I'm gonna guess randomly and say Human Cyrax! Yeah.....

Kicking off thursday with a double whammy of artyness...

Miss Sonya Blade covered up and kitted out just like she should be.
I clearly went for a more military look, someone who has power, strength and is also gorgeous.
I covered that pesky chest of hers which has develeoped a habit of revealing itself and tried to layer up her clothes so she has numerous choices of attire depending on location or situation.

She's a high ranking officer and so has numerous badges to show of, on her jacket, hat and armband. She also has a gun and knife in holsters on her legs just incase she runs out of neon pink mystical 'chi' energy.

The brown theme was just me trying out a different style as green and black have become standard for her and I loved her MKSM look, however those 'leopard-print' looking combats are actually cammo print if you weren't sure.


And mystery man Taven kick starts the male persuasion of designs.
As I've stated numerous times I'm hoping to massacre the wardrobes of every legit character on the roster and so even have to spruce up the unloved kombatants.

Taven was an interesting character to design because there was actually quite a few elements I loved about his in game concept, right up until he got that shocking, clunky armour from mommy dearest (obviously should have taken the veil of so she could actually she what she was forcing her poor boy to wear)

I wanted him to actually look like the son of an Edenian God, and so upped the elegance of this costume. Also contrasting the look I'm going to give his rough-arse brother later in the series.

Hope you like them!


Sidenote here: Again both drawn and coloured in fineliners with abit of coloured pencil, but using a pre-drawn body tempate.
The artist responsible for the Taven base, and base of all males coming up in the series can be found Here

The turn-around base template will be used extensively soon as I'm hoping to give each design the 360 treatment.
As you have probably noticed Tavens concept features coloured skin and facial features, body hair etc.. which will be a feature of every design from now on. I;m basically improving production values on the designs so to speak.

Comments and Critiqes always welcome


Ramble Over.

I was gonna bitch about the thong lines on Sonya, but now I realize they are part of her undershirt.

Proceed.

Hmm...the costume design's nice, but somehow it doesn't seem like Taven without the giant lantern jaw and goatee.

Sonyas is ok......a little 'meh' for me personally.....no offence. Im not saying its bad or anything, well drawn etc, but I just find Sonya's designs in the games to be very boring, and this isnt much different to her previous designs. I personally feel Sonya should be covered from the neck down....completely covered. Its good that you tried something different to the green though and its still fitting to the character.

Taven, now this design I really like (and wasnt expecting to be the first guy). I would give him back his goatee but otherwise its quite good. On first glance I wasnt sure about it, I thought 'Superhero' but then i looked a few times mroe and I like it. Something completely new for him which is good, he's a character who can still have a complete revamp and get away with it since we only seen him once. I like the split in the middle of his design and the sexy body hair trail elading down to his....ahem. (I do love his sexy ben Affleck look in game too tho!! Swoooon!)

Thanks for the feedback guys!



I considered adding the facial hair to the design but opted not to as with my interpretation I;m going for the goody/goody naive and youthful character against Daegon's bitter, mature and dirtier personality and so though the facial hair would be a nice differentiating point between the two, I guess we'll see how successful that concept is when I get Daegon sorted..



I've always felt Sonya's designs have been lacking a certain something. (which in most cases turned out to actually just be cloth) and so tried to patch concepts I felt worked from her previous designs which is probably why you still feel it's pretty similar, but I do think theres only so much you can do design-wise with the character.



I'm not gonna lie one major aspect of the design process for Taven was me trying to make him more attractive, hence the suggestive body hair, nicer face etc.., guess it was the gaymer in me leaking out aha. But I'm really glad you like how it turned out, I also feel he's one of the few characters I'll not feel guilty about completely revamping as he's only had one design so far.


Just throwing out another piece here and now is the turn of Kabal!

This is a design I;ve been working on in my head for quite some time. Whenever I think of this character I remember being like 8 years old playing trilogy on my Nintendo and being shit scared of this horrible metal-faced man. A fear probably also enhanced by the realisation of his face beneath the mask after seeing Defenders of the Realm.

So when approaching this design I ws constantly thinking of how to make this guy as scary as I remember him being. Deception did nothing for me design-wise so I turned to the horror films also from my childhood for inspiration. I wanted him to come across as one of those indestructible phsychopaths that just keep coming and looks torn to hell but still standing. I had him keep the same tattered cothes he always wears, a kind of reminder of what he suffered during the invasion of earth, but I also screwed up the mask, showing more of his scars and using that crazy black hair to cover it back up. His arms are also scarred and constantly bandaged up. Who says the good guys can;t be terrifying too?

So there he is, think Leatherface with martial arts training...

