best bayverse designs

Discussion in 'Transformers Movie Discussion' started by Arrogant Arachnid, Jan 19, 2021.

  1. 2fabdad

    2fabdad Well-Known Member

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    Never say the R word...
     
  2. TheDude810

    TheDude810 I have an unhealthy obsession with the RotF Game

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    I'm a very big fan of the Combaticons from the Revenge of the Fallen Game. They seem, appearance-wise, like a unified group of soldiers alongside Brawl and fit in with him very well.

    The Combaticon Warrior from the RotF game, aka the movie Onslaught that is actually good, is a really nice and uniform design. I like how the missile launchers form up on his shoulders (which kind of mirrors Brawl's cannon shoulders) and how the wheels collapse inside of the forearms, resulting in this cool chubby-armed look. It gives him a unique silhouette, which is something that can be commended when it comes to movieverse characters.
    [​IMG]

    The Sniper Combaticon, or Vortex if you're fancy, is another great one. His "deranged peacock" look (idea courtesy to Luxo, and terminology courtesy to Ken Christiansen) is a really cool reversal of Blackout's rotor cape. I love how lanky he is and how that lankiness translates into his sniper rifle's design. He feels like a realistic depiction of a TFA character. He also has a very scary voice, only speaking in garbled technological speech.
    [​IMG]

    And then there's Swindle, the Combaticon Scout. He's a pretty straightforward design. Carbot with door wings and front of the vehicle on the chest. But he fits in nicely with the other Combaticons. I like how the wheels form up nicely against the side of the torso, similar to Siege Optimus Prime but nicer. He also vaguely reminds me of TFA Swindle, especially with the head design. You can't go wrong with TFA Swindle.
    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Arrogant Arachnid

    Arrogant Arachnid Banned

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    thats literally what the movie is dude. a reboot

    anyway, i thought starscream in the movies was just whatever looking. dont hate it but aint my fav either. but someone pointed out it kinda has an avian look to it and seeing it like that instead of just a robot triangle made me like it more
     
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  4. Turtle04

    Turtle04 Member

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    Bumblebees 1976 Camaro design was his best from any of the movies and is super underrated
     
  5. GrimlockPrime19

    GrimlockPrime19 I always have the high ground

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    It's sad I've seen so few people talking about the Dinobots.
    So, in my first place I'll put all the Dinobots. Grimlock, Strafe, Slug and Scorn are my favs, at the order I said. The big shoulders/t rex heads give an imperial, king aspect to Grimlock which fits perfectly, plus his horn/crown. Strafe is pretty badass with those wings, dino heads and his face is pretty cool too
    20210405_112220.png

    My second goes to TLK Optimus Prime and Ultron. Oops, Megatron I mean. For Optimus, mainly his concept art version. Except the head I don't like so much
    josh-nizzi-tf4-optimusv2-joshnizzi.jpg
    josh-nizzi-tf5-megatron-joshnizzi.jpg
    A close 3rd, which isn't exacly a Bayverse design, is the Josh Nizzi Optimus Prime for Prime1 Studio. This has a great mix between G1 and Bayverse we have only see in TFP. This is my fav Optimus Prime design of all time and we'll never see a better design than this
    Prime 1 Studio Generation 1 Optimus Prime Statue Teaser - Transformers News - TFW2005.jpeg

    4rd would be Starscream/Thundercracker cybertronian design. It reminds me the air of TF1 Megatron, which looked so advanced in tech, a thing of another word, pretty complex which I would put among the top 5 too. Tbh, the 4rd place will go the all the movie cybertronian designs, they were all pretty good, and Prime's is one of the best. He comes on it too
    RCO005_1486020133.jpg
    09.jpg
    RCO018_1581139692.jpg

    20150821233114!Movie_Megatron_Defiance3.jpg
    Btw, the movie WingBlade also deserves to be here

    Here, WingBlade is the big green plane
    04 (1).jpg
    And a great one, it isn't a bay movie design but it's one of the best, is the Bumblebee movie prequel comic Blitzwing. This guy is the best Blitzwing design you will ever see in your life
    RCO004_1583457416.jpg RCO005_1583457416.jpg RCO008_1583457416.jpg RCO016_1583457396.jpg
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2021
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  6. Moy

    Moy Constructicons!

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    You're not alone. The Dinobots were a big reason I wanted to see TF4. The cybertronian designs on the comics is what I'd love to see in an animated film.
    Sadly we didn't get to see much more of the autobot protoforms.
     
