Universe Boxart on deviantART

I think that the artstyle is pretty good, but the stiff poses kinda suck....

And Prowl looks... plump.

Iconic? Angels are icons and they don't stand stiff. They should be in some sort of pose. Standing stiff like that takes away from the character of the character and the artist.
Other than that they're very nice.

I agree with the posters on the deviantART website. The poses should show more action. They look a little boring just standing there.

Sunstreaker looks the best in that quite boring pose, Prowl is looking chunky, Octanor is skinny, and Powerglide looks like he's on the 'roids and supplements a bit too much since G1...

But if that's what they wanted...
(Please refer to my previous statements about the state of packaging and boxart...)

They are all nice. But I would love to see more action in them (yes! I'm a purist!)... though I understand why would Hasbro want them like that. Today's packages shows very little of the figure's art so why bother drawing a pose anyway? Though I would use the whole art on the instructions or on the back or somewhere (Now I am talking trully puritan).

They kind of look like they are ill, or sick (faces)...

Cool, but if they had action poses it would be cooler

Having them stand at attention doesn't really bother me, but the expressions on Octane, Prowl, and Sunstreaker are all identical, and all of them look like they just found out that someone peed in their last energon cube.

Down_Shift wrote:If you're wondering why these four looks so stiff, it was at the request of Hasbro. Do you think it makes them more iconic or do you think it holds back the artists creativity?

Discussion as always is welcome.

I like it. They look far better in an "At attention" pose, than the out of proportion, goofy, cominatcha of the previous lines. (G1 was notorious for this ridiculous practice.)

I really like it. At first I was put off because they were all in the same pose and I thought "Well, this is boring concept art."

But now that I know that it was Hasbro's idea and the way the figures are packaged, it's like a showcase in a box.

It works.

Autobot032 wrote:

Down_Shift wrote:If you're wondering why these four looks so stiff, it was at the request of Hasbro. Do you think it makes them more iconic or do you think it holds back the artists creativity?

Discussion as always is welcome.

I like it. They look far better in an "At attention" pose, than the out of proportion, goofy, cominatcha of the previous lines. (G1 was notorious for this ridiculous practice.)

I really like it. At first I was put off because they were all in the same pose and I thought "Well, this is boring concept art."

But now that I know that it was Hasbro's idea and the way the figures are packaged, it's like a showcase in a box.

It works.

Why is action/coming at you box art goofy? I thought it gave the imagination something to build on as to the characters personality, and/or abilities. I think the G1 designs are for the most part very attractive to the consumer and collector, but there are a few stinkers here and there.

It works to let us know what part of the robot mode is (which also displayed fully on the back). Ironically the toy picture on the back gives us more movement and character than the actual boxart, which may have been their point...doing the opposite of what they did with G1 where the toy poses were so static they needed the artwork to really sell the character, and thus the toy.

Iconic.

I think this all has to do with marketing and the cost of printing/finishing. What I mean is, by having similar poses, Hasbro will probably be able to save design time and might even have all the boxes cut out with the same die-cut instead of one that goes around each figure differently. And if they are all printed in the same area on the packaging, they can be enlarged to an optimal size with the poses they are in. I haven't seen the Universe packaging yet, so I may be totally off base.

Anyway, it looks like Hasbro is taking the Universe line seriously. That is some pretty good artwork.

I like.

They're imposing and iconic. The robust posing makes them look like towering robotic monoliths.

Sunstreaker is somehow a lot better than the others. Powerglide has droopy manboobs.

To be honest, I liked Energons Box-art the best. It gave a little something else. I still like this work, but I'm afraid I'll get very bored with it fast. Almost anti-climactic.

Caelus wrote:Having them stand at attention doesn't really bother me, but the expressions on Octane, Prowl, and Sunstreaker are all identical, and all of them look like they just found out that someone peed in their last energon cube.

Agreed. The expressions are a bit odd... almost reminiscent of Pat Lee's trademarked "Dull Surprise."

They all look like a bunch of fatties.

The artwork looks good overall IMO. The lack of action in their poses doesn't bother me so much as their slack jaws. It's like they're surprised by something and their mouths are just hanging open in amazement. Oh, well. Still looking forward to picking up the figures themselves.

Smokescreen GT wrote:The artwork looks good overall IMO. The lack of action in their poses doesn't bother me so much as their slack jaws. It's like they're surprised by something and their mouths are just hanging open in amazement. Oh, well. Still looking forward to picking up the figures themselves.

They are not half bad. I am still looking forward to picking them up in August.

Yeah, those stiff poses aren't doing anybody any favors.

Depending on what the final packaging design will look like, their poses can either make or break it. I would rather have dynamic poses, but that's just me. Expressions could be better, if they are at that pose, wouldn't they look more focused rather than relaxed and slack? Finishing and style looks nice though, can't wait to see more.