Slipstream - G1 Style

Posted Dec 25, 2011, 3:27:29 AM UTC

My entry for the Cybertronians (deviantART) August challenge


Slipstream (Transformers: Animated) redesigned in G1 style. A lot of characters jumped from one continuity to another, but since there were no female Seekers in G1, Slipstream was a fun choice to work with.

This one ended up being more about the logistics than anything else. Since G1's femmes were markedly different than the mechs, the base figure needed to pull that '80's female look. I chose a haughty, flaunty pose because Slipstream is one of Starscream's clones with the worst attitude. Then it was a matter of balancing between her look in Animated (which is gross, I despise the art in that series) and the look of the G1 derp!jets. 

I mapped the color scheme from her Animated form by first comparing Animated Starscream to his G1 self, to compare how the color scheme and body pieces compared and differed. Then, using notes on the comparisons and G1-specific design quirks, I transitioned Slipstream's color scheme to the G1-esque frame I designed. (The design actually contains elements from both the G1 cartoon and my Revoltech Starscream (in the case of the head), as well as some blended human features, such as the neck.)  A friend of mine also mentioned the derpy-looking cockpit - that's an element I pulled directly from G1 screencaps. I like to drop small reminders into my art that, before Guido Guidi came along with amazing G1 art, there was some real WTFery going on in the original cartoon art.    The background is two sets of song lyrics layered over each other and running off the edges of the canvas. I chose to work with Lady Gaga's "Bad Kids" and NRG's "Instruments of Destruction." Even though Slipstream's Animated self is the aspect of Starscream's personality he's "better off not asking" about, I've always felt like her constant harassment of him and her overall attitude about him suggests she's his self-loathing - that aspect of himself that hates himself and ultimately causes him to trip himself up through self-doubt and internal recriminations. In that regard, I found "Bad Kids" to be a very Starscream/Slipstream related song, especially when one considers the long-term mental and emotional effects of those toxic thoughts. Obviously, "Instruments of Destruction" is a good match for any Seeker. 

If you're interested in the fonts, the lyrics are in "Were-Beast" (because I liked the dripping, jagged edges) and her name is in "Vulgar Display of Power," a clearly fitting font for this femme. 

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