Usual technicalities and footnotes apply
-Dan

Khameleon's design is great, but I don't think so much yellow is fitting. Everything yellow should instead be green, save for her eyes and perhaps the jewels on her forehead and bosom. Giving her eyes some life actually makes me think she's a real character, unlike those bland white balls she was given in MKA.

Kitana looks nearly perfect. Loving the sleeves and the laces especially, although they seem to give her a chunkier physique. Or is that just me?

Now, Sonya. Mother freaking crap.
This is beautiful. Thank you for giving my favorite character some justice. Long deserved and overdue justice. She really needs to pick up this entire in future games. I was even disappointed with how she looks in MK9. I mean, she's a Special Forces commander--give her some truth to her character. I love the lack of guns, I love the sexy hat, and I love...everything, really.

You should submit these all as fan submissions. Truly.

I was taken aback by Taven at first, but the more I stare at this design, the more I realize that you actually gave him a personality. Really, I could care less about Taven in MKA, even after having to play as him for hours straight in that Konquest mode. Mortal Kombat characters are usually defined by their costumes, and what Taven had in MKA was just weak and lifeless, even with constant alterations. Although I'm not too set on the contrast between the yellow and black (perhaps gray would've blended better), I gotta say that the overall design fits. What's the explanation for those three beads in his chest? I couldn't decide whether to stare at those or his manly chest hair at first. Oh, and I love your take on his hair.

Kabal has always been a favorite of mine just because of his appearance. I never bothered to learn his backstory while growing up--I just knew that his mask was awesome. And although I love the exposed face, I don't agree with the general color scheme. I don't have any idea what colors would work besides the dull ones I'm now accustomed to from his canon designs, but I'm reminded more of a jump suit with his pants instead of signature clothing.

These are all awesome! Keep this up.
If I had to request your next, it'd be neat to see your take on a cyborg.
Preferably Sektor.

I'm not too keen on Kabal looking like a serial killer.

Why not? The man is a serial killer, a mass murderer, a terrorist... That's what the Black Dragon is all about.

Thanks forthe feedback!! :)
The yellow is actually supposed to be gold, I just wanted to give her a slightly more important look, like she's Raptor Royalty or something :P

Im not sure about the chunkier Kitana, may just be the pose combined with the puffyness of the sleeves, not sure!



Thankyou! I'm glad you like the design!! Although she does actually have a gun on her left leg..



I love that you think this design actually gives Taven some personality as that is definately something I was hoping to acheive in giving him an overhaul. I used the black and gold to again signify the royalty aspect of his character. The three beads were in his original design as a necklace, when I first saw them I thought they were attatched to him, which kinda automatically made them interesting, so I chose to include them with this design, I see their function as having connections to the powers both Taven and Daegon possess so both will feature them in their designs :)



Ahaha the jumpsuit connection is kinda funny, :) I also wasn't sure about colouring but in the end opted for something slightly brighter just as a contrast to how dark the rest of the black dragon lot are!

Cyborgs will definately be turning up soon, but I kinda want to perfect them as I've never drawn robots or anything of the like before.



Thats basically how I see him too, he may be a good guy but he has done some terrible things and that should be reflected in his design.
And again the mask is just scary as hell so I think the rest of him should be aswell...

Wow! Super long post here but I'm gonna pop in another design too. This time, Kai

Kai is a character I never knew much about due to never owning or even playing MK4. I see him as a much less strict and controlled Kang or Lao. I opted to give him so looser robes and try and portray the traveller he became after his MK4 ending, complete with beard :)
I also toned down on the white markings as I think they kinda get out of control and busy up what should be in my opinion quite a simplistic design!

Usual technicalities apply
-Dan

Kabal looks awesome. I really like his face and mask, and its very much more like his MK3 design than his MKD, which I think is great since I hated his MKD look, too catroony if you ask me.

Kai, wow excellent. He is actually kidna sexy lol. Quite similar to the MKDA concept art for him, which I really liked. Also agree on the white markings, they could get out of control. Personally, to add some extra depth to his costume, I would add detail/pattern a little, to his robes, perhaps marking/motiffs from his travels etc. Just adds an extra something. Not that having them plain is bad or anything. Do you ahve any story specifics for him? Kai is a very underrated character IMO. I would have liked him to take over from Liu Kang as the main hero, but they didnt give him a chance. I do like the traveller/wanderer concept tho, opens him up to a lot more possibilites. Shame we didnt get any Armageddon story for him.

