A few folks (myself included) feel that the only problem with animated is the art direction/character designs. So lets say, you have gone back in time and Hasbro put you in charge of designing Transformers: Animated. You have to use the same characters with the same or very similar Alt-modes- for example, Starscream = Jet, Ratchet = Ambulance, Bumblebee = small car and so on. Those were already chosen, they just want you to design them. So, let's see what you've got!
I know that Alex Milne had pretty much the same art idea as you do. His deviant art page contains some really cool redesigns of the Animated cast. Same robot mode, same alt mode, but done in a distinctly less cartoony style. Again, this is not MY art. It's Alex Milne's art, and it would probably not be a good idea to Hotlink it. So here's just some URL links: http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/d-s-are-my-peeps-74446972 http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/absolute-badass-74757287 http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/sari-bee-mine-74004111
i dont think he's asking for "less cartoony versions of the animated toys" but more "what you would have done instead"