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  7. GrimlockPrime19

    GrimlockPrime19 I always have the high ground

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    jbc19xfjh2h51.jpg Bumblebee Movie ILM Concept Art Reveals What Could Have Been a Real Transformers Movie (1).jpeg
    One of the things I like the most is seeing new vehicles with a different style of design. Like, there were cars made specifically for Transformers movies like Sideswipe's corvette, TLK Camaron Ironhide truck and Jazz's car, and I love them. But, they still look normal cars, humans cars. Now something like the Bumblebee cybertronian car which I like a lot, bcs that's a line of design we don't see around there. That's my fav design for Bumblebee, the car is pretty cool, not so big like a Camaro and Bumblebee is as small as I would like him to be. He's pretty big and his design is kinda agressive in Bay movies, compared to other BB versions. Megatron in TF1 alt mode may have looked a crashed airplane lol, but that was cool bcs that was complex and that makes sense, we can't expect advanced robot aliens to look like our "primitve" machines, like the seekers in the BB movie which alt mode was more primitve in design than a plane of 40 years ago. The cybertronian Optimus concept was cool too, and it'd make more sense than the same look on Earth and Cybertron
     
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  8. decepticon seeker

    decepticon seeker Sixshot

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    C7DFEAD6-03C2-4490-B8E1-E2D6B808BB92.jpeg
    Barricade looked awesome
     
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  9. 20thc3nturybl003s

    20thc3nturybl003s Behold, my profile... of DOOM!

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    I like this early design of TLK Barricade because it not only remains faithful to the 07 design, but he also looks more terrifying too.
    Barricade.jpg

    Here's a concept of ROTF Soundwave which, I think, is one of my favourite designs.
    Soundwave 001.jpg

    Another design I like is this concept piece of ROTF Ravage. I just like how stylized the art is.
    Ravage.jpg

    I also think this design for the Operation: Skyfire pitch looks pretty cool too.
    Operation Skyfire 001.jpg
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2021
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  10. Magnus Leader

    Magnus Leader Young Optimus Prime is the Best Optimus Prime.

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    Definitely is better than the designs where he's perpetually on fire.
     
  11. GrimlockPrime19

    GrimlockPrime19 I always have the high ground

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    Those Barricade and Soundwave concepts are official? Man, amazing! This Barricade looks so freaking amazing! This Soundwave too, but I can't see much of his design, and ROTF Soundwave was already pretty good, his only problem was screen time and no robot form scene 101852541_3068980996556796_2504856174301895454_n.jpg
    (I couldn't find a good concept so I took this great figure Dino Model posted)
     
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  12. Magnus Leader

    Magnus Leader Young Optimus Prime is the Best Optimus Prime.

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    For real, the Combaticon Warrior is more or less exactly how I would envision a live-action TFA Bulkhead.

    Just give him a spherical head and blue eyes and shazam! You got him!
     
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  13. TheDude810

    TheDude810 I have an unhealthy obsession with the RotF Game

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    HOLY SHIT THAT IS AMAZING
     
  14. Moy

    Moy Constructicons!

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    Alex Jaeger, the artist who made that art you posted has more alien like concepts for BB movie but was not approved. I would like to see more advanced/alien vehicles too.
     
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  15. daniel 97

    daniel 97 Autobots' second in command

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    There are a few basic rules that I'm looking for when figuring out if a design is good or bad. And these are balance, contrast and symmetry. Out of all the robot characters from the Bay verse two stand out the most to me. Those are Jazz and Bumblebee. The three principles could be applied in many different ways but in general I believe they used properly for these two characters.

    First let me discuiss the design of Jazz.
    There are only a few things I don't like about it which is why I want to point that out first.

    They all relate to his body proportions. His torso is a bit shorter compared to his limbs. This is not a necessity for great aesthetics of the design but it's just not very appealing to me. His mid-section looks a little to bunched or compressed. His arms are just a bit longer than I'd preffered them to be. They're almost the same length as his legs and that gives him a lanky appearance. As a result of these two features he looks a little bit like an orangutan. I am aware that this aspect of the design exists in the G1 version as well but in that version his arms are much shorter. His shoulders are too high and bulky thanks to the tyres of his alt. mode which are covered by vertical long panels at the front. The heigth of his shoulders is the same if not slightly greater than the top of his helmet. This makes his head appear smaller and pressed into his chest. In the G1 design the heads stands higher than the top of the shoulders which to me looks more interesting.

    However there are many more things I enjoy in that design.

    I usually preffer when the transformers have a much more compact bodies. I hate it when there is too many parts protruding or extending from their bodies. And in that regard I really find this a positive trait of Jazz's design. Pretty much all the pieces on his body are nicely packed together. He has no door-panels, spikes, capes etc. I guess that makes him "leaner" in way? Anyway I like the overall "dense" look he has. The panels that form his forearms are really cool as well. The headlights of his alt. mode are present on the forearms and enchance the stylish appeal of his character. After all Jazz is all about doing things in style. Which leads me to the next thing I really like. For some reason the rear spoiler sits just perfectly on his traps. I'm not sure why that is. It kind of contradicts what I just described about the "tight look" but perhaps that's the only exception. It looks like he carries a backpack. Regarding the design of his head and face I must say I am more impressed or more accurately fascinated by his face. To this day I still can't figure it out exactly. Right below his visor which I think is pretty cool there are two horizontally aligned sets of pieces one under the other. Those look like lips to me. The top set consist of two triangular pieces with the sharp edges pointing at his cheeks. The bottom pieces are more rectangular. I think they were trying to give him a more "afro-look" given how the bigger lips usually a facial feature of the african race. Also from some angles it looks like he's got moustache! LOL. I'm really not sure.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Without the visor he looks...meh. I guess the additional diagonal pieces just below the ones that form his lower eyelid crease are redundant but I still like the design. And the small pieces that form the lips could be reshaped. I might do it later on to show you exactly what I mean.
    [​IMG]

    Man I just can't help but hear Darrius Mccrary saying: "You're going down succer!" or "What's crackin' player?"



