#sparrowmon

[aonik]

[baltarbd]

Here's my contributions to the Digigirl Zine Vol.2! It was fun, I'm excited for next year.

[wsdigi]

[reversemoon255]

Oh my goodness; new DigiXros content!? Did my birthday come early this year?

For a little context, the user "Ray Chan" on Behance posted a bunch of concept art from a game they worked on in 2013 under the developer The Playforge for a Digimon Fusions game commissioned by Saban. I'll leave a link [HERE] if you want to go read the full thing and see some of the mock-ups.

But I'm a big fan of DigiXroses (or in this case Fusions), having designed quite a few myself, so I thought it would be fun to go through all of them and give my thoughts. I know these are more in the style of things like DonShoutmon and BalliBastemon than the toyetic stuff I design, but a DigiXros is a DigiXros, and some of these are really cool.

Let's start with the Shoutmon stuff. Ray Chan mentions that they chose to fuse random Digimon together as an exercise, and all of the Shoutmon Xroses feel like that. Which, honestly, I think is a fun idea, and one I might try doing myself some day.

As for the Shoutmon X Shadramon design, I dig it. We have three versions here. The very superhero, uncolored design is probably my least favorite, if only because it's trying too hard to be cool. I much prefer the smaller version of the design. It does a good job of merging the already existing segmentation in Shoutmon's design with the Courage Armor aesthetic. The flame details on the mask are also very sharp. The lankier version is ok, but I think it suffers from the same issue I had with the uncolored one where it's trying very hard to be cooler than it needs to be. Those proportions feel closer to an Armor Evolved Shoutmon than a DigiXros.

Then there are these two, the last of the new Shoutmon X2s. The first Pharaohmon Xros is very fun, and I like the additional red. This one also feels very superhero, but Pharaohmon already has that silhouette naturally, so it works. The second design feels more like how the show would blend them, similar to things like PawnShoutmon or JijiShoutmon. It's not as visually appealing as the first, but small touches like the new shoulders really help it stand out.

I really appreciate that they did a Revolmon/Deputymon Xros, since he was a member of Xros Heart. As for the design, it's pretty great. There's a more subtle V incorporated into the poncho, Shoutmon's face is well incorporated into the bandana and horns. It really blends the two ideas to make something new yet reminiscent. However, it doesn't feel very DigiXros; if you used Shoutmon King instead, you could easily call this a Jogress in the same vein as Paildramon.

And we have a new X4! It's such a weird combination of Digimon, but that's part of why I like it so much. I like the humanoid design more, personally; Shoutmon, Lunamon, and Revolmon all have those general proportions, so it makes sense that a Xros of them would maintain that. The gun arms I also feel work in this case. Of all the versions they did of it, the one with the hat is my favorite, as it's obviously Revolmon's hat, but also blends Shoutmon and Lunamon into it. The one issue I have is Togemogumon isn't very incorporated apart from the feet and a few colors; this could have been a X3 with a little tweak.

The less humanoid design I don't like as much, but I also really appreciate it. Not every Xros should be cool; some of them should be weird or goofy. This version has a unique silhouette, and blends Togemogumon a lot more than the other, even if Revolmon is less apparent apart from the chest cannon (and even then, it's very generic). And there's nothing to say the same four Digimon can't Xros in multiple ways, something SkullKnightmon and DeadlyAxemon did in the show, and something I've been working with with Himemon XAT and XSR.

Now we move onto what is personally my favorite of all the revealed concepts, Sparrowmon X Guardromon. It stands out to me because, with a few tweaks, I could easily imagine this as a toy, where Guardromon's head flips into the torso, and its forearms open up and swap the hands for the drills. On the rare chance I get around to kitbashing a Shoutmon X5, I'd definitely want to try doing a Guardromon so I could do this form as well.

As for the design itself, the fact that its forms are so visibly separated is what probably appeals to me to most. The drills are most likely inspired by Sparrowmon's ray guns. The only thing stopping this from being a near-perfect toyetic DigiXros is the feet, but I understand the want for a visual shake-up.

And now we get to talk about the most interesting through-line in this series of concept arts; Dracomon. It seems like the designers had the idea that, to match Shoutmon from Xros Heart, they could use Dracomon as a similar-sized mascot character and center point for Blue Flare. Dracomon's combinations are much more Fusion than DigiXros, but I really like the idea of re-imagining the Blue Flare team with Dracomon as the center.

