I understand - violence whether fictional or not is not to everyone's tastes. However, I embrace my inner psychopath and nurture it as being part of me

In all seriousness though, subject matter aside Alkosh did a really good job of this - was very pleased with the way it came out.

The movement in this is so great... I agree with you on the crowd, that's a great amount of detail. :)

Thank you - it would have been a great pic with even a plain background, but the one he included just makes this complete, I reckon

Brutal alien violence.

The best kind, no? Black blood flying!

Alien studs fighting, I'd pay real money to see that! XP

It would be an epic battle, that is for sure... battle to the death. Does the victor get to take the loser home as a snack afterward?

They can take me home for a snack, if ya know what I'm sayin'!! *elbows ya!*

XDD, j/k, I'm terrible, I know. XD

Well, if the winner just incapacitates the loser...

And I have no idea what you are talking about. Pure of mind, body and soul. I'll just be in this monastary, being a monk, flagellating myself at the impure thoughts you are leading me into young man!

Meeeeeee? I didn't imply anything......XD

Feel free to keep implying

XDD

lol dynamicism

Hey shush you! When I'm writing I have to treat the English language with respect in terms of spelling and grammar. Outside of that in my leisure time language is my bitch - it will submit!

A fight to the death?

Or until one is completely incapacitated I would imagine

I certainly hope so

All we neeeeeeeed is loooooooove!

Awesome

Why thank you, Sir! Alkosh did a remarkable job of this I reckon

Oooh, nice use of that blackish Vanguard blood. ;)

That looks pretty badass right thar. XD

Aye, that it does my friend - something a little different from the usual fare. Have to thank Alkosh for the idea as well, gave him complete freedom to come up with something pretty cool looking. Thank you for the comment

classical wrestling, i see. as in NUDE,

Is there any better kind? Albeit these two are out to kill each other rather than just wrestle the other into submission.

Still, needs more OILED BODIES, no?

Stunning action shot! You captured the tension really well and I like how the audience looks full of bodybuilders.

Full credit to the actual artist who drew this for me - Alkosh. He did a fantastic job. And yeah, that background is pretty awesome. The characters aren't body-builders, the Vanguard as a species are fairly well built having evolved on a high gravity home-world.

Great pic. Again, you find the most interesting artists hidden away on FA.

Every now and then. Comes from hunting out proper art rather than just being here for the porn

Epic.

Aye, that it is my friend - was stoked with this when the artist showed me the finsihed article.

I love the in-air pose, but the crowds in the background are just magical :)

Completely agree... I would have been happy with a plain background, but this one... just makes it.

So stoked with the way this turned out.

Stadium settings focus on the combatants, but the emotions around the arena play a key role too. Nice combo hit here :)

I hear it can be intoxicating almost with the roar of a crowd pushing you, the smells, the lighting...

Makes me want to climb into the ring with someone and beat the ever loving snot out of them.

It is fun to fantasize about such situations, but I hear the cafeteria food is terrible..

But the satisfaction, son... think of the satisfaction.

....and noogies.

Gladtorial noogies? I hope they take off the spike gauntlets beforehand. And the leather thong ;)

You must have these gladiatorial games confused with some others... here they have leather gauntlets and spiked thongs...

It is not the thong that is spiked. ;)

I guess that is the direction the artist was leaning for it. It has a very, well, almost Roman feel to it apart from the alien theme. Hoping to get some more art from this gentleman in a similar vein as well.

Thank you for the comment

Sure, I will check it out. Thank you for the suggestion

I like this scene. There's something about fantasy creatures tearing each other up that I think is the coolest—kind of like that part in iRobot, where two robots were fighting using their unique anatomy to their advantage.

This scene, in motion, would kick so much ass. :D

Agreed - it is usually very well portrayed in movies/television (at least for the larger budget ones anyway). I always see this like moving in slow motion, the one on the left flying through the air with blood streaming from his cuts while the one on the ground steadies himself while roaring defiance and preparing to tackle the other...

Another damn awesome commission, love how Alkosh did the look of your Vanguard boys or girls. Plus the look of the action is just killer.

Thank you, my friend. You've been awfully quiet of late - everything okay with you?

Oh yea, everything is okay. Been working on my anatomy lessons for the most part, which has been going slower than I like but at least it's been steady. So between that and enjoying some new and much needed computer upgrades I haven't been online a whole lot here lately.

Computer upgrades that have lead to lots of gaming? Have been going through a bit of a phase myself of late with spending a lot of time on my gaming rig to catch up with various games I never completed.

Looking forward to seeing your progress with new artwork though.

Heh, yea I've gotten back into doing a bit of gaming as well now that I have a system that will both run some of the higher end games that I have and won't either freeze up in the middle of me doing something or reboot on it's own. Got to love it when that happens.

I'm hoping to start drawing some new stuff out some time soon, still have some problem areas that I'm wanting to get worked on first before that. So it still might be a bit before I start to post anything .
And I am still wanting to draw out one of your Vangurad boys at some point, or even try out a scene from one of your books, though that's probably a ways away as I suck at backgrounds.

Heh - I think half the problems is glitches in the games themselves, not so much the computer. My rig is what I would call quite high-end with good quality components, but I still get a lot of glitchy crashes. What sort of games you playing?

