8.22.2012

The Granthans: Part 3

This set of images further explores the modern Granthans and their integration into the Armorvor design principles:


After their victory on Planet Volkria, the Armorvors begin to move across the Glyos System, not just on a path of vengeance and destruction, but also on a mission to forge alliances with those that would join them. The first to stand with the powerful Armorvors are the battered and forgotten creatures known as the Granthans.

Long ago, The Granthans escaped from a dark empire somewhere beyond the Edge of Space, creating a new home in the Glyos System and eventually settling on a lonely planet they named Granthan, in honor of their new found independence.

In time, however,  their freedom was challenged by the First Travelers, a race known as the Delphi. Acting on orders from their Masters, the Delphi forced the Granthans into the deep caverns of the planet, crippling their technology and throwing them into a primitive existence below the surface. 
This action doomed the Granthans to live only within the planet's shimmering underworld, away from the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Until now. 

With the aid of the Armorvors, the Granthans finally rise up to reclaim their world after so many oppressed generations.


I imagine that the Armorvors and the Granthans share an extreme distaste for the Delphi and anything Traveler related. This common enemy bonds the two races, as they exchange technology and tactics in an effort to fortify their newly forged alliance.

Dogs and Dinos unite!


PS- The armored heads shown above are currently being mulled over by Marty, Jason and I for possible sculpting. Hopefully you guys enjoy some of the designs. They were fun to work on!


30 comments:

  1. Why must y'all play with our emotion!?! I'd love to see these and the armor colors. Hell, I really think you should try to get these, the bat, cyber gator, and others (Delphi?) heads on their own tool made. I know upfront cost is mighty spendy, but we WILL buy!

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    1. There will be more production Armorvor heads down the road. I personally want to see some of these Granthans make the grade, but I also like everything that Marty and Jason have sculpted. Jason's Gator head would really be killer as a production piece.

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    2. I'd buy one... or two... or more.

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  2. I cant get enough of those helmeted ones man!

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    1. Thanks Pj! The heads you have been working on look great on the Armorvor body.

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    1. Thanks Adam! Thanks as well for your Glyos News Dump! You have better information than I do! Ha!

      What head would you want to see done next, animal related?

      I've been into cryptozoology more than normal lately, so something from that corner may stumble out soon.

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    2. Oooo that could be cool, I'd made a Jackalope head years ago but making antlers out of sculpey is not an easy task.

      Maybe a moth-man creature? Oh or the Loch Ness monster? O_O! Maybe the Loch Ness monster is really a creature from the Glyos system that somehow got to Earth and is now living in the lake?

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    3. I love it! Bigfoot is probably my favorite, followed by Nessie.

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    4. Funny...because JF & I have discussed Cryptos and I kept mentioning a Sasquatch!!! ;)

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    5. I love all the heads you and Marty and Jason are coming up with and I can't wait to see which (if any) make PVC. I would love nothing more than to be able to buy Armorvor Extra Sets. :)

      But yeah man, Bigfoot! Nessie! The Beast of Busco! That way we can get a swell Armorvor turtle. Anything from the ocean is cool, too, and I know I'd be first in line to buy a Granthan PVC production piece!

      I'm probably going to outgrow my Glyos shelf this year at the rate you're going.

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  4. Matt now that you have shown these to us you HAVE to make it real. Dino's in space YEAH!!!!!!!

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    1. I'm psyched you like these David! You can't go wrong with Dino-themed crossovers!

      I still love Dinosaucers and have eyeballed the old prototypes for years. The Granthans are also a tribute to Agumon from the old Digimon series. That little orange guy will always be one of my favorite designs. He actually reminded me of another one of my favorites when I first saw him, Masashi Tanaka's classic manga called Gon.

      So many great dino themed characters have been created, it's just a natural subject to play around with when it comes to this stuff.

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  5. Where do I send the investment money? The partially armored heads are AWESOME!

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    1. Thanks Rez! You inspired me to create some new illustrations, so I hope these cut the mustard.

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  6. O_O Flippin' cool! I'm glad I have a Granthan head, but it's going to have to wait for the next Armovor release to get a body. Excellent drawings as usual, I also really dig these partially/fully armored heads.

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    1. Thanks Chris! I can just imagine the builds that you will make for these heads when they finally materialize. You have so many great characters in your books, I'm looking forward to seeing the Granthans meet up with them.

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    2. I love having cross-overs with characters, it just makes everything so much more fun and makes for a very vivid universe. I know it would be interesting to see how the Granthans & the Reptorrids from my universe would interact together. Would they join up as their both reptilian, or would they become territorial and fight? Oh the possibilities...

