Mega man x4 logo
For the Disc 2 sleeve, he remade one of his previous fan illustrations (below) where he imagined a remake of X2 in the style of the PlayStation Portable remake of Mega Man X, Maverick Hunter X. Of the earlier 16-bit titles, UMX has a particular soft spot for Mega Man X2. The right panel shows X in his fully upgraded armor. The left panel shows the early boss battle (impossible to win for story reasons) between X and Sigma’s henchman Vile. UMX’s panels for the disc 1 sleeve depict action from the original Mega Man X, released on the SNES in 1993. Along with the front and back covers, he also produced front and back panels for each of eight disc sleeves - 18 pieces in total. The sheer volume of art produced by UMX for the vinyl collection is dizzying.
MEGA MAN X4 LOGO SERIES
Here are some of the individual character breakdowns from the cover, starting with the main series protagonist, X: The final stage (right) includes lighting and shading, additional details, the logo, and more special effects: Next comes the colouring (left, below): blocking out the big, bold base colours and adding background textures and special effects. Then comes the ‘clean up’ (right image), where outlines are drawn more darkly and other elements are added. Informed by his exceptionally deep knowledge of Mega Man and his own extensive portfolio, UMX composes his panels through early sketches (the left image below.) Characters are drawn separately so their placement can be adjusted later on.
His favourite Mega Man X title is X8, represented on the cover by the inclusion of the Jakob Project orbital elevator (stretching diagonally across the image from the bottom to top right) and also by featuring the three navigators - secret playable characters in X8 - Alia, Layer, and Pallette.
If you look carefully, you can see that the background is made up of screenshots of the games. UMX was keen to represent supporting as well as main characters.
MEGA MAN X4 LOGO FULL
The front cover for the Mega Man X 1-8: The Collection vinyl box set is stuffed full of hero characters from across the whole series. Here’s a promotional piece by Haruki Suetsugu for Mega Man X6 from around 2001 : Source: “The Many Faces of Zero” ( Reddit ) Here’s how those two particular artists fit within the series’ changes in style:
Of all the artists at Capcom to work on the Mega Man X series, UMX’s favourites are Haruki Suetsugu (aka SENSEI, who worked on Mega Man X4-X6 and Xtreme & Xtreme 2 ) and Keisuke Mizuno ( Maverick Hunter X, Mega Man X Legacy Collection). As with our previous interview with UMX about the Mega Man box set, we asked him to show us different stages of his art process and explain a few of his composition choices.Ĭheck the availability of Mega Man X 1-8: The Collection via. When it came time for the follow-up box set - an eight-disc behemoth, Mega Man X 1-8: The Collection - there was no question about sleeve design.īelow, we wallow in the ultra colourful artwork of Mega Man X and the vinyl sleeve art. ultimatemaverickx was truly the perfect person for the job, having dedicated himself to understanding the series and recreating it through his artwork. When the Laced Records team was planning the previous Mega Man 1-11: The Collection vinyl box set in 2019 - at six discs, our largest shipped product - it was obvious that we should commission an artist who had immersed themselves in the universe of the Blue Bomber. Mega Man is one of those series whose every plotpoint, character nuance and gameplay intricacy continue to be pored over. It constantly surprises me how much some game series hold sway over people even after decades. Illustrator and Mega Man superfan ultimatemaverickx breaks down his eye-popping original panels for the Mega Man X 1-8: The Collection vinyl box set.