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DarthFar — Guardian for the Many

Published: 2012-07-27 17:42:13 +0000 UTC; Views: 15969; Favourites: 570; Downloads: 223
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Description <--SPOILER ALERT-->
The comments below contain spoilers for Mass Effect 3. But then again, if you haven't played the last game AND you still clicked on this picture's thumbnail, you're screwed anyway. LOL.


"I will rebuild what the many have lost. I will create a future with limitless possibilities. I will protect and sustain. I will act as guardian for the many.

And throughout it all, I will never forget. [...] I will watch over the ones who live on. Those who carry the memory of the man I once was: The man who gave up his life to become the one who could save the many."
Illustration thingy for the [extended] Control ending to Mass Effect 3, or at least how it worked for my Shepard. I didn't care much for the pre-Extended Cut version since it was a little WTF and that's what TIM tried to do are you insane have you been indoctrinated (well, as opposed to Synthesis' WTFGFODIAF), but after the DLC, it's now my favourite of the four endings. Not least because I'm getting a gleeful

"Fuck off, Catalyst, I make a better Star Child God Galactic Police than you"
kick out of it, but I kind of like the idea of Shepard dying and being reincarnated as a benevolent Big Brother- superentity with a fleet of Reapers at his bidding. (He'd already united the krogan and turians, and struck peace between the geth and the quarians, hadn't he? Garrus, you promised him sainthood for working things out with the Reapers, and I'm claiming it).


Props go to for their huge gallery of handy Mass Effect references!


Mass Effect 3 belongs to Bioware.
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Comments: 54

Patriarch2 [2013-11-18 04:13:26 +0000 UTC]

I've been looking for this kind of concept for a while now..Kudos.

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Elveray [2013-10-03 21:35:38 +0000 UTC]

This is Fantastic! I love it, the composition, the elements, the expression of Shepard's face))) And I really like the idea of Shepard becoming a "benevolent Big Brother" for the Galaxy! That's exactly how I feel about Control. 

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Gigi-FenixPhoenix [2012-11-21 00:32:02 +0000 UTC]

This wonderful art has been featured here: [link]

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DarthFar In reply to Gigi-FenixPhoenix [2012-11-21 02:50:58 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much!

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CruHunter [2012-11-05 09:09:01 +0000 UTC]

Wow. Just...wow. Really good job here. Curious, what images did you use as inspiration?

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DarthFar In reply to CruHunter [2012-11-05 10:59:01 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! As I mentioned in the comments, I pretty much raided =Troodon80 's gallery for model references (they have stock of pretty much everything in the game at different camera angles. Check it out - it's a gold mine), and the palette I settled on was based on multiple watchings of the control ending. But if you're talking about the actual poses for my picture - well, I took a snap of myself in the pose I wanted and used that as reference for Shepard. I originally had the characters with their heads bowed, but halfway through the picture I changed it to raised heads because the bowed head pose seemed to make you think, "guilt" or "sadness" when what I wanted was "salvation". Basically, the rest was just trying for an Art Deco look because it's geometrical in nature, and I thought it would work pretty well with Mass Effect. [The whole time I was working on this, I had one browser window open to the Google search "Art Deco "...]

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Crono8 [2012-10-24 10:01:04 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful ;~;

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DarthFar In reply to Crono8 [2012-10-25 10:30:37 +0000 UTC]

Cheers.

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GabeFarber [2012-10-05 21:27:28 +0000 UTC]

More Mass Effect artwork from you, please Really like the design and composition of this, Far! Great work!

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J4m-ch4n [2012-07-31 07:40:18 +0000 UTC]

How come I can see this become like one of those fancy glass-windows? xD


Still, this is amazing, your Shepard looks/sounds cool

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thedoctorswife101 [2012-07-30 21:00:25 +0000 UTC]

WOW My brain just blew up! lol this is awesome!

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karinelar [2012-07-30 13:02:45 +0000 UTC]

very were done! it gaved me shivers!

