No doubt if you’re into concept art you’ve seen several of these pieces before. But for those that haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Below you’ll see some of the development of Noble and even two members who were cut from the game. Since there are 29 pics in this article, I’m reducing the initial viewing size to help you folks load the page faster. If you want to see the big version of any of them, just click on the pic, or right click and open either in a new window or tab. ENJOY!

The portrait is of a cut member from Noble. His name is Thom. He was however seen in a trailer for the game. In that, he gets a nuke from Kat, who was injured on her way to destroy a Covenant vessel (it’s presumed that injury is what caused her to have the robotic arm). He takes the weapon, jet-packs up, gets inside the craft and detonates it. Thus he dies. This is the Spartan that YOU the player take the place of in the game.

Here’s that video. It’s called: Halo Reach – Deliver Hope

The pic above is the concept armor for Thom. As you can see in the video above, it differed a bit from concept to final.

What I like about each pic is the level of detail, even for concepts. In the portrait, there are some nice changes from light to dark flesh tones that give it depth. The armor poses are just fantastic. Again, the detail is great. So to is the color palette. I think we can see from those were Jorge got his armor’s color scheme.

Two nondescript members of Noble. The man could be Thom, the female, Rosenda. Though, by the name of the file, they’re not specific.

Speaking of Rosenda.

A portrait shot of Rosenda. Again the changes in flesh tone help to define the contours of her face. The hair too is very well done. I think I’ve met someone who looks like Rosenda in real life.

Her helmet. This is part Air Assault, part CQC. I like the two toned nature of the color scheme. I wish we’ve have seen more of that in Reach.

Rosenda in full armor. Definitely click on this one to see it bigger!

Here’s some trivia about Rosenda:
• She was supposed to have a larger role in Reach. having been cut, she’s only mentioned by her Spartan ID in Noble’s performance reports.
• The name “Rosenda” is a name for a custom load out. That’s something I hadn’t learned until recently.
• This next part details how you can recreate her armor (as best as possible) in Reach. (This text taken directly from Halowiki.) You will need the CQC helmet w/ UA/HUL attachment, Recon left shoulder, FJ/PARA or Default right shoulder, the Commando chest piece, Tactical/Hard Case equipment, GUNGNIR knee guards, and a Gold visor, with Sage as the primary color and Silver as the secondary color.

I kinda of wish she was in the game. While I liked Kat, she couldn’t drive for crap in the game, LOL. That, and I think Kat kind of went out like a sucker.

Since we’re on the topic of Kat, let’s look a some of her concept art.

This look is a bit more grittier than the final version of Kat. I like the shaved head, as opposed to a short crop that she has in-game. I’m not sure why there’s a choker on her though?

This concept is VERY close to the in-game version. I’m glad Bungie went with the robotic arm. It shows that Spartans are still good to go, even if they’ve lost an appendage.

Now let’s move on to the Sniper of the team: Jun

As you can see, this early version of Jun looks almost nothing like how he appears in the game. I’m really curious what Bungie decided to go with a very clean shaven head and the side head tattoos? Though, I’ll admit, I like the in-game version better than the concept version. For one, it adds variety into the team.

Jun’s helmet. This was a take on the Scout armor. With those pointed ends cropped off though. I have to say, I really like this version of the scout helmet, better than Halo 3’s. That one looked too much like a duck to me. (Sorry Petetheduck).

Here’s a concept of Jun in full armor. More of the ghillie suit is present. (That’s the mesh up around his helmet and shoulders.) I really like this version. He definitely looks more like a scout. This would have been a better choice to be in the game, IMO. Though, it’s likely the ghillie portion got in the way of movement and didn’t look right. SO they cut it down to something more like a scarf. As for the art, it’s excellent. I just can’t say enough how much I love concept art. It’s just realistic enough to give the subject depth, but not so refined to allow for further development. I absolutely love the creative process!

Trivia: Did you know that Jun survived Reach? Not only that, he’s the person who recruited Sarah Palmer to the Spartan IV program. She wears a Scout helmet in honor of him.

This is Noble-6’s concept armor at the default setting. The furthest right is quite dramatic in the difference of armor. Note the mostly wrapped head. This under suit wasn’t in the game (insofar as we know). None of the other Noble team members who took their helmets off exhibited this piece of clothing. Though, it would make sense and help with the seal of the helmet.

Now we come to my particular favorite of Noble team. Jorge!

Tell me he doesn’t look like a bad ass in that concept above? It reminds me somewhat of a Maori from New Zealand. Given his accent in-game, that may not be far from the truth. Ultimately Jorge ends up looking more like a white guy than Maori. 

Jorge’s custom Helmet. It still has element of the classic Mark V/VI.

This is my absolute favorite concept art of Jorge. The color, the detail, and the strength of Jorge really come through. While his armor is almost Frankenstien-ian in appearance, to me it tells a story of what Jorge had to do to his armor to keep pace with technology and the war.

Jorge trivia:
• Jorge is the only Spartan II in Noble Team. This is why he’s clearly a head or more taller than the rest of Noble, as they didn’t have all the same augmentations that Spartan II’s did.
• Sadly, he’s the first to die of Noble. I think I actually got teary eyed the first time. Damn, I wanted to see more of him in the game! (Hmm, prequel with him and Master Chief? That would be awesome!)
• Jorge’s voice is that of Hakeem Kae Kazim. He himself is a black man from Africa, specifically Nigeria. His voice gives a deep richness to Jorge. One that while low in volume carries with it a commanding presence.

Next the mysterious Emile.

We never got to see Emile’s face in the game. So this concept ended up not being needed at all. While I wouldn’t have minded seeing his face, I think Bungie made the right choice to keep his helmet on. It really raises the bard of mystery for Emile. You don’t know much about him.

Originally, his helmet wasn’t black and the visor wasn’t copper, as you can see from above. While I do like the change from white to black for the helmet, I think I might have liked it, if Bungie kept the black visor.

Emile in his full concept armor. As we can see, through the design phase, he kept his additional rounds and special knife.

Emile trivia:
• He carved the skull onto his visor (and he’s very proud of it).
• The knife he carries is called a Kukri knife.
• He takes an energy sword to the gut and keeps fighting, until eventually succombing to his wounds.

Finally for the team, we have it’s leader, Commander Carter.

This portrait is very different from the final version we get in game. Here he looks more Spanish or Italian. Instead, Bungie went with a typical strong jawed, blue eyed, jock type. Nothing wrong with, though it’s become very cliché.

Concepts of Carter’s helmet look very much like the final version. The biggest difference here bing the color of the visor. I’m actually happy that the all got the same color in the final. To me, it made me feel they were more a part of a team.

Carter’s armor went through some changes to get to the final version. Note the large “backpack” as well as green color armor. Those are gone from the final. Though I do have to say, I really like this sketch. It as well as the others like it, look like something out of a cartoon. Man, a Halo cartoon…wouldn’t that be AWESOME!

And here are some group shots of Noble. All very much worth clicking on to see them bigger!

Bungie really hit it out of the park with the designs of Noble team. Whether they be those awesome concepts of the final versions, it’s clear that Noble team was meant to be something special!

Thanks again for reading and taking some time to look at these wonderful pieces of concept art. If you like them, please respond below. If you’re not yet a subscriber, it’s free to join!

Tomorrow, Halo 4’s Covenant, Flood, and Forerunner concept art!

-Sal