Zebra armor and gear 01

Concept design for upcoming commission set in the Fallout Equestria universe. However the setting for this image will be in the prewar era in the Zebra Empire. I have already posted development art for this picture. but an important part of the picture will be the armor and gear that the father is wearing in the piece. So before I started on the final piece I wanted to be certain that client and I were on the same page of the book.

While working on projects like this where one is dealing with fictional worlds and nonhuman characters one can sometimes start pondering odd little details in the image. Case in point toothbrushes.

 Now the toothbrush I use in my Equestria dreamscape has a very different handle shape from what ones you'll find in our world. However I wanted the dad to have a obviously recognizable toothbrush in his mouth for this piece. I've seen photos of soldiers all the way back to the Spanish-American War who have had toothbrushes in their mouths just as the zebra is holding his as they cleaned gunk out small areas of their weapons. But if put what a 'proper'  pony toothbrush in his mouth folks might not make the connection. So for visual clarity I decided on using a normal human style toothbrush for this picture.

Okay that might be just a bit anal-retentive of me, but thinking about things like this is what I consider part of the job for the concept designer and illustrator. And why I charge what I do for my work.  

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