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DarthFar In reply to karinelar [2012-07-31 04:05:06 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Bjarru [2012-07-29 07:29:00 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! Looks perfect. My ending too <3

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MasterArt40000 [2012-07-29 06:10:55 +0000 UTC]

Looks like one of the glass window images (the ones that show the prinesses) used in kingdom hearts.

Freaking awsome!!!!

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DarthFar In reply to MasterArt40000 [2012-07-31 04:05:33 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I was aiming for a stained window/art deco effect.

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MasterArt40000 In reply to DarthFar [2012-07-31 14:03:18 +0000 UTC]

Well you pulled it off

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Sorceress-Nadira [2012-07-28 14:09:30 +0000 UTC]

Amazing picture! I love the composition and the design, really makes it look ominous!

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DarthFar In reply to Sorceress-Nadira [2012-07-31 04:05:47 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!

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Elvish-Designs [2012-07-28 14:06:47 +0000 UTC]

I like the ARt Nevou feel

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DarthFar In reply to Elvish-Designs [2012-07-31 04:05:55 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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LadySiha [2012-07-28 13:15:11 +0000 UTC]

All I can say is "Wow!"

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Quinn-G [2012-07-28 08:13:41 +0000 UTC]

I'm happy to see someone who isn't stuck up about the EC endings like most nerds are. I was starting to lose faith.

"Fuck off, Catalyst, I make a better Star Child God Galactic Police than you"

Hmm, choosing this option, I rather went something like:

"Hey, Harbinger. Guess what?"
"Oh, motherfu-"
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!"

Well, I chose this ending mainly because by taking control, Shepard affirmed him/herself to be what he/she's always been in my eyes, the galaxy's ultimate protector. Really, it's all a matter of choosing which ending fits your Shepard the best.

Anyway, enough with my nerd-talk, about the picture.

I like the way you've represented Shepard as a kind of watchful protector. The composition itself is nicely executed and the different elements/characters are placed in a way that symbolizes their inner struggles (Krogan vs. Turians, Geth vs. Quarians), that's a great touch. Though my one criticism is this: what are the Normandy's engines doing there? They seem kinda out of place. Just sayin'.

Overall, a great piece of fanart; one of the best I've seen in a while. Furthermore, I'm adding it to my favourites, and you to my deviantWATCH. Shepard, out.

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DarthFar In reply to Quinn-G [2012-07-28 09:55:17 +0000 UTC]

Oh Harbinger. Control was worth it, if only to get you under my thumb. But yeah, Control is pretty much the ultimate sacrifice, the "terrible burden", and it seems a most fitting ending for a paragon Shepard who's been spending three games helping people.

Thanks very much! Re: Normandy - I realised that the arch behind Shepard (which served both as a frame and the Alliance symbol - even if it's taller and skinnier, because it had to wrap behind Shepard/the Reaper) was also a pretty good approximation of the ship's shape - and since the ship played an integral part in all three games, I thought why not. [I already made use of the smaller circles to suggest the Citadel and the mass relay, so it seemed like a good idea to exploit another shape already in the picture.]

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sumerkhan [2012-07-28 08:03:02 +0000 UTC]

I would like a giant poster of this. thank you.

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DarthFar In reply to sumerkhan [2012-07-28 10:01:20 +0000 UTC]

Obviously, I can't sell posters of this, but you're welcome to print out a copy for yourself.

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StrawberryL [2012-07-28 06:41:42 +0000 UTC]

Gorgeous!

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DarthFar In reply to StrawberryL [2012-07-28 10:00:24 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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Uilleand [2012-07-28 06:15:04 +0000 UTC]

Freaking brilliant as always, Far.

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DarthFar In reply to Uilleand [2012-07-28 10:00:18 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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acidqueen [2012-07-28 04:53:21 +0000 UTC]

Very Messianic. I couldn't accept any ending except Destroy (and I'm convinced that EDI and the Geth aren't actually dead--just their bodies are gone), but this is quite a nice piece of work.

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DarthFar In reply to acidqueen [2012-07-28 05:29:10 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I was aiming for that look. Cheers!

Before the Extended Cut, the Destroy ending was my favourite because - who knows, maybe the lying little shit Catalyst was lying to me all the while.

