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

We’re moving on to the Covenant concepts for Reach and this article is just FILLED with color. Whereas, other than Spartans, the UNSC tends to use earth tones for their soldiers uniforms, the Covenant is known for being quite colorful.

As stated previously, these articles are by no means supposed to be exhaustive. I haven’t covered everything in them. Heh, if I did, the articles would be far too long and would take forever to load. So I’m saving you from that.

Before we get to the colorful stuff, let’s take a look at two Brute concepts.

The sketch above shows the musculature of Jiralhanae (that’s the Brute race’s real name). These Brutes look much stronger. Though the neck muscles are a bit large. The furthest right looks a bit bow-legged. LOL. Still, I wouldn’t want to run into one of these guys.

Fleshed in with some color and fur, this Brute looks more and more like an evolved Gorilla. Gorillas are several times stronger than humans. If that wasn’t the inspiration for Brutes…. Anyway, the color and shading of this make the Brute seem that much stronger compared to the line-art drawing above it. Looking at this some more, not only does the Brute have gorilla like features but also has some attributes of a rhinoceros. The thighs are were this is most prevalent, though the lower legs exhibit those traits too.

Now let’s discuss some about the Elite concepts of Reach.

This side by side piece not only gives us the armor,but the musculature of a Sangheili. That being the true name of Elties. Once again, the highlights and shading are great. The armor is very reminiscent of Halo CE armor, which makes sense since CE takes place immediately after Reach chronologically. The one curious bit is that outward tow/claw on the foot. I’m glad that was taken out. It just wouldn’t have fit into continuity.

Ah, now here we have an Elite with a very classic Halo feel to it. The rendering is well done in it’s highlights and shading, yet simple enough in shapes. Bungie’s concepts are superb. This elite looks ready to jump off the page, so-to-speak.

Obviously meant for a dark scene, that is dark in color as well in situational tone, this concept piece has a better blending of colors to give it a more realistic feel to it. I wouldn’t want to be that Marine!

Breaking this up a bit with a line art piece. This is a standard orthogonal view of a character. The reason for the arm removal is the see the side view of the chest and legs uninhibited by the arm.

Another orthogonal view, this time of the head of an Elite. That neck sure has some girth to it. If the Elite’s head sat up on it’s shoulders instead of forward of them, they could easily be another six inches taller. They’re already tall enough at 8ft+ tall.

Back to some color. This crimson elite looks evil. The sharp angles of the armor, the scowl of the mandibles, and the ever ready hand with energy sword hilt at the ready, really make this one elite to fear. Even the shield looks menacing. I actually wish this was in the game.

A standard Elite minor in the typical covenant purple hues. Duel wielding plasma rifles. Ah, duel wielding. I hope that comes back to Halo. What is striking of the piece above is it’s contrast. I’m drawn to the lighter points, yet that makes my eye also look at what’s around it. It’s almost hard for me to take in this whole rendering all at once. So much detail. Just a fantastic concept piece.

I’m going to assume by the color of the armor that this is the precursor (no not that kind of precursor) to the elite Ultra that eventually made it into the game. I like the forearm armor on this one. However, the color palette makes this elite more toned down than the two immediately preceding this one. Strong hues and color can really bring out the dynamic nature of a rendering.

The elite officer show above looks quite like the final version seen in the game. I like the orange/bronze color of this. While not as pronounced as it’s purple and red brothers, the strong lines, large shoulders and wide helmet give this elite a strong presence.

The mix of elites seen here show the varied nature of armor that Reach would eventually contain. In the above, I particularly like the middle (white) one’s forearm. Or is that a shield? As well, I really like the jump pack elite to the immediate right of it. In any event, Reach really gave us a good variation of armor that helped to define difference between elites as well as their rank.

For the last elite in this article we have what’s like a minor elite. Man, I’m really liking the forearm, especially that it has a hard light attachment to it. I certainly would have enjoyed seeing that in the game. Also of note is what appears to be a concept of an earlier version of the carbine. I totally dig that. I wonder if 343 has poured over Bungie’s old concepts and will consider putting them into future Halo games?

