In terms of design, it seems like it's veering into redundancy with all the references borrowed from MKvsDC/MK2011. Is there wardrobe fan-fic to go along with them, or is it just a matter of going with the flow? I guess I expected ideas a bit more independent to recent developments.

If borrowing design elements from MKvsDC and MK9 bothers you, you're not gonna like the rest of the roster much either.
The simple fact is that between MKSM, vsDC, and MK9, the MK2 roster has been the one most revisited and updated by the team themselves, so I can't not be influenced by what they've done, since the whole concept of my project is and always has been "look at what the devs have done in the 3D games, keep what works (and most importantly, ditch what doesn't), and apply it to the 2D games". I never professed that anything about my art would be "original". When I want to do original, I'll write up a fanfic plot for a post-Armageddon game and draw THAT roster. (But I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for THAT one. Even if I didn't have like 80 more bodies to get through drawing yet, I've never tried coming up with entirely new characters before, so I probably suck at it.)

And the way he looks in MKvsDC is already a pretty natural embellishment of what Scorpion's sprite was wearing in 1993-'94.

I mean, my plan for MK2 Scorp, if I was being completely original and ignoring the games, would be "take MK1 Scorp, now make it Heavy Metal because Hell is influencing/corrupting him". Bones, spikes, tight leather and belts...sort of like what turning into Ghost Rider does to Johnny Blaze's jacket and bike. Aaand...that's still exactly what this design is. I haven't betrayed my master plan or something at all. If anything, any version drawn before MKvsDC came out would've been a lot more generic and bland because I wouldn't have thought up a mask and shinguards design with as much character as theirs.

The only thing MKvsDC put in my brain that genuinely wasn't there before was the "look like an actual scorpion" thing...and even then, I think they went way too far with the insectile plates look on the black parts of his outfit in both that game and the new one, so I avoided that and just kept the "pointy stinger" look here and there.

Oh Wow, your Kitana design is most excellent! I am loving the fishnet accents of the ensemble, and THANK YOU for not using that horrible shade of baby blue that the MK team has been utilizing lately. I'd love to see this costume on Kitana in an actual MK game.

Nothing new to add quite yet...I've gotten kinda stuck trying to come up a decent pose for Subbie and work out the details of his outfit...

But I did want to update you guys to the fact that I changed Kitana's hair. In retrospect, the way I originally drew it was way too big, fake looking, and Sindel-esque, the exact thing I've been criticizing in her MK9 design. So I shortened the ponytail up a bit and it looks much more natural now IMO.

So there's that.

It indeed looks cool so far. I am still eager to see your vision of Jade. If you need any help with how her looks could be like, feel free to ask for inspiration and I will be more than happy to give you some ideas. ^^

This could be a good pose if you didn't mind it looking like Shang's a bit.

Personally I think you should go with something such as this:



Only standing straighter.

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing myself right now. The "looking like Shang's a bit" thing occurred to me, but the important thing is just that he's creating ice or doing something Sub-Zero-y, and you can see his whole torso, arms, and legs clearly.

Originally I was gonna have him in a "creating an ice ball/charging up a hadoken"-style pose sorta like in the second one you posted, but that obscures parts of the costume, particularly the shirt, so it's no good for my purposes here.

How about his MKII stance?


Just make his hand pointing down making ice

Eh, too late. I finished him yesterday, lol.

Besides, I never really liked that stance. Scorpion's arm coiled behind his head like a scorpion's tail makes perfect sense but Subbie's "my hand is next to my stomach" is so generic it's pointless to consider it "his iconic stance".

I had an idea for younger Sub, but it would work better for MK3, I think. I know you said you've got it all planned out for the most part, so maybe an alt? This is basically what I'd want from him in the new game. *crosses fingers he's in at all* Why not have him look like the runaway ninja he is? You could give him something lightweight, mostly cloth, probably pretty tattered, but most importantly, concealing. Think something Sheik-esque? I just think that'd be tight, and I would love to see someone conceptualize it.

Might work for an alt, but for the primary, I'm actually a big fan of how Deadly Alliance improved his MK3 outfit with the suspenders and I plan on pretty much going with that.
I dunno if "lightweight" fits Younger Sub's character, though. I tend to think, based on his outfits in the 3D games, that the dude really loves armor. You'll see it when I post his now-finished MK2 costume, but one of the things that was very important to me when I designed the two brothers is that I decided to illustrate one of the ways how their personalities are different, by going "Older Sub prefers modernized equipment, but Younger Sub cares more about tradition and legacy and dresses more old-fashioned," as a sort of extrapolation of the fact that Older Sub is very loyal and always follows the clan, which is going more and more high tech, whereas the younger brother is the one who rejected the cybernetics and decided to run away and then came back to fix where he believed the clan went wrong.
So where the MK1 uniform had tight clothes and plastic-y looking armor, the MK2 costume will be much more baggy and the armor will be ornate metal.
Though I suppose MK3 would be the best time to dress him in something that's sort of counter to the usual for him, since he's abandoning everything.

Yeah, I was more thinking that heavier armor, etc, would be counter-productive for someone who is on the run. Especially from ninjas. I just think it'd be cool for him to look the part, even if just for that chapter. The ornate, traditional armor makes perfect sense for when he returns to the Lin Kuei, even more so after he actually FINDS cryomancer armor. And as the grandmaster, he can probably afford to sit around in heavy armor like a G, but as a used-to-be assassin, now on the run, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

When do we get more updates?

Gimme a few days, I'd like to have Reptile and Mileena done at least before the next update.

Y'know what, Mileena won't be done for a while and I'm so happy with how Sub and Reptile turned out, I'm impatient for the feedback so fuck it, I'm just gonna update now. Check the first post.