Thanks :)
Yeah, I definately got some inspiration from that concept art, and I actually think it may have been the first time I saw him due to never having MK4, so it's actually stuck with me alot more than his actual first design/
I'm thinking of returning to this design cos straight after I posted it I had afew second thoughts, I think there should be some design on the cloth too, and I'm thinking of adding afew more layers just so he looks well travelled, like he's aquired different materials in different places. Right now the only story related part of his costume is the white lotus crest on his belt so I think if I add more to the costume I'll get a better idea of a story for him..



Coming up now if my first 'ninja'; Ermac!

The basic idea here is that when Ermac was created he wore a red patchwork cloth in the same form as the other ninja's which when he gained his freedom and converted to good was covered up by the new design one piece. I loved his Deception look and so just wanted to build on that with extra layers and such, I also firmly believe he's a character that should basically have no skin on show except for the eye slot, just add that mystery to him.. I also got rid of the sci-fi boots and gave him a simple metal knee-guard with wraps to keep it in place.
Hope you like :)

-Dan

Out of curiosity, where did you find the templates for your art?

The template for the male designs come from here. The intention is for each character design to have a complete turn-around which will the n be put up as a proepr submission on here.

Unfortunately I still haven't been able to track the artist who made the female templates I've used, I saved them from DeviantArt on my old laptop and have tried numerous searches trying to find them again with no success. They had to sheets of about 40 poses but have no clue where they are on the site.
If anybody recognises them feel free to link me :)

'Ninja' number two: Rain

So i have a lot of love for Rain's Armageddon attire, clearly seen here as I kept the cape and mask with I think both improved is individuality by miles. For my verson I wanted to allude to his ninja roots through design details but completeley remove the actual ninja clothing he wore in Armageddon.

Sticking to his Edenian homeland he has purple chiffon eatured in his outfit, however the mask and arm/leg straps are not chiffon. No Mileena-esque veil rip off here :)

I wanted to give him that Arabian Prince/Theif combination look that I personally think he rocks pretty darn well..
Crazy amount of detail in this one but it is defiantely a favorite of my designs thus far.

Template, fineliners/penicils used.
Critique away :)

-Dan

I like the eyes in Ermac's palms. Reminds me of The Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth. Very cool.

Ahah, nice connection there! Im glad you like them :) I wanted to give him some tool for channeling his telekenesis. I get abit bored of all the characters having magic hands that produce coloured clouds and so tried to add some logical, but mystical, way of explaining Ermacs.


Busting out Johnny Cage next!

So I'll flat out admit I kinda have a crush on this guy, and so attractiveness was defiantely a focal point. I mean come on, the guys a movie star, he cant be ugly...

The thing with Johhny though is that his costumes are always so blaah. And while I'll admit my re-design isn't the most earth shatteringly amazing concept I think I managed to give him a sprucing up while still retaing that familiar basis. I added in abit of asymmetry and replace the horribly vain tattoo with a simpler dragon design on his arm. A nice silver 'C' emblem on his belt so he retains that slight trace of self importance, and of course the signature shades.


Hope you like..
-Dan

I'd totally hit that Johnny Cage!

I like the vest idea, its quite difficult coming up with anything 'new' for Cage as he has had fairly plain looking costumes so far (bare chest and pants) but you've done well with this. The vest is a good way of adding something new to his design despite it being sued a couple of times in random designs hear and there (Baraka, Kung Lao).

Rain its a decent design, staying clos to his MKA. BUt in all honest, I despise Rain as a character. I wasnt that fond of the persian Prince thing in MKA anyway so I dont ahve much to offer in way of critique as such, just that you've captured the MKA look well as well as adding your own little changes.

One other thing though, (and looking at my designs I know this is a difficult thing to pull off) the lowers half of you male designs look anatomically short for the top half. maybe its jsut my eyes tho. Hehe.

These are really good.

SUPER LONG POST WARNING! :D



Thanks again for the feedback :)

Im glad you like the Johnny design! I completely agree about his designs being so bland in the past, and I'm happy to tell you neither Baraka or Lao wil have vests in my designs :)

I understand with Rain it'd be hard to like a design if you dislike the character, aha. Im one of the few who see quite abit of potential in the character and thought his Armageddon look was just too cool.

Im not sure about the anatomy thing, I use templates for all the designs here so have no input in the actual base, It may just be that alot of my designs have quite baggy lower halves with low-hanging crotches, but i'm not sure, I personally felt the biggest issue was the skinny chicken legs Johnny seems to' have aha.


Okay, so I'm gonna get myself upto date on here with a massive update of designs
Six, to be exact!