The deadly Skirmisher (T’vaoan subspecies Kig Yar), in my opinion was the best newly designed race to be brought into Halo. Contrary to what you may have heard, not all of the Skirmishers died on Reach. In fact a couple of key ones are in the Karen Travis “Kilo-5” trilogy of books. One of which carries over into the Dark Horse comics Halo series, Escalation.

What I like about this concept is the dark armor and red plumage. It’s very reminiscent of Jackals, but more menacing. The helmet piece of the one on the left denotes that Skirmisher’s rank. While ultimately Bungie went with muted colors to more easily define skirmisher rank, this concept proves that they were going for a Jackal variant that was more dangerous than the originals.

Finally, we have another Skirmisher concept. This one with more of the pronounced red bulges under and behind it’s chin. We didn’t see an all black armor version of the Skirmisher, which is a shame. Black just makes this Skirmisher look mean and that much more evil.

Whew, some really great concepts in this bunch. I really hope those are revisited at some point in the future.

Tomorrow, I’ll be bringing many concepts of Noble team. Lots of good stuff coming in that and future articles. Are you folks enjoying these? Please sound off by replying below!

-Sal

Today we’re going to take a look at concepts of the Marines of the UNSC in Reach. As well, a couple of civilian pieces and several of Dr. Catherine Halsey.

I like this. I’m curious why it wasn’t put into the game. Consider though that the subject seems to be wearing winter clothes. Most of the game takes place in warmer climates. That’s where nearly all of the civvies in the game are located. So I suppose that’s why these weren’t included. It does remind me of something out of Mass Effect. That’s not a bad thing either.

Here are several concepts of Halsey. Many I’ve seen before, but perhaps you haven’t.

I like the first and second. With exception to the hairstyles of 3 and 4, those are good too. The third just makes Halsey look like a grandmother, IMO. The fourth is similarly grandmother-like.

I definitely like these designs. Though the clothing seems to be weighing her down. My favorite of these is the middle. I like the color red. One thing to make note of is that the first has some differences to the second and third. Not just in color. There isn’t a hood and there IS chest/shoulder armor. The outfit is a onesie and it even has knee armor. I think while cool looking, it wasn’t appropriate for Halsey. So good choice by Bungie not to include that one.

These four are much closer to the in-game version. Tamped down are the heavier clothing. Much more sea foam green, which represents medical scrubs. I like the first one as her casual wear. But then, we don’t have time in the game for Halsey to be casual, do we?

This one appears to be a blown up version of the fourth version of the previous pic. What I like about this is the level of detail, yet it has simplicity in it’s shading. This definitely looks like a viable option for today’s arctic medical officer, let alone one 550+ years from now.

I’m a bit torn on the above piece. Her face strangely has youth AND age mixed in with it. While the hair is grey, it has a youthful style to it. Ultimately, the final version of Halsey was a good look and I think age appropriate.

Lastly for the civilian pieces we have this number. I love the art style of this. Looks like a quick sketch while clearly covering all of the basics. It also reminds me of the ’80s for some reason…I think it’s the hair and the sunglasses. LOL

Next up are UNSC Marines.

Above we see a UNSC Pilot. This sketch is more refined than the last of the civvies sketches above. I like it a lot. The near shoulder bands almost give it a feeling of a pressure suit. That’s helpful of course when flying into space, though the boots would present a problem. What’s up with that symbol on the chest? I may have to research that a little.

Here we see what a difference color can make. Clearly the marine on the left is for dry/desert climates while to right is more everyday/jungle/forest wear. The detailing on these, even for being sketches, is quite impressive. I wish that desert look was in the game. I’d LOVE to have an original line art version of this with no color, so that I could try doe color combinations myself. 

Another side by side concept shows us what I’m calling a “night ops” version next to a blend of jungle/desert wear. Either or both would have been very welcome in the game. I like a bit of diversity or scenario themed uniforms. It makes me feel like your more in the action.

When I was in the Navy and in the Gulf War, my base didn’t have desert camo. Instead we had the regular jungle camo. I think we really looked out of place.