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  7. Nex drop?
    Tell me this that i go to the bank

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    1. Hey Kal! Marty and Jason are determining what heads they want to sculpt, so maybe we will see something in October (along with some new Armorvors for NYCC and a simultaneous non con online release).

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    2. Matt tanks for your gift , tha last order is arrived....armorvour is an amzing war machines!
      The core black is the stone in the armour?
      For september there is a drop?

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  8. So I'm guessing some were witness to the birth of the Armodoc way back in the Soul of the Traveler. It's good to know the origins of the name since it's been popping up for years now. So now Cobrillius....???

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    1. They were there, hiding in the background! Ha! I love revisiting old places, in stories and in life.

      The Armorvors will be recruiting as many creatures as they can, and that includes the slithering kind!

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    2. I really like that Cobrillius head Marty made, so I'm really curious to see what the history behind it is all about. I'm imagining them as being a race of serpentine creatures that are intelligent, but still just cobra snakes. Then, the Armovor show up, they form an alliance & are given their own Black Core armor to give the Cobrillius bodies of their own. Even if that's not their backstory, I love the idea of snakes with exo-suit bodies, just so cool to me for some reason.

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  9. Wow. The more we learn about the Delphi, the more we see that their "mysterious plot to preserve the timeline" really only messes things up in the short term (i.e. the Armodocs, the Armovors, and now the Granthans) or possibly worse. Also, Volkria fell to the Armorvors? That doesn't bode well for anyone...

    It's interesting, actually, to see how the lines are blurring between factions, insofar as no one is "good" or "bad" specifically. (In fact, the closest we've come would be the Gendrones and now, possibly, the Granthans, as both are factions that were wrongfully treated and abused and are only rising up to claim their freedom.) You're letting us more and more into the richness of storytelling you've got going throughout your work, and I can't wait to see where else you take it!

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts on the new entry, Roy. So much of life seems to fall into the gray area, it only makes sense that it would be the same in another world. The Delphi have very complex motivations (or at least they think so).

      Imagine if one world existed with extreme adversity so that another world could exist with greater peace. What if the further you pushed the one world into chaos, the closer the other world moved towards complete order. Which place would you want to live in? What would happen if you knew about the balancing act and had the power to affect it?

      Alternate realities seem to be on more minds than ever before, and I think it has to do with the evolution of thought beyond the linear progression that has existed for so long. It feels like time is becoming more of an option versus a law when it comes to how we view our place in things.

      Man, maybe I should lay off the bananas.

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  10. Waaaaaant!!! Really diggin' the helmeted versions on these guys.
    I can see hoards of them out in space blasting away ships and the like. Maybe they're not as violent as I'm imagining them?

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    1. Thanks Nate! I think you are right on with the ship blasting. The Granthans do not want to be forced underground ever again!

      By the way, your Nathor Toys Tumblr is just awesome! So many incredible illustrations and concepts, you were born to make toys.

      Check it out guys: http://natebaertsch.tumblr.com/

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    2. Oh my God my eyes just exploded. O_O Sweet merciful crap Nate, I'm really loving some of those vinyl monsters, some favorites:

      Vinyl Monster Warrior: http://natebaertsch.tumblr.com/image/28846842664
      I LOVE this thing. It needs to exist AND you have to find a way for it's neck to be hollow so it can swallow Glyans hole. If not, make sure the articulated mouth is large enough to eat a Glyan like the old 1980's Star Wars Rancor toy could.

      Mega Articulated Monster Topper:
      http://natebaertsch.tumblr.com/image/29493289113
      Okay, I LOVE this thing too. I loved those rubber monster finger-puppets/pencil toppers as a kid & may even still have a bunch of them. This big blue beast is 100% pure awesome and I'd love to see it as a Glyos compatible toy, for he would be with me always.

      Build a Bug: http://natebaertsch.tumblr.com/image/28978492690
      This guy is really cool, as for guessing his inspiration, the colorway reminds me of the old star wars Greedo figure, but design-wise my brain is blanking on it, aside from maybe Mantenna? I really like all your vinyl aliens, I am totally up for some of those to spice up the mix a bit.

      Wow I typed a lot today..

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    3. Wow, thanks Chris and Matt!
      Your comments inspire me greatly. You can see how Glyos have really got me into playing with toys again, and are prevalent in nearly all these designs I'm doing for this personal challenge.

      Chris, you're spot on with your three favorites you've listed. However the build a bug actually pulls from one of the first action figures I remember owning as a kid. The Ovian character from Mattel's Battlestar Galactica line. He usually doubled as a cantina alien for Kenner's Star Wars figures for most kids, myself included.

      But back to the topic at hand. The Granthans are amazing. The Armorvor armor and helmeted versions are such a cool concept. I'm totally into them now and I know my "kid self" would've begged and begged for these for birthdays and christmases. :) Good stuff!

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