Vector Characters for use in Sci-Fi Web Site

Hi all, I'm working on a casual browser-based, futuristic, outer-space game ... think "Age of Empires" in space ... in a browser.  At any rate, I'm looking for talented designers skilled in Adobe Illustrator (or similar drawing tool) that can create images that will be used to represent futuristic soldiers. I'm looking for iconic images ... images that are less detailed but evoke a strong idea. Those who are used to creating company logos would probably do well here.

Hi all, I'm working on a casual browser-based, futuristic, outer-space game ... think "Age of Empires" in space ... in a browser.  At any rate, I'm looking for talented designers skilled in Adobe Illustrator (or similar drawing tool) that can create images that will be used to represent futuristic soldiers. I'm looking for iconic images ... images that are less detailed but evoke a strong idea. Those who are used to creating company logos would probably do well here.

Please see the "what I want" section of this design brief for all the specific requirements.

Ideally the images will allow one's imagination to fill in the details. The images should evoke an idea that these soldiers would fit in well into the Star Wars universe (Stormtrooper, Clones, Boba Fett, etc.), or other similar Sci-Fi movies / gaming genres. BUT PLEASE, do not copy any existing intellectual property ... I don't need those kinds of problems.

If you would prefer to submit a scanned sketch first before you do a lot of Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop work, I think that would be great. Ultimately, we'll be awarding the prize to the best finished images.

** Example artwork that I think would work well ... I apologize in advance if it's bad form to use DeviantArt for this purpose. It's the best I could find in a pinch.

Also, most of these examples are just black and white. That was not intentional. From a color perspective, I would prefer you look at Hellboy in Google Images, or "Mike Mignola". From a "form" perspective, I think these are representative of what I'm looking for.

http://sifsak.deviantart.com/art/Rhino-45045917

http://yesterdays-hero.deviantart.c…r-44580586

A bit more detail than I originally had in mind, this would definitely be great. But please, no robots. That will be a different contest. :)

http://Ay4nami-R3i.deviantart.com/a…r-94722309

http://BoRath.deviantart.com/art/Hu…t-74930927

The right amount of detail ... although the subject matter is obviously quite a bit different:

http://lafor.deviantart.com/art/Roarr-6221932

http://lafor.deviantart.com/art/Go-…ay-6835250

http://CB1981.deviantart.com/art/Je…ey-5007226

Please let me know if you have any questions ... I'd be happy to help. Please only submit if you feel you can match the quality of artwork in these example vector images.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: I would strongly prefer to have the entire bodies of the soldiers shown. Whie this is not a deal breaker, it would be inline with other images that I'm using in the game. - Bob Tabor, August 15th 10am CST

- Our game will have three types of soldiers (we don't have names for them yet) ... basic, medium, advanced ... therefore ...
- ... I need three images, one for each type of soldier
- I imagine the difference between each one is in how bulky they are, how much weaponry or technology they carry, etc. They should be holding at least one gun-like weapon.
- They can be in any pose ... action poses are OK. Standing at attention is OK, too.
- The images should be no more than 250 pixels tall by 100 pixels wide (or at least, look good at that resolution).
- The images need to be simple vectors, with a maximum of 3 colors ... "less is more" ... I would prefer less detail and more stylized. I have some examples in the description section **
- The color palette should be on the darker side and dramatic ... Mike Mignola's Hellboy simple imagery (less detail) & dark colors are ideal
- Each of the three soldiers can be different colors, but should all be within the same color palette.
- While we've been thinking "human", feel free to use distinctive armor or other elements that would strike fear in the heart of their opponent. :)
- To receive the award, we must take possession of the original layered .ai or .psd files. We will only accept .ai or .psd for this contest.
- These images will be displayed against a white background. While some of the examples (see links in description**) show black backgrounds, that is just to give you an idea of the simple forms (less detail) that we're looking for.

- Please, no resemblances to other's existing intellectual property. I.e., please no "stormtroopers".
- Please, no canned vector artwork. We're looking for original artwork only.