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ModDB showcases some more art submitted for the Left 4 Dead concept art contest.

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Our Left 4 Dead concept art contest has wrapped and it's by far been the most successful one to date. Although we've already unveiled the winners, there were many entries that deserved a proper showcase. As a result, this compilation of selected entries are ones that provided additional materials explain the ideas behind their concepts. One even went so far as to provide a whopping 32 page PDF file to document his characters backgrounds, motivations and special abilities. This is just a taste of all the entries submitted and does not include the winners showcased in a previous post.

Rhineville's entry was a hottie in her former life... shame:

Siren

Rhineville wrote: Sirens have developed over time to be a potent demoralizer and immobilizer. Their pulsating throat blisters contract as they force air through a modified voice box, emitting a damaging high-pitched squeal that is eerily different from the vocalizations of infected and survivors alike.

It seems that hosts for this strain of infection are usually those who are capable of loud screeches even without modification. Young women are selected more often than anyone else. If you've ever seen a beautiful girl screaming her lungs out at a rock concert, you have seen who is most likely to develop into a Siren. The fact that most Sirens are (or at least were) physically attractive and possess a screeching ability has led to their namesake, though to call their song anything but horrifying would be an error.

Noticeable changes to physiology include red air blisters clustered around the throat, the movement of the voice box into closer proximity to said cluster, and oddly enough the removal of the jaw. Aside from adding to the horror of their visage, the removal of the jaw seems to help increase the squeal's effectiveness. Once air from their powerful lungs is forced through their air blisters and in turn through the voice box the scream that is emitted is dangerously loud and piercing. Not only will this loud noise alert and attract other infected in the area, it will cause temporary damage to the outer and inner ear causing passing deafness and disorientation, often followed by nausea.

Typical Siren behavior revolves around locating prey, screeching and closing in, usually on all fours. Sirens hold low to the ground when in pursuit and offer a quick, small target. Thankfully their host body is not associated with hardiness and thus they are counted among the least durable of the infected. If a Siren is spotted it is recommended that it is destroyed before coming within 30 meters of you or your traveling group. If you see a Siren enter a standing position you should immediately cover your ears if it is safe to free your hands. If however you've been caught in the Siren's song it's best to ready a short range firearm or melee weapon, since targeting the Siren while you focus on remaining standing is an exercise in frustration and failure.


Zombielicious' entries prove that fashion doesn't matter when involved in the zombie apocalypse:

Eli

Zombielicious wrote: Before the zombie apocalypse, "Eli" was a freelance artist working primarily for video games. He is a former Marine and gun enthusiast. When the apocalypse broke out, he was busy sleeping and recovering from staying up all night to meet some deadlines. He woke up to the sound of someone or something forcibly entering his house. He grabbed his home defense, a Remington 870, and went to investigate. What he found, was something truly amazing.


Lobber

Zombielicious wrote: "Lobber". He was a factory worker in a chlorine plant when he turned. falling into a chlorine mixture tank, he arose an undead, chemical horror. Now he grows giant chlorine and puss filled "balloons" between the dermal and muscle layers. He plucks these sores from his body and hurls them at the enemy from range. The corrosive puss does mild damage, but corrodes metal and causes a weapon jam that must be cleared immediately. He is slow moving, but from a range is a terrible annoyance to any zombie fighting party. He must be destroyed quickly.


Here's Hairwolf's progression of his boss infected concept and his survivor character, Eugene:

The Wailer The Wailer The WailerThe Wailer The Wailer The Wailer The Wailer

Wailer

Hairwolf wrote: Wailers (Infected):

The delicate, highly strung flowers of the infected world--these guys are tricky. When encountering survivors they will invariably emit a wide band and horrifying wail which will alert every other infected in the area and bring them straight to the wailers location. The only way to stop the ensuing horde, which will continue as long as the Wailer is 'transmitting' is, obviously, to cut the noise off at the source. This however isn't easy Wailers are fast and will seek to out-manuevre the players while continuing to attract as much attention as possible. If cornered, Wailers will jump at the nearest aggressor and cling to him making him pretty hard to hit while all the time biting at the target and doing more damage.


Eugene

Hairwolf wrote: Eugene (Survivor):

Eugene's been waiting for this! Hell, he even knew it was coming - he's read the 'Zombie Holocaust Survival Guide' and every comic with a zombie in it he could get his hands on, watched Romero's movies on a daily basis and voted illegally 300 times to get 'Shaun of the dead' nominated in the MTV peoples choice awards. His killing streaks in Doom and Half life are the stuff of legend. Now he's ready; he left his home armed with his copy of the survival guide, a six pack of Molotovs, his Dad's (R.I.P.) hedge trimmer (hey! it's not a chainsaw but it'll do) and his encyclopedic knowledge of undead spawn and infected monsters. See Eugene, unlike the others, LOVES this! It's his dream come true and now he's gonna whack him lotsa zombies...OH YES! Oh yeah, Prob has a major thing for Zoey, or any female...at all...except infected ones of course...although there was this one hottie and if she hadn't been zombie scum..well..