You know, I would be seriously honored if you attempted to tackle a Vanguard, be it a scene or not.. would love to see what you made of them, actually But more than that will just be happy to see you posting again. You are so much of an inspiration to me, you know.

Well in this case my system was pretty much dying, it would reboot or freeze up even when nothing was running but the OS, the motherboard was on it's last leg I think.
As to the games that I'm playing, well here's a list of some of the stuff.
Supreme Commander Forged Alliance, Command & Conquer Generals, Titan Quest, King's Bounty. The Legend,
Sins of a Solar Empire. Been thinking about loading up Quake 4 and possibly even Return to Castle Wolfenstein, always need a good FPS pew pew pew game.

Well as soon as I get my anatomy to where I want it, I'll see what kind of Vanguard beastie I can come up with, there are a ton of scenes from your first story that I would love to try out and a number from the 2nd story as well. Funny thing I just noticed is that there aren't any works of Kuia in your gallery. I would love to see someone do the scene where her and Blue-Scale are talking for the first time.

Thank you *blushes*, I'm honored that I'm an inspiration to you, I know that your writings and our chats have given me a great deal of inspiration as well.

BTW your new avatar kicks so much ass, "BOOM!!"...Head-shot.

Heh, gratuitously over-the-top violence is funny, hence my love of disgusting or gross avatars It is very BOOM HEADSHOT, isn't it?

Ah, yes definitely sounds like some sort of component in your system wasn't working too well if it would crap out without doing anything. Take it you tried a reinstall of the OS? You definitely play a good mix of games - and I would definitely recommend RTCW, Best. FPS. Ever. A lot of fun, and for a game that is, what, going on almost 10 years old the graphics are still reasonably good

Have been considering asking Ives if he wouldn't mind tackling a scene with Kuia and Blue-Scale... he did the one with Blocker and Dr. Ling very well. Good food for thought there.

You're such a great guy, y'know? Supportive and helpful, it is a wonderful feeling knowing that I have been able to give you something in return.

One of those "THIS IS SPARTA!!" moments. ^^

Oh absolutely! Only with less ugly mutants and more PEW PEW, less SLASH SLASH

Flipping awesome! :D Observing the sheer detail in this makes me weak in the knees, man. The colour tones do make them look a little statue-esque at first, but given that that guy on the left is airborne, and unless they have floating statues in the future, that quickly ejected that notion from my uneducated brain, just as surely as other brain and brain-related things are bound to be ejected from their skulls in this upcoming battle royale. :D

The sheer and raw battle lust that is throbbing throughout this pic has even forced me to shut off my Avenue Q music track, as it no longer feels appropriate. Nope... I'm putting on the "Spartacus" soundtrack, and punching the keys all warrior like and forcefully as I type this commentary. :3

Real men type by bashing their faces against the keyboard while screaming "THIS. IS. FA!" then pushing someone down a big hole.

Yeah, was quite chuffed with this one, aye. Alkosh is definitely an artist who bears further watching in the future. And thank you very much for your barrage of wonderful comments. Seriously, taking the time to write all these well thought out little quips and comments is very much appreciated. You rock, Sir.

Awesome work!

Much obliged for the comment, thank you Although full credit to the talented artist behind the work - he did a fantastic job of this.

Great!

Thank you -  alkosh did a brilliant job of this

Nice work. hmm it would be cool if Kratos (God of War) was in there. Kratos vs vanguard.

Different universes and never the twain shall meet, my friend. Anyway, Kratos would have the upper hand I think with those weapons of his.

yea he would. for being vary skilled.

Wow there fighting like barbarians

Aye - when fighting each other for sport or dominance they strip down and just use what nature gave them. The only honorable way, after all.

I understand

Do they say "Brother-of-my-father-concept," or just the "Urrrrgggghhhh" of death when it's over?

Heh... the concept of them is that they have a mind-set akin to Klingons, for the most part. But not encumbered with quite as much baggage to do with 'honor', so a bit more pragmatic than Klingons. They're technologically advanced now, but the warrior castes still enjoy a bit of biffo and unarmed combat which harks back to their primitive ancestors fighting for dominance to lead the small extended family clans.

So in answer to your question, just the "Urrrrrrgh!" of death when it's over

Do they clone/mature/grow quickly? Without any form of control over challenge and fights to the death, you sort of have a worse situation than the "Eye for an eye leads to everybody goes blind" saying...

They live approximately 150 years, assuming no serious illness or injury. The warrior caste often struggle to get to half that age... it is a dangerous role after all, and they have an enemy that is just as powerful as they are - and more numerous. They don't breed particularly quickly, the females only giving birth to a single offspring at a time, but they've been around a while and spread to many different star systems so they're far from endangered. Some arranged fights go until the loser is merely disabled, but there are no prohibitions or sanctions on the victor dispatching the loser should he or she feel inclined; indeed should the loser be critically injured, the victor would often see that as a "kindness".

Ouch! THose cuts look like they hurt!

Hey, would you mind if I tried to make a Vanguard fighting game? This image has inspired me.

Go right ahead, be interested to see what you come up with.

I need to finish learning C++ first, of course. But thanks!