Kicking off with Kobra

Now I'll admit Kobra is an extremely dull character, but there is no excuse for that AWFUL deception design. I see this character as the street thug of MK, he's a cocky little shite who thinks he's Gods gift to fighting. As such I put him in simple streetwear, yellow hoody, retaining the colouring from his previous design, jeans and a leather jacket, as seems compulsary for many Black Dragoners. I gave him clothes relatively unsuitable for fighting as I see him as being so over confident in his ability he doesn't feel the need to dress appropriately. He's been fighting in streetwear all his life, why should it be any different now.
This design might get altered at some point, I kinda wanna add a few chains and such hanging from his belts to add to the bikerish look.

Mavado

Now switching to the Red Dragon. Personally I found nothing overly wrong with this guys Deadly Alliance look at all. It was interesting and unique. This is basically my perfect mash-up of his two costumes, both of which I loved. Again there's a chance I'll return to this design and add afew extra details to maybe make it a tad more unique, but for now I'm happy.

And now, the posterboy: Scorpion

For now, excuse the black and yellow round things hanging at the top of each of his legs, they're gone when I finally get round to re-drawing him.
So recently this guy has been planted with the most detailing I think I've ever seen in a design, and it's ridiculous. He might be named after a scorpion, but he isn't one. The dudes a spectre and should look like one. Torn sash and wraps to emphasise this. A rope instead of a chain for his spear, personal preference.
I actually kinda like the scorpion design on his recent masks, however I tried to make it slightly more ornate that the bulky design he currently has.

Basically I think scorpion should stay as close to the original ninja's of MK1 as possible but with added details. Square-designed cloth and simple shin and arm guards to match :)

Continuing the buggy theme we have Hotaru

So I have no personal liking for this character at all, but to give him credit his design was extremely unique and distinguishing. I tried to tone the armour down abit while still keeping with the exoskeletal theme. I swapped the red cloth for purple for two reasons, 1, red is overused in MK, and 2, purple is much more regal, which I think ties in nicely with this guys authority and high-opinion of himself. I added in a sash with medals and such, upping his ego that slight bit more. And lost the crazy flags in exchange for a gold cape, which when his turn-around is completed will be revealed to mimic wings, after his firefly name-sake.

Moving onto Baraka

This guy's been a favorite of mine since playing Trilogy back on the old nintendo, but his designs have always been slightly lack-lustre
His entire race are nomad hunters, savages and brutalists. He needs to look like one. No matter how high up in status he becomes, I feel he should look like he wears the armour of his victims in a mix-match style. Fashion and co-ordinated outfits are not at the top of this guys priorities. He's covered in scars from battle, including a full body slice from a failed Kung Lao fatality, minus the crazy staples. He's got the armour of a Seidan guard and the sash of Shaolin Monk.
Oh, he's also blind in one eye and doesn't like shoes too.

And finally, Smoke

Don't any of you Cyborg Smoke fanboys worry, his robotic alter ego will also appear later in the series.
So this is my first Lin Kuei, and as you will see later on, the double-sash of his design is the LK's new trademark design feature. We've never really seen much of human Smoke and so I kinda had full freedom here. I know he's the 'grey' ninja, but I do kinda of resent the single colour theme of most characters in the series, despite using it in many of mine, and I've always associated both grey and purple with smoke, after his purple cyborg iteration.
I tried to tie in his elemental MKD look, as I loved the mask of that design. I tried to make it slightly more realistic for a ninja mask, following in the vein of Subby's shredder look.


So they're you have it. Six new designs.
Usual technicalities and credits apply.

Critiques very much welcome.
-Dan

Whoa, you've been busy!

They look really good. ^^

Ahah. Very Busy!!
I'm glad you like them :)


I'm hoping to keep churning these out as once I've finally got a solid design for each character on the roster I can start on actual final pieces to submit!

Anyone in particular anyone would like to see up next, with the exception of any cyborgs as they're proving problematic to finalise..

Kitana Revisited

So here's the first in my revised female concepts. Just as with the guys I'm gonna do a turn-around for each female, but for now I'm just sticking to the front view.

I only changed afew aspects of my initial concept here:
-She now has darker chiffon covering her chest and forming a collar.
-A more well-designed pattern has been added to her main outfit.
-Earings have been added.
-More intricate gold detailings have also been added.

Feedback is greatly appreciated guys :)
-Dan

And now I bring you Frost!

I tried to make Frost look slightly more powerful and well trained and, simple as it may seem, layers really happen to work in acheiving that.
She has the two front flaps that I've attributed with the Lin Kuei, only hers take a backseat to the promintent blue sash over them. She also has icy fingertips, which I feel look much better as a feature for her, than Subby.

The design itself is pretty self explanatory, just me experimenting with giving her afew more shaded than just black and blue.
Let me know what you think :)

-Dan

Wow ALL of these are Awesome!!!

And i love your Frost concept, she reminds me of Rogue from X-Men...