KEEP_IT_UP!'s old blind man does more than just shake his fist at you and yell, "GET OFF MY LAWN!"

Blinder Info


The Blinder


outlawIIIwolf's entry is Zombie royalty:

The Monarch


Sentaro's survivor is homeless, but then again, isn't everyone in a zombie apocalypse?

Oliver

Sentaro wrote: Oliver is a homeless guy. He lives in the street, and sleeps in the alleys. Begging, drinking and wandering is all he does. With no fixed goal, he lives day by day, trying to survive. He's got bad temper when he's drunk. When he's sober, he's even worse. Being a master of the bad language and having a doctorate in attitude, this bum is a tough dialectic opponent for anyone. Oliver loves alcohol. Any form of it; any flavor. Shaken, stirred or spilled on the ground. He doesn't care. “The higher the degrees, the better it is.”

There's only one thing that Oliver loves more than alcohol : his dog Napoleon. A strange Bloodhound-Chihuahua half-breed, found laying on the floor near a few carton boxes when it was a puppy. They are more than friends; they are brothers. Together until the end. He is not superstitious. Oliver can break a mirror while walking under a ladder at the same time that a black cat is passing by. No problem! Due to his bad temper and his love for alcohol, Oliver is always involved in trouble. He already is known by the police as “the agitator”; and he is proud of it!


Check out all the entries in the contest image gallery. As for our next contest, you won't have to wait long. This time it will be more along the lines of level design! Be sure to check the front page for updates as we'll be releasing more details soon.

Post comment Comments
Togranigdo
Togranigdo

Hmph

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mjnowak
mjnowak

Arg the lobber just makes me cringe lol I have a thing with holes and **** in bodies idk what it is ><

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sutsko
sutsko

Yea.. It lso makes me feel kinda sick..

Would be cool if Valve would take a look at these designs ;)

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grantelicious
grantelicious

I want a homeless guy :(

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BunnyJen
BunnyJen

Great thanks a lot. In many ways the progression sketches and ideas are more important than the finished piece. Showing your though process and how it has evolved along the way is a really important skill to have. I really enjoyed looking at these. :)

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KEEP_IT_UP!
KEEP_IT_UP!

good to know you appreciate everything behind the final pieces, too.
i love the concepts from hairwolf! so much activity/life in his lines - it's almost an animation in my head^^...
and respect for that 32 pages pdf! o_0
great "steps" and background-infos.
they all deserved the spotlight! thx moddb ^^

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Sentaro
Sentaro

"...and respect for that 32 pages pdf! o_0..."

Thank you. XD

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RogerRamjet
RogerRamjet

A lot of quality, yet grotesque and disturbing ideas guys... ;p

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OkeiDo
OkeiDo

Gotta love bum survivors in zombie scenarios!

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sutsko
sutsko

Maybe you should make one for.. Idk Zombie Panic then ;)

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Defur
Defur

The first one looks like Rianna, that black chick singer.

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gregfriis
gregfriis

Maybe it is Rihanna. Let me quote the description:
"to call their song anything but horrifying would be an error." :P

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General_Atrox
General_Atrox

lmao, zombie hunter in pyjammies xD!!! Go for it!

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sbnewsom
sbnewsom

aka 'the Gamer'

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Bernardrego
Bernardrego

Amazing,those things should be in the game

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Haishin
Haishin

The Lobber reminds me of the Grindhouse Zombie movie... Damn, that one scene was REVOLTING.

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death_fly
death_fly

****, my name is Eli, that's sorta how I dress, and also what I would do for work. We are all so ******.

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Shumaker1121
Shumaker1121

the monarch thing looks like 417 from The Hidden mod.
seriously

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D3@DM4N
D3@DM4N

The lobber would be ten times better without a backstory, because it would be almost impossible to find lobbers in the game, i mean how many people get bitten and jump into a chlorene tank the odds of you happening to find one in the game would be ridiculous. What it should be is like the boomer, the more the lobber devours or however it gets zombie bile, fills up the puss sores and allows it to throw (no chlorene involved what so ever) then it should be like a hunter and able to tackle people at short range and if it is shot off the person the puss sores release causing the zombie horde to converg on the victim. Sorry about the lobber, the idea behind him is great, but he needs a much more general explanation, not a specific "Bill fell in a chlorene tank, Bill shoots acid at people, You will find bill and his magical army of clones all throughout the land O.o. But the Monarch and the Siren are simply AWESOME! i would love to see them in game and it would certainly make gameplay much more horriffic and fun.

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grantelicious
grantelicious

Oliver is the best!

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dienkonig
dienkonig

i like everything here but the monarch. the zombies in left 4 dead are perfect ability-wise, i mean the normal ones are basicly infected humans, they have no superpowers or any shiz like that, which is just more realistic to what an outbreak could be. resurrecting them would just be gay, especially when your being raped.

Power to Oliver

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aengelius
aengelius

Eugene and Oliver seemes like cool characters. Love the laidback look to Eugene. ^^

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