Sub-Zero looks absolutely amazing, I love the fact that he looks more of a warrior than a ninja, but still has the elements that makes him recognizable as one of the original MK ninjas.

I can tell you used MKSM/MKA as inspiration for this version of Reptile, and it works for him. It's one of his better looks indeed and your interpretation of it is very good. Aww, poor Reptile, someone ripped off his metal-thingy at the end of his loincloth...

Sub-Zero is great! I love the belt and the Iron thing on his tail cap.

Reptile looks more normal seeing his MK1 uniform, but it's cool too.

Keep bringing them!

I've liked all of them so far, and Sub-Zero and Reptile hasn't changed that. Though, I don't really like how Reptile's tounge is sticking out. But aside from that, fantastic work

I'll admit the tongue does look a little silly, but I drew him both with it and without, and without, he seemed a little boring to me, like he was missing something. I like to have the characters holding their trademark weapon if they have one or demonstrating a special move when I can. The powers and where they come from are part of the characters, after all.

I noticed that too!. I like it, a nice touch. The tongue thing draws the eye straight to it and at first looks a little wierd, but I dont mind it.

Excellent designs as usual for Sub Zero and Reptile. I like the homage to MKSM with Reptile, one of his best looks in my opinion. Also love the shade of green you used, dont know why I picked up on that lol bit random I know.

More more more!!!!

Nice work man! Can't wait to see Mileena.

I don’t know why this isn’t getting more feedback than it is.

I absolutely LOVE your design for this Sub-Zero. I think it goes well with your theme of redesigning the earlier games with a modern twist. Seeing some of the earlier comments, I know you’ve based some of these off of the new and upcoming games. To be honest, its for the better. These drawings bring up the old nostalgia. Great work!

I’ve never been a fan of the degenerated Reptile but you pull it off here as well.

It’s interesting you what said earlier about the Sub-Zero brothers. Though the details have never been expanded on in the game’s canon, I always had the opposite opinion regarding their personalities.

I always figured that the elder would be the clan loyalist that would prefer to stick to the old ways of his profession. He’s one of brute strength and a ruthless killer, but harbor’s a soft spot for his own blood (and Netherrealm female demons).

It made sense to me that the younger (Who’s powers and strength developed with each game) preferred the tech-savy side of things. It made sense to me with the ice wand from MK4. The game also makes mention that he’s compassionate towards his foes which would explain his departure from the clan once they decided to use human subjects for automation.

I hope the newest games clear/expand on it and give them personalities instead of “This Sub-Zero is the younger brother... blah.. blah... still in the Lin Kuei...” You know, give real names or something like they did Scorpion.

Either way, your designs are awesome. Can’t wait to see MK 3. Hurry up!

Well regarding the Sub-Zeros...

To me, "clan loyalist" would mean "do whatever they want". If the Grandmaster says "we've got this new lightweight plastic armor, it's the latest innovation", he's gonna wear it. If the Grandmaster says "Cyborgs! Everyone will be cyborgs!" Elder Sub might have said "if you say so, boss." Suggesting that the older brother would be against the modernization of the clan is suggesting that he would voice dissent, and loyalty to the Grandmaster was one of his most prominent personality traits in Mythologies.

All the later games clearly demonstrated that the younger Sub though is not only the more rebellious, independent one, he also prefers old-fashioned stuff and history and armor. They even incorporated shirts of chain or scalemail into his Shaolin Monks and vsDCU costumes.

That interpretation kinda contradicts the way he's depicted in the official MK2 comic, mind you, but there's other things in that comic that didn't match up with the game too, so I'm willing to ignore or slightly retcon it. It makes more sense the way it is now, and if I were writing an MK2 story mode out, I wouldn't have Liu and Kung Lao traveling around in a private jet with Sub and Smoke anyway.
Besides, you're just assuming the MK4 Ice Scepter runs on tech. It could be a magic artifact of some sort. Or it could have been something that belonged to his brother and that's why he used it because remember, Sub-Zero's MK4 story was all about wearing his brother's uniform and honoring him when going into battle with his foes from Mythologies. Subbie 2 seems to prefer letting the rest of his clan, who aren't cryomancers like he is, use the scepter anyway, according to Armageddon.
And finally, Elder Sub/Noob is usually depicted as leaner and more agile, more reliant on stealth and actually fights like a "ninja", whereas younger Sub, ever since Deadly Alliance, has been depicted more bulky and had fighting styles that were entirely upper body strength-based, and he's never had any stealthy or tricky moves. That's the interpretation I prefer.

Clearly the elder Sub’s behavior in Mythologies would agree with that logic. But think about it, after venturing into the Netherrealm and using fighting skills and ice powers, would he really think of technology as particularly useful?

It is true that the younger Sub’s appreciation for warrior history and tradition carried through MKDA and MKD, but that happened after he took the clan over and made them all wear ice-themed uniforms (Which I hope the newer game/s ignore this fact). The medieval look didn’t happen until Deception.

I too ignore the comics even though some are regarded as official. The MK 2 comic made the younger Sub look like a corny James Bond/Assassin for hire.

Depends on the tech I suppose. He might have turned down becoming a cyborg the same as his brother did, viewing it as simply too extreme or not being willing to give up his free will, but I think someone who takes being a professional as seriously as he did would never turn down a smoke bomb or a tracking device simply because "the old ways are best", whereas I like depicting the younger bro with an anti-modernist attitude because it shows how the two brothers are different.

I just personally see the older brother as more representing the Lin Kuei and following their trends, and the younger brother as more representing himself and being the one who's concerned with legacy, family, and history like he has been in the more modern games. I want to depict the MK2 Subbie as the same person as the MKDA and Deception Subbie. I don't think of the armor thing as part of his character development.