Another piece similar to one above. This is a good mix of tans and greens to give an earthy tone to the overall design.

At first, this uniform may seem a bit bland in comparison to those above. But for some reason, I get more of a feeling of power from this design than the others. Part of that could be the ODST-like chest armor.

This ruddy brown uniform is okay, but not as exciting as the ones above. One thing that really turns me away form it is that sharp angled cod-piece. Ouch if you get that snagged in the wrong place. Am I right?

The next four are ones you’ve likely seen before. They are closer to the in-game versions.

And finally we have a concept of Colonel Holland.

The left side is what I’d like to have seen in the game, while the right side makes him look old and weary. Of course that’s very believable as well, given the decades long war with the covenant. I do like that attention was placed on the head, without worry of the rest of him. For Holland, his face is the most important aspect of his character, not the uniform.

Tomorrow I share some Covenant character concept art from Reach, with Noble team on Monday. Then we’ll switch to Halo 4’s characters starting on Tuesday.

I hope you’re enjoying these concepts articles as much as I like writing them. Let me know below by replying!

-Sal

Okay, this one is a little lean. However, the point is to find concept art that has either never or rarely been seen before. So these articles are not meant to be exhaustive in coverage, but rather either snippets or a little more. With that in mind…

The above pic is obviously the revamped Forward Unto Dawn. While I do not agree with 343’s changing the design of the ship, I will say that this concept is quite good. I like the girder protrusions. They add some color as well as defining more the devastation from being torn in half at the end of Halo 3.

Next up are a few pieces of art for the Excavator. The Covie vehicle in Spartan Ops.This looks otherworldly for sure. More like a sea creature though that a mobile mining platform.

This simplistic concept has enough details and “callouts” to understand the orientation of and various elements of the vehicle.

Various other forms the Excavator could have had.

Now this is something strange. It appears that we could have had either an arm attachment to blast the hole or that we would have had to put our arms into this claw like piece to activate the Excavator. I would have liked to have seen this.

The next two pieces show many possibilities for Forerunner ships.
Certainly a lot to choose from. Almost too much.

The immediate above and below graphics show concepts of UNSC frigate designs.
I like the bottom pic’s designs. I wish we would have see the in-game version more and not at a distance.

Finally, one that I’m sure you’re all very familiar with, the UNSC Infinity.
When I first saw this, I was pretty happy with it. It’s obvious from the pic that it was HUGE. It reeks of power.

Tomorrow I’ll explore characters of Reach, starting with the UNSC Marines. Over the course of the next several days, the character articles will continue with Noble team; Covenant; Halo 4 Marines, Master Chief, Cortana; H4 Covenant, Forerunner and Flood.

I hope you have been enjoying these concept articles and keep coming back daily for each subsequent ones.

-Sal

After tweeting a little with former Halo Environment Artist, Paul Russel, I was graced with the following concept art. Some of which has NEVER been seen before!

First up is this sweet “poster” of various ambient creatures, enemies and ships.

After looking each up, it appears that the Threeleg, Vulpard, Thorax, and Tankbeast have never been written about before. Hmm, HFFL SCOOP???

The Drinol I’ve heard about long ago. As too the Thornbeast. I really dig the Covenant Bomber.

I as yet can not confirm an official name for this beast. So, for now, I’m calling it a Murex. That’s a splice of the words mutant rex as in mutant tyrannosaurus rex. Possibly the Guta from Reach evolved from this???

An early sketch gives us land and air creatures. Again no names for either. For the bug, I’m going to make an assumption this turned into the Yanme’e. (Though I could be wrong, so don’t quote me there.) The other I’m going to call a Sand Dog. Again, not official names.

Finally we have this most awesome concept. The “Kestrel”. While the ship is known (barely), this particular design of it has NOT been seen before by the general public. Well, at least none that I can find that predates today.

Once again, I need to thank Paul Russel as well as Marcus Leto (Yes, THE Marcus Leto) for sharing these concepts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these surprise concept pieces. Please share them and let people know where you saw them first. Right here on HaloFanForLife.com

-Sal