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Patron Art Enthusiast August 2020
🕑 Added 2020-08-28 18:36:44 +0000 UTCWe're creeping up on Fall, and the launch of some next-gen consoles (if they ever actually go up for preorder...), which means its time to start laying some ground work for a new generation of the Console War. And you get to be the very first to see those soldier designs take shape.
Now that we've finally gotten a good look at both the Series X and the PS5, I could sit down and start brainstorming what the next gen soldiers would look like, and I'll admit... it was a challenge.
On the one side, the Series X is literally as plain as can be. It's a box. The controller is similarly plain. And while I'm fine with that for an actual console that sits under my TV, there wasn't a lot to work with as far as translating design language into a living soldier.
Firmly on the other side of the spectrum, the PS5 almost had TOO MUCH to work with, and not a lot of it good... The odd curves, split design, narrow build barely make an attractive console, much less a humanoid being.
On top of all of that, the next gen Console War represents an opportunity to tackle some of my core issues with the designs of the previous generation, mostly on individuality and facial expressiveness. It's a chance to sit down and make sure that not only do the two sides look distinct, but also that I've left myself some wiggle room to make individual soldiers look distinct.
Larger eyes give more options for expressing emotions, while a more familiar humanoid shape to the head and feature placement allows for easier addition of things like helmets, glasses and facial hair to differentiate squad members if need be.
For the Series X, I leaned into the simplicity of the console, and the box turned at an angle like we see in the promos gives us the shape for the head. From there the simplicity of the console's design is reflected in an overall straightforward uniform of solid colors. As plain as the controller is, there wasn't much to utilize from its design without getting super literal in the analogs and buttons.
Using the "console as a head" theme, I had to take more artistic liberties with the PS5, keeping the overall design but altering the shape into something more visually pleasing. I continued down the body by incorporating the DualSense's design language (the only element of the PS5's design that I love) into the collar/shoulder area. The PS5 soldier's uniform is a little more sci-fi than the Series X, reflecting that console's edgier and more unique look than its counterpart.
These are my first passes at these soldiers, and I may tweak and iterate on the designs leading into the fall when I work on the actual end of the current console war, and its bleeding into the next generation.
Comments
Kaedys
So, idea to leverage the controllers: use the colored X/Y/A/B and triangle/square/circle/X as rank or unit insignia
Tim Buckley
The only part of the soldier that mimics the actual console is the head. The rest is just a uniform. I didn't have the Switches running around head-to-toe half blue and half red. If I made them all white, they're going to start looking like Stormtroopers, not to mention that white is a garbage color to have to render for shadows and highlights. :)
Hanan DOA Argov
Generally love the design, but I just thought the PS5 soldiers will have more white surfaces, since the console itself is wrapped in white
