I'm a really big fan of a lot of what's going on here! The narwhal weapon is classy and kickass, the warlord ship is packed with detail and practical, and the design of the diving equipment feels SO spot on.
I'm interested in how the coral is adapted into armor and weaponry. Are the leg wraps and knives naturally occurring phenomena which the pirates happen upon? Is the coral grown in specific shapes to eventually become a leg wrap or arm plate? Are there coral workers who (like metal workers) have a trained intuition for working with coral as a material?
Again, such a big fan of the work you've done and thanks for being so open to questions!
I look at the coral as something that when harvested they still maintain a soft fleshy body and is able to shape it in any way to wrap around legs, fit as shoulder armour or stretched to made into weapons. Then it calcifies and hardens when it dies and is left in the shape it was fitted too. Theirs definitely a pirate blacksmith that is trained in coral fitting and Shellfish cracking. We definitely have to make a story about just this, it would be cool.
In terms of the prehistory of the pirates would their ancestors have initially clothed themselves primarily in the hides and carapaces of sea dwelling creatures, similar to how our ancestors primarily used land dwelling creatures?
Which could mean as the culture and society progressed items that were initially viewed as ordinary and common place became status symbols, much like how leather and similar animal skin came to be seen in our world.
Either way it’s still awesome to see space pirates wearing giant crab shells
Yeah possibly, I could see that. The main thought was that these Pirates are against religion. They’re pretty much atheist so they have no respect for the Gods of the Sea, these giant crustaceans. They feel like they own the waters by hunting them down and showing them off as trophies. They’re also symbols of strength so you are what you wear.
That warlord ship is just too cool! The giant creaturs that had their shells built into the ships superstructure have got to be terrifying when they're alive. Can't wait to see more crazy creature and vehicle designs from Mike & Mike!
I hope we get to see a story about hunting down and defeating one of these giant shellfish creatures down the line! That could be pretty wild, especially considering the scale of the creatures vs. human.
Keep killing it MDM! Pirate Warlord is my favorite while the diver is my least favorite out of all of these; least meaning I like and fave meaning I love it. I’m glad that I missed the live drawings because the final product is my first real impression; there were no preconceived notions or assumptions. A picture is worth its weight in pixels! Lol!
This post got me thinking: does the presence of Khor in the water have any effect on the sea life? For example, coral that has been feeding on Khor for years could be weaponize as some sort of grenade…
Just for the record the "Slick Rick of pirates" is still just Slick Rick.
I'm a really big fan of a lot of what's going on here! The narwhal weapon is classy and kickass, the warlord ship is packed with detail and practical, and the design of the diving equipment feels SO spot on.
I'm interested in how the coral is adapted into armor and weaponry. Are the leg wraps and knives naturally occurring phenomena which the pirates happen upon? Is the coral grown in specific shapes to eventually become a leg wrap or arm plate? Are there coral workers who (like metal workers) have a trained intuition for working with coral as a material?
Again, such a big fan of the work you've done and thanks for being so open to questions!
I look at the coral as something that when harvested they still maintain a soft fleshy body and is able to shape it in any way to wrap around legs, fit as shoulder armour or stretched to made into weapons. Then it calcifies and hardens when it dies and is left in the shape it was fitted too. Theirs definitely a pirate blacksmith that is trained in coral fitting and Shellfish cracking. We definitely have to make a story about just this, it would be cool.
And thanks for the kind words. Love the questions, keep em coming. It’s helping us build.
In terms of the prehistory of the pirates would their ancestors have initially clothed themselves primarily in the hides and carapaces of sea dwelling creatures, similar to how our ancestors primarily used land dwelling creatures?
Which could mean as the culture and society progressed items that were initially viewed as ordinary and common place became status symbols, much like how leather and similar animal skin came to be seen in our world.
Either way it’s still awesome to see space pirates wearing giant crab shells
Thanks. Pirates and giant crabs just makes for some cool visuals!
Yeah possibly, I could see that. The main thought was that these Pirates are against religion. They’re pretty much atheist so they have no respect for the Gods of the Sea, these giant crustaceans. They feel like they own the waters by hunting them down and showing them off as trophies. They’re also symbols of strength so you are what you wear.
Love the He-Man/Pulp Barbarian feel of the pirates
Thanks man, definitely had a He-man type of vibe when doing the warlord.
There's also big Frazetta/Conan energy there too. Really cool
That warlord ship is just too cool! The giant creaturs that had their shells built into the ships superstructure have got to be terrifying when they're alive. Can't wait to see more crazy creature and vehicle designs from Mike & Mike!
I hope we get to see a story about hunting down and defeating one of these giant shellfish creatures down the line! That could be pretty wild, especially considering the scale of the creatures vs. human.
Definitely a good chance we’ll visit that. Too good not to.
Thanks! Yeah can’t wait to design some giant crustaceans.
Keep killing it MDM! Pirate Warlord is my favorite while the diver is my least favorite out of all of these; least meaning I like and fave meaning I love it. I’m glad that I missed the live drawings because the final product is my first real impression; there were no preconceived notions or assumptions. A picture is worth its weight in pixels! Lol!
Good stuff!
These designs are SO awesome!!
This post got me thinking: does the presence of Khor in the water have any effect on the sea life? For example, coral that has been feeding on Khor for years could be weaponize as some sort of grenade…
Keep them coming!