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PrototypeB [2012-07-28 03:17:43 +0000 UTC]

SPACE JESUS.

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DarthFar In reply to PrototypeB [2012-07-28 03:32:15 +0000 UTC]

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PunchDrunkBoredom [2012-07-28 03:14:55 +0000 UTC]

Overall, I just really love this great job.

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DarthFar In reply to PunchDrunkBoredom [2012-07-28 03:16:59 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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KianaTavers-Mereel [2012-07-28 00:24:06 +0000 UTC]

Now I REALLY have to play this game, see what I can work out with my various Sheps.

A benevolent "Big Brother"...sounds interesting. Guess I'll have to play and see for myself.

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DarthFar In reply to KianaTavers-Mereel [2012-07-28 03:18:40 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, the Extended Cut endings are worth watching. Have fun!

[To really mess up, you could restart ME2, do *no* loyalty missions, use all the wrong specialists in the last mission... and see where it gets you in ME3. ]

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draconiangem In reply to DarthFar [2012-07-28 04:44:01 +0000 UTC]

or shoot the catalyst "ending"... that ell mess you up. XD

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DarthFar In reply to draconiangem [2012-07-28 05:24:59 +0000 UTC]

Well, yeah. That too. Mind you, I like that ominous, "SO BE IT!" line.

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Celestial4ever [2012-07-27 21:56:25 +0000 UTC]

Everything about this is amazing, especially the composition! Well done! And yes, the new endings made it all so much better.

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DarthFar In reply to Celestial4ever [2012-07-28 03:19:29 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much! The original endings were a bit of a headache, weren't they?

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Celestial4ever In reply to DarthFar [2012-07-28 17:02:53 +0000 UTC]

Well, it did induce a lot of table-flipping. I feel better now

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lubyelfears [2012-07-27 19:04:02 +0000 UTC]

... BLOODY HELL, FAR. It's so good, I'm at a loss for words.

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DarthFar In reply to lubyelfears [2012-07-28 03:19:00 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, Lu.

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Bhryn [2012-07-27 18:05:49 +0000 UTC]

What would happen if a Renegade Shep became the new 'God' which I suppose is what he ascends to? A Renegade would be the most selfish dick troll god ever. That... would be so awesome LOL.

I picked destroy. It made sense. And my Shep survived, against all the odds. She's a hardass hero.

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DarthFar In reply to Bhryn [2012-07-28 03:27:41 +0000 UTC]

The narrative actually changes if you're an ascended Renegade Shep, even though the cutscene is the same. But I'll leave it to you to experiment and see. Suffice it to say it has a darker, "you'd better not mess with us" tone.

And yeah, it would make sense for a Renegade Shep to pick the Destroy option. What was it Garrus said? "The ruthless calculus of war." Something about killing one billion here so that two billion can live.

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Bhryn In reply to DarthFar [2012-07-28 04:39:09 +0000 UTC]

Ah but my shep was Paragon, not a single hint of Renegade on her bars. Even with Paragon, knowing we could rebuild the tech lost means BYE BYE REAPERS boom. It what Anderson would have wanted. Plus the other two endings are just complete bollocks in my mind. Especially that synthesis ending, thats even worse than Control. Control is just too insidious for me, and synthesis is just... messed up.

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DarthFar In reply to Bhryn [2012-07-28 05:26:46 +0000 UTC]

Oh yeah, I consider Synthesis far more fucked up than Control, given that it's actually *evil*. Control is, I dunno, misguided, at best?

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Bhryn In reply to DarthFar [2012-07-28 08:41:11 +0000 UTC]

I think Control is for the meglomanic evil. It really is TiM's batshit bobby idea of becoming a god. It is becoming a god, a new level of existence. You get to pretty much control all life, or get bored of it all and crush it on a whim. What happens in the future when Reapershepgod sees his love interest getting it on with someone else? They'd see red. They'd stomp about and have the actual power to make someones life a total living misery! It's just... insidious. That's the best word I have for it. Sure, Shep's the God, but no man or woman is ever free from corruption. Ever.

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