Brainstorming: Practicle Space Age-Weaponry/Armor/Clothing

So im making a webcomic "pixel comic" Sci-Fi few hundred yrs into the future and I want it to look as realistc as possible for my Star Pilot+space marine class "if possible". So I have some art work below if it looks too cliche or stupid i need opinions Space Spandex: [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/254/humanstarpilotsuit.png/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]Exoskeleton: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/207/75finishedsergeant.png/ Your usual exosuit/frame with a few inhanced adjustments like instead of the suite covering the entire body its more much lighter for flexibility and fast movement also i want the amor to be quite durible "I think its a gd name for now" Clad exoframe -Legging: built in light weight hydrolic drive system or maybe kinitic energy -Chest:? - Shoulders:? - Back: ? - Triceps: ? - Biceps: ?

edited 16th Aug '12 8:03:22 PM by Leadman

I'm having trouble reading this; can you put some paragraph breaks in or something?

Also, the first link gives me a 404 message.

The designs you've made so far look like the standard stuff. Here, I shall recommend that instead of designing an outfit for your space monkeys entirely out of scratch, you should try finding outfit inspirations that seem interesting to have. The suits◊ from the film Prometheus look lightweight and utilitarian, and I remember the helmets were made clear all-around because Steve Jobs mentioned he'd like to be able to see all the way around with a helmet. Look through Mass Effect's l'armours◊ too, and see if there's anything you feel you can incorporate from those designs. You have Google Image search handy!

edited 16th Aug '12 8:09:37 PM by QQQQQ

K thanx- but i do want my own style added to it, don't want to steal others ideas, also do u have any type of gun holsters i can inspire from? I was thinking robocop meets mass effect

The "standard stuff" does tend to be that way for a reason. Although that brings me to a relevant question - what kind of technology, exactly, does this setting have available?

As for the current design, the one really glaringly odd thing about it is the lack of arm coverings - is that because you haven't come up with any yet, or is it actually meant to be without them?

I will take a moment to second QQQQQ's recommendation to look a bit at the armor designs from Mass Effect; while some of the games' civilian clothing was... odd, at best, it contains some of the more interesting-looking SF armor of recent years (and because of the nature of the game, there's a lot of different possibilities to look through).

I don't see this as stealing - it's more like copying something that's interesting in its own right (I was inspired by..), and then adjusting whatever details afterward to suit your sensibilities more.

Gun holsters - I'm thinking of Palpatine's lightsabre holster (pay attention to how his lightsaber just flicks into his hand, from his sleeves). It's a way of getting your weapon ready immediately if you're surprise attacked. It works by something like this mechanism here. But you wouldn't want your weapon to weigh your arm down otherwise; so I'd suggest having your gun holstered by your shoulder, and then.. that sliding mechanism brings the weapon over to your hand.

edited 16th Aug '12 8:25:00 PM by QQQQQ

For the marines, consider adding pouches (lots of pouches!) if possible. It's a cheap means of storage and provides easy access to said items. Most BD Us carry them, and have been for generations. Don't see it changing anytime soon. If you're not too averse to having a slightly bulkier exoskeleton armour, you could incorporate the pouches onto them directly.

I've never really understood why lack of pockets/pouches is so popular in depictions of futuristic clothing, anyway - what did they think would obsolete them?

I also agree with this. Most things have been done before; what matters is the touches of your own that you add, not the parts that were inspired by someone else.

edited 16th Aug '12 8:42:15 PM by nrjxll

That stuff drips X-COM to me. Which is probably somewhat bad, considering the age and generally cartoony look of X-COM.

If it's exoskeleton, covering the legs but not the arms makes little sense. I can't tell if that's what actually happened, mind, it's coloration, but.

If you're dead-set on not having pockets, either integrate a lot of gear into the arms or consider some kind of alternative; magnetic locks are a popular sci-fi thing to hold stuff to the armor without visible fasteners.

I want to say the setting is around the early 3000's where technology is pretty advanced , i do plan to make armor for the upper body but I want it to consist of Armored Plating kinda like Isaac's the from Dead Space series.

"magnetic locks" sounds enteresting, how do those work?, and yeah pockets seem a lil old timey to me in this setting for some reason mabye for civilian clothing And how is the coloration Night? I wanted to go with camo, like for every planetary environment the suite can duplicate mars: dark reds white ice planet: white and blues etc.

edited 16th Aug '12 9:25:26 PM by Leadman

After taking a moment to consider the general how I go about coming up with designs for my own SF comic (which is admittedly stick-figure in style, but I try to do reasonable detailed appearances - think Order of the Stick), I've come to the conclusion that there's two questions I try and answer when designing a "costume":

• What level of technology does the culture or group designing it have?
• What sort of aesthetic am I trying to give that culture or group?

Then I can use those as a starting point and develop the outfit from there.

For your part, there's also the question of how much value you play on aesthetics versus how much you play on "realism" (or, perhaps more accurately, technological extrapolation). I've already answered that question for my comic, and it's probably a good idea to answer it now for yours.

Whats ur comic called? aesthietics+realism sounds gd to me, basically i want it to look awesome and believable at the same time

The working title is Star Nerds (it could easily change, but both nerds and Star Wars feature prominently, and it sets the tone, so I might wind up using it). It doesn't exist yet - I think a lot of webcomic problems are caused by the writer not having a good long-term plan, so I'm waiting until I do before starting - but since it's derived from a hand-drawn comic I did for eight years, I've got a pretty good idea of my style and approach to drawing it.

PM me if you want to ask questions; I'd hate to derail the thread.

edited 16th Aug '12 9:49:07 PM by nrjxll

ight man, i can say one thing though, my art is way better than "Order of The Stick" by visual comparison