TF1 - Jet Drone 01

So after the first batch of drones were done, and beginning to integrate into the game, it became clear we needed some more, and Hasbro was happy to have us create a few more characters. They suggested a jet, but it couldn't be an American fighter, so I went with a Mig 29, because it closely resembled an F15. Well, not closely, but similar enough. The movie starscream existed at this point, but only in colored line art form, and it was in dispute between Bay and Hasbro, so I/we didn't know what was going to happen - was he going to stay the same, or get reworked in a more G1 style that Prime had been? So that kind of made it hard to design around, wanting to keep some G1 aspects...


...but make it clear it was it's own design. So I don't know, I've never been really happy with this guy, I'm at my worst when I have to design in a box, so to speak, and so I felt at the time he was going to be less successful as the others, and now looking back 2+ years later, I don't think he holds up. And even these sketches could have been taken in a better direction when I got to the final. It's not like I hate myself over this or anything, but we just didn't have the time to really explore ideas at this point, and it was go, go, go to get these guys to Travelers' Tales, to get them in the game. I certainly feel redeemed with the Arielbot and Seeker designs from the RotF game, so it's all good.


After that first three designs were being implemented by the developer, they asked for additional help with the layouts...originally I just gave a 3/4 front and back view for the alt mode, but they needed a plan set of views, so I started giving them these, and this was also the birth of the transformation sequence drawings...


...along with the beginning of these, the action sketches - which literally became the action feature of the toy, as well!