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Description

I put this together to give an idea of some of my thought processes and choices I made for my Starscream redesign!

If you're having trouble reading the text, I've copy pasted it here:

~~~

Pic 01: I’ve been redesigning some of the Transformers as a fun little exercise. I started with Starscream (because he’s the best!) and I’ll be doing Skywarp and Thundercracker next. And no, they won’t just be re-colors, haha!

I started this project because I very much like Starscream’s design in Transformers Prime, but it’s such a divergence from all his other incarnations that he’s nearly unrecognizable. Which is not to say TFP’s doesn’t pay tribute to G1! At first glance, Prime Scream is colored in different grays with some red accents, but in good lighting you can see he’s actually got some dark blue mixed in there. There’s also a greenish area on his belly that is, I believe, his cockpit. But TFP was created after the first Bayverse movies. Their target audience (kids) would be more familiar with the live action movies than G1, so the creators were drawing a great deal of inspiration from those, hence Starscream’s de-saturation.

I love TFP’s design. I think the thin, pointy look works very well for Starscream’s treacherous personality! But I wanted to bring a little color back to it.

Pic 02: Starscream has had a few different alt-modes throughout the years, the Harrier Jet, the F-22 Raptor, the F-15 and F-16, Sukhoi Su-35, as well as a number of generic jet modes. But in researching his alt-mode I came across this flipping perfect factoid: the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the aircraft of choice for the USAF Thunderbirds since 1983. (Transformers premiered in ‘84.) Between the color scheme and the F-16′s reputation for maneuverability and dexterity, I think it’s pretty clear Starscream landed on Earth, saw the Thunderbirds, and said ‘frag yes! that one!’
Now, I did try to incorporate some design elements of the F-16 into Star’s mech-mode, but most of my design choices are drawn from his cartoon/comic appearances. That said, I made a point to include the metal circlet on the cockpit and the missile-mounts on the wingtips. The rounded vents on his ribs are also drawn from the F-16. But, ultimately, I wanted to keep him recognizably Starscream first and foremost. The other two, Skywarp and Thundercracker, I’ll be having a bit more fun with, diverging rather drastically from their previous incarnations.

Pic 03: Here we have the basic shape breakdowns for our three mechs. Starscream, being a prickly sort, is made up of a lot of triangles.
(Can you guess which jets Thundercracker and Skywarp will be based on?)

Pic 04: This is a rough progression of his design as I honed in on what I liked. The middle one is basically what I went with for this drawing.

Pic 05: Some exploration of head designs. Again, I wanted to keep him pointy like in Prime but also incorporate his traditional head vents. I made them triangular, though. His name is STARscream, after all! I also kept his cockatiel fringe from Prime, because it’s adorable.

Pic 06: This was my first pass on his finalized design. I liked it, but I felt his feet were too simple. Also, I used too many colors. Starscream’s design is already very colorful (red, white, blue, AND yellow) so adding different shades of these colors was just a bit too much.

Pic 07: Here are some of the feet I explored. I started out by looking at the various TFP foot designs, drew them to get a feel for how they worked, then simplified them into something more 2D friendly. As I went along, I started looking at cowboy boots and chaps! Starscream is already dressed like an American flag and turns into an American military vehicle. And what’s more American than cowboys? Add to this, cowboy boots have fairly prominent heels, something Starscream has rocked for 35 years now.

You can’t see it in the final render, but he’s got rhinestone-esque studs going up the outer edge on his boot.

Anyway, I hope y’all enjoyed this little breakdown! Until next time!

Description

I put this together to give an idea of some of my thought processes and choices I made for my Starscream redesign!

If you're having trouble reading the text, I've copy pasted it here:

~~~

Pic 01: I’ve been redesigning some of the Transformers as a fun little exercise. I started with Starscream (because he’s the best!) and I’ll be doing Skywarp and Thundercracker next. And no, they won’t just be re-colors, haha!

I started this project because I very much like Starscream’s design in Transformers Prime, but it’s such a divergence from all his other incarnations that he’s nearly unrecognizable. Which is not to say TFP’s doesn’t pay tribute to G1! At first glance, Prime Scream is colored in different grays with some red accents, but in good lighting you can see he’s actually got some dark blue mixed in there. There’s also a greenish area on his belly that is, I believe, his cockpit. But TFP was created after the first Bayverse movies. Their target audience (kids) would be more familiar with the live action movies than G1, so the creators were drawing a great deal of inspiration from those, hence Starscream’s de-saturation.

I love TFP’s design. I think the thin, pointy look works very well for Starscream’s treacherous personality! But I wanted to bring a little color back to it.

Pic 02: Starscream has had a few different alt-modes throughout the years, the Harrier Jet, the F-22 Raptor, the F-15 and F-16, Sukhoi Su-35, as well as a number of generic jet modes. But in researching his alt-mode I came across this flipping perfect factoid: the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the aircraft of choice for the USAF Thunderbirds since 1983. (Transformers premiered in ‘84.) Between the color scheme and the F-16′s reputation for maneuverability and dexterity, I think it’s pretty clear Starscream landed on Earth, saw the Thunderbirds, and said ‘frag yes! that one!’
Now, I did try to incorporate some design elements of the F-16 into Star’s mech-mode, but most of my design choices are drawn from his cartoon/comic appearances. That said, I made a point to include the metal circlet on the cockpit and the missile-mounts on the wingtips. The rounded vents on his ribs are also drawn from the F-16. But, ultimately, I wanted to keep him recognizably Starscream first and foremost. The other two, Skywarp and Thundercracker, I’ll be having a bit more fun with, diverging rather drastically from their previous incarnations.

Pic 03: Here we have the basic shape breakdowns for our three mechs. Starscream, being a prickly sort, is made up of a lot of triangles.
(Can you guess which jets Thundercracker and Skywarp will be based on?)

Pic 04: This is a rough progression of his design as I honed in on what I liked. The middle one is basically what I went with for this drawing.

Pic 05: Some exploration of head designs. Again, I wanted to keep him pointy like in Prime but also incorporate his traditional head vents. I made them triangular, though. His name is STARscream, after all! I also kept his cockatiel fringe from Prime, because it’s adorable.

Pic 06: This was my first pass on his finalized design. I liked it, but I felt his feet were too simple. Also, I used too many colors. Starscream’s design is already very colorful (red, white, blue, AND yellow) so adding different shades of these colors was just a bit too much.

Pic 07: Here are some of the feet I explored. I started out by looking at the various TFP foot designs, drew them to get a feel for how they worked, then simplified them into something more 2D friendly. As I went along, I started looking at cowboy boots and chaps! Starscream is already dressed like an American flag and turns into an American military vehicle. And what’s more American than cowboys? Add to this, cowboy boots have fairly prominent heels, something Starscream has rocked for 35 years now.

You can’t see it in the final render, but he’s got rhinestone-esque studs going up the outer edge on his boot.

Anyway, I hope y’all enjoyed this little breakdown! Until next time!