    Now let's move on to the Bumblster.
    Just like with Jazz I'll cover the things I don't like about Bee's design first.

    His feet are designed in such a way that has the wheels of his alt. mode be at the centre of the ankle joint. But what bothers me is that he's got high heels. I feel like if the hollow section between the ball of his foot and the heel was a solid piece it would've looked better. And the whole foot itself is a bit too large. Gives him this "giant feet" look but hey I guess that's accurate according to G1. For me personally it could've looked better. He doesn't quite have the same level of compactness to his body that Jazz has. The door panels which stick out from his back work really well in the sense of giving him a more insectoid look. But I'm not a big fan of that. In that regard I find the 'Rise of the Dark Spark' design more appealing.

    The things I like.

    In my opinion the balance of his design is achieved through the better body proportions. His chest area is wide but it does not appear more prominent than his shoulders and head. In the TLK design there is much more abdominal area compared to Jazz and Bee's previous designs. The waist has also gotten narrower in as well which I do appreciate because it enhances his visual aesthetics in the way of making him appear more heroic and grown up. The latter I think was intentional change for the fifth movie. So in that regard I like the TLK design more than his DOTM or ROTF ones. Finally the complexity of his face. I realize many fans actually don't like this and I understand why. But for me I've always found myself trying to figure out how certain mechanisms work. And Bee's face is quite the mystery. Starting from the mouth area which interestingly enough has been shown to function differently across the franchise. Overall his face resembles a human skull. He's got very prominent cheeks and chin. But his face gets a little confusing to figure out when it comes to the mouth and I like that. There's the trapezoid shaped plate with concave side walls and a circular opening inside where the speaker-looking thing sits. That plate seems to be attached to his chin with two bolts at each side so one would assume that this entire mechanism is an external device that was installed on his face after he had aquired his injuries in order to allow him maintain some form of communication. And we still don't know the answer to that. Perhaps he got his face reconstructed at some point in the war after he had his vocal processor damaged. But maybe this is what he had always looked like and that's just his natural face? In TLK there are a few occasions where that part could be seen unattached from his jaw and there's no visible lips underneath. I don't know what that could mean. His entire jaw is operated by the two pistons that run diagonally down from his cheeks. For some reason they added a bunch of other pistons on his TLK design. I don't really like that. His simple 07 face is perfect for my taste. Between his cheeks there is a hollow space that forms up exactly where his nose would be. It has an eliptical shape which is aligned horizontally. Sometimes that looks like cute smile to me but then I realize that his actual mouth is positioned lower. Anyways I find if very intriguing.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    God damn! That is sick!
     
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  16. AStreetcarNamedWheeljack

    AStreetcarNamedWheeljack Well-Known Member

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    Jazz without his visor is very unsettling to behold.
     
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  17. daniel 97

    daniel 97 Autobots' second in command

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    How about now? Still needs some improvement.
     
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  18. JohnStartop

    JohnStartop There will only be one.

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    [​IMG]
    I know that there's no basis for Infernocons in lore, but Infernocus looks dope as shit. He doesn't even look like a Transformer, and his transformation is physically impossible, but what a wild design. He kinda looks like a Unicron-type demon. Maybe they were implying that the Infernocons actually work for Unicron. The films and the Aligned continuity share a lot of similar elements, and I think what they were going for with the Guardian Knights and Infernocons was something similar to the Predacons and the Terrorcon Predacons in Prime. That would mean that Quintessa was lying about wanting to save Cybertron and was only connecting Unicron to Cybertron so that it could be his new body. I know that any direction they went with the story would've been a far departure from the source material, but I stopped expecting Bayverse to be like The Transformers at this point. There's a tonne of concept art for the cancelled sequel with crazy designs like Infernocus that make me regretful that we never got it. I know that this was a new narrative low-point for the franchise, but visually, it was still interesting, and I'd love to see those abandoned concepts in some form or another. No amount of money can fix a bad story, but if they wanted to release lower-budget, direct-to-video films like DC, a proper ending for the concepts of The Last Knight would be at the top of my wishlist along with proper endings for Zone and Animated.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2021
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  19. avengerboy123

    avengerboy123 Well-Known Member

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    Who's that woman literally wearing the union jack? lolol
     
  20. Nova Maximus

    Nova Maximus Well-Known Member

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    And that's a fact.
     
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