the mood of the game. We wanted the game and these mechs to feel quite human so starting with a human seemed like a good way to influence the ideas that will follow.

I like the painting, although the war paint kind of looks like a mustache, I think I managed to capture the vibrant punk aesthetic. Jamie Hewllett’s Tank Girl has become a big influence.

 

  

Tank Girl has this really interesting combination of punk and army clothing. The combination creates a nice vibrant style. Although for the sake of the game, the aesthetic is like this because it looks cool, for the same of designing characters I like to come up with reasons for the style.
In Vietnam, I think, before soldiers were going into battle, they would shave their heads to make them seem more domineering. The look feels tribal and the radical change would get them ready to fight.

I think that was also the reason for Travis Bickle's haircut in Taxi Driver. To the audience, its such a big change that highlights the violent acts he would later commit.