Quarians (fan art)
"THIS LOOKS INTERESTING..."
In anticipation of ME3 launching next week, I am thrilled to share this work. This is pure fan art and does not represent the work of Bioware or EA whatsoever, so let's keep the rumors down to a low roar. This is not official concept art, and it does not reveal what the Quarians actually look like. I have no clue what they actually look like, nor do I know if Bioware will reveal their actual appearance in ME3 or any other incarnation of the Mass Effect brand. I am just as in the dark as the rest of us.
This is what this is: The Quarians are pretty much my favorite thing in the ME brand. I love their concept, their story, everything about them. Tali is my favorite squadmate. So like many of us who enjoy the whole Quarian thing, I'm fascinated with the idea of what they might look like without their suits.
So wind back the clock to pre-Geth War, when things were peaceful on Rannoch. I wanted to paint a male and female Quarian as they might have been before the war, and their resulting exodus. I wanted the painting to have an academic quality to it, as if they were actually posing in front of us. I didn't want it to be fancy... just a true and genuine classical anatomy study of two Quarians posing out of the kindness of their hearts (or vanity).
From my understanding, Rannoch was a pretty sterile planet. No insects, and I don't think there was disease or pestilence. The Quarians were very much in harmony with their world, especially with the plant life. So when they left their homeworld, they required the environmental suits that we see them wear today in order to stay alive within the Migrant Fleet. Their physiology cannot handle the crap floating around in the galaxy outside of their world's stratosphere.
Anyway, I see the Quarians as sterile, clean, beautiful and alien... kinda perfect, kinda creepy... pale, luminous, "lozenge-like", as if they were composed of a gel, smooth and soft, free of imperfections. Remember when Steve Jobs (RIP) first described the new Mac interface as "lickable" with all the gel-like buttons and everything very fluid and slick? I kinda see the Quarians like that.
The circle on the side of their head... it's a tympanum. Grasshoppers have them, it's what they hear with. It's a delicate membrane that picks up vibrations. So maybe they're super sensitive to loud sounds.
They were also extremely advanced, having created the Geth, so I wanted them to look highly evolved, intelligent, very "knowing".
Anyway, this is just me squirting this thing out of my little brain. I am extremely psyched to see if ME3 reveals Tali's appearance, and if so, what Bioware decided for her and the Quarians to look like. If they keep it a secret, that's cool too. Then I can just sort of pretend that they look something like this, maybe.
But ultimately this was just fun to do, and it's my tribute to ME3 coming out in exactly one week. I sincerely hope that everyone enjoys this.
And to those from Bioware who are seeing this, a huge thank you for all of your amazing creativity and hard work and long hours bringing Mass Effect into such a fulfilling success. I'm a huge fan, and Mass Effect has provided countless hours of inspiration for me since 2007. I've been enjoying the journey immensely and I'm looking forward seeing wear you take things moving forward.
Now time for some ME3 Multiplayer.
