The VG Resource

• Captain Elika
  
  Spoiler

  
  Okay, this drawing was really hard to do. At least the result was infinitely better than that early 2015 artwork I put there just for you to laugh at. This new appearance is supposed to look more like a high-ranked military/Maverick Hunter, and is notably inspired in the design of Signas, his mentor. There is a symbolic reason behind that, since Elika assumes the leadership of the Maverick Hunters in a certain way during the Neo Maverick War. The redesign started with me struggling to sprite Elika's P-Quadgun in different angles. It's nearly impossible to sprite the guns without distorting them, and so I began trying many different designs, and this is the attempt I most liked. (in terms of appearance, not "spriteability")
  
  
  
• Shad
  
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  Shad looks much more mature in his new design due to his enhanced armor and formal wear semblance. His hair has returned to its original form, that is, a single lock of hair instead of two. I was trying to avoid making him look like Shade Man and Dark Necrobat, but the similarities are inevitable. The wings are considerably flexible and each one can rotate in at least 45 degrees to adjust the flight, with each end being a thruster. The wings are detachable and maybe they'll be used as weapons in an alternative fighting style. I'd say they work more like the wings of Hellbat Schilt and a Gundam at the same time.
  
  
  
• Blue Knight
  
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  Like Saturn, Blue Knight had his design unaltered for more than 10 years. While I'm really very used to that look, part of me became unsettled with the fact that his design doesn't make me feel he makes part of the X series, so I tried giving details that commonly appear in X designs and made him look a bit more like a blue knight, while still maintaining his good old essence.
  
  
  
• Saturn
  
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  The old design was very minimalist and has been the exact same since 2006. In 2015, when the current version of MMX:U49 was started, I was still too attached to the nostalgia of my childhood stories and didn't want to change him and many of the main characters (like Blue Knight, which is as old as Saturn). 
  
  If I were to begin producing Mega Man X: Unit 49 today, not only the comic would have another name, but many of these designs would be completely remade. Saturn's flamethrower has been a joke inherent to him since his primordial times and many characters in the comic refer to him as "pipenose" and other funny nicknames, the possibilities are endless. I do like this comical factor and Saturn tends to show more of his funny side in the comics. However, he also has his evil, calculating and insane side, and he tends to be poetical in moments of inspiration. This new design makes him more fearsome, which should be expected from the man who wants to lead an army with the most bad-willed people in the world to destroy the government and rules imposed by the humans, while he still has his signature weapon, the "mouth flamethrower" - now he is able to hide it and assemble it only during battles or when needed.
  
  I guess the main change in his design is the addition of the handcuffs and shackles all through his body, as if he was to resemble some kind of prisoner. Saturn is a character immersed in obscure symbolisms, as you can see in his crest, which can be interpreted in several ways (the fact is that most of these interpretations are valid, since the symbol is a junction of four different things), and these new details also have their meaning. Saturn believes that Reploids are prisoners of their human creators and those who aim to pass beyond human limitations are, most of times, undeservedly labelled as Mavericks and executed. However, these chains also represent another kind of prison that holds Saturn, and it is all related to his own body and powers. The hints have already been given in Season 2's first arc, you just have to look closely.
  
• Cyclobbering Onimmer (he appeared in S1's ending and will be a boss in Season 3)
  
  Spoiler

  Yes, his name is a junction to form a double pun.
  Onimmer creates fire explosions when he hits enemies with his hammer.
  
• Chaotic Gargale (I haven't finished the artwork yet, so I will put it in a future update)
  
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• Chaotic Gargale
  
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  Gargale was rebuilt from a wind-element gargoyle Reploid to be a Maverick weapon of mass destruction, being given the task of bringing a storm of chaos wherever he passes by Saturn.
  
  Gargale is extremely durable and only shots charged to the maximum may damage his armor. He is powered by fusion reactors and attacks with Chaos Orbs, which are spheres of energy that disrupt the air pressure around them, creating razing vortexes. Gargale has five turbines in his shoulders, knees and chest that can generate tornadoes or pull objects into him. Due to his extraordinary strength, Gargale was put above the ranks of the Neo Maverick Army and became the Warchief in charge of the attack on the capital of the Scandinavian Alliance.

• Nora
  
  Spoiler

  
  
  Nora is the Operator of the 49th Unit of Maverick Hunters since 2184. Nora can make quick analyses of her targets and pinpoint their destinations if they try to teleport and run away, and that makes her a powerful ally dealing with fugitives, such as Saturn. Thanks to that, she found a kind of sanctuary for Mavericks in a city abandoned after the fall of the space colony Eurasia in 2186 and gave crucial help to Captain Elika prepare an ambush to kill Saturn.
  
  However, after Saturn reappeared with a new body two years later, Nora was unable to track Saturn, since he gained the ability to teleport through a different method: instead of sending his body in an energy beam to another location, he opens a wormhole-like portal and flees. "Luckily", Saturn stopped his activities in the surface world and was not seen by many years. The 49th Unit became "inactive", yet always on alert. Nora found herself stuck in the headquarters until the case was solved, becoming a very bored and frustrated person. During that period, Nora would only make researches, lurk in the net and write "dumb fantasy stories". After the war began, she felt alive and determined once again, with the chance of ending her mission once for all.

• Red Thunder
  
  Spoiler

  
  That's a drastic change in his palette, because I realized he had way too similarities with Flash (DC) and a color scheme very close to Zero. Since the lightning bolts released by him are actually rose, I made an inversion so the bolt details are in the right color instead of gold. I've been wanting to give him a better name, but was not able to come up with anything so far. What do you think?
  
  This redesign might be implemented in the comics in Season 3, as him and other Maverick Hunters will receive upgrades.
• Baronel
  
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  Originally, Baronel resembled X a lot, because he was supposed to look like a generic civilian Reploid, having only two rocket boosters in his shoulders, a simple appearance that fools enemies who underestimate him. Actually, Baronel can reassemble and morph his parts to adapt his fighting style to anything he needs in unexpected ways. For that reason, he became known as "Death's Swiss Knife". I am not telling all his abilities now, because he is yet to show them in Chapter 17 "Frenetic Dance", which will be published in June.
  
  "Baronel" is just one more false name used by this mysterious Reploid mercenary, whose past is unknown and lives to serve as an infallible tool of murder and robbery for influent people, with no purpose of his own. He is serious and always sticks to the mission, but his mood can change if he finds a strong opponent. What makes him an excellent mercenary is that he can make turnarounds even in the most disadvantageous situations, manipulating his enemies to act the way he needs in order to win. Despite his lack of a greater motivation, the mastermind Saturn managed to earn his interest and loyalty, and together with Shad, Kran and Keros, founded the Neo Maverick Army. Later, Baronel would lead a mission to steal the two superweapons of the Earth Forces called "Red Sun" and "Blue Moon", along with another mercenary called Arang.

(07-13-2018, 05:59 PM)titleknown Wrote: [ -> ]Honestly, I know relatively little about sprite comics beyond my young experience with Jay Resop's Neglected Mario Characters, but I will say I love the dynamism and use of color in there a lot! So that's neat!

(07-26-2018, 02:21 PM)Saturn Wrote: [ -> ]The page frequency in the next months will depend on my college and hopefully the break won't last long.