As for Dracomon X BlueMeramon, it's a neat design. I like the general shape and flaming wings, but it doesn't really feel like either of its components. The face is too different, and the armor shapes and core come from nowhere. It feels like a Lv5 evolution of Dracomon, like Wingdramon or Groundramon (do we have a Flardramon?). A really cool Digimon design, but a pretty bad DigiXros, sadly. Really glad they didn't go with the superhero shaped one.

And then, like Shoutmon, we have this random X4 using Yasyamon, MetalMamemon, and Catsuramon. Despite its appearance, having two Lv5s in there would mean it's probably pretty powerful. Unlike the previous one, this one actually incorporates all the elements of the component Digimon quite well, having Dracomon as a base, and various armor parts from everyone else dotted throughout in a slightly better way than Shoutmon's. I also really like the uncolored concepts as well, even if they feel less like DigiXroses than the one they went with. (Wonder if I could convince Poyo to draw #2?)

But I think the set of designs that will grab most peoples' attention are the Dracomon and Blue Flare Xroses. These feel like the only designs that were made for the game as a forethought, rather than being a fun experiment.

Dracomon X MailBirdramon is a pretty good Xros, borrowing quite a bit from MetalGreymon in the claws, tail, and wings, but the smaller nature and head design do make it feel more its own. I do wish it differentiated itself a bit more, maybe brought in a bit more green, reduced the armor a bit, but think it's a good start. I also really like how the changed the horns.

Then we get our Shoutmon X4 equivalent. I suppose this would be Dracomon X3? It definitely pulls a lot from it, with the heads on the shoulders and the humanoid silhouette. That being said, and knowing that's what it's trying to accomplish, I think it pulls it off really well (with the caveat of it being a Fusion and not a DigiXros). It does a good job of pulling in elements from all three Digimon. It also has a similar vibe to the WayGreymon design I did a bit ago, so I wonder if I can use some of these ideas as inspiration in the future? Still, I think this is a fun design, and accomplishes what the designers seemed to be setting out to do.

And the last design we have to look at for today is Dracomon X4. Funnily enough, this feels very show Xros, essentially being Dracomon X3 with elements of Cyberdramon added onto it. It definitely feels very final form, but maybe not hero final form? Though I suppose that works for Blue Flare.

At the end of the day, I'm just pumped to see more DigiXros content, even if it isn't the toyetic stuff I'm more fond of. It's also the first new DigiXros content we've gotten since Boy Hunters ended over 10 years ago, even if it isn't "official." Like I've said about my own content, I hope these inspire a few people to try designing a DigiXros. I'd love to see other peoples' takes. I'd also love to be not the only person who draws this stuff.

So thanks to The Playforge for designing these, and to Ray Chan for sharing them. It really made my week.

[digi-lov]

Sparrowmon BT10-060 Alternative Art by Takase from BT-10 Booster Across Time

[pizza-splitter]

Sparrowmon was that *truly* necessary?

[dclaret-blog]

digimon working

[rocketknight66]

Thinking about this shot of Sparrowmon carrying Shoutmon

[chimera-gui]

So something fun with these is that all of them mix the following card colors:

[digimon-smashorpass]

[botanicalbard]

I remember almost nothing about my viewing of Digimon Xros Wars but I do know every time I see sparrowmon it brings me joy.

Little creature makes me happy. Little blorbo, I wanna give her a little smooch on the forehead.

[jonathanchimney]

Sparrowmon has something shed like to say

[digimonloving]

I dont see anything that involves Sparrowmon so I think I got one. How about a prompt where a Sparrowmon saves a human from falling out of the sky via plane or cliff.

Sparrowmon saving a human after they go skydiving but run into an issue..

Skydiving from a plane was always something on this human's bucket list. They were more or less invited by their friends, and as scared as they were, they were assured that everything would be fine, too. So, they were pretty excited to say the least! trying to push out bad thoughts and just focus on how it would feel.

Getting up high enough in the plane and getting ready, they were nervous but excited. Ready with their parachute on their back and friends encouraging them to take the jump when it was ready. And when they did, it was a good few minutes... up until it was time to pull he parachute.

Sparrowmon had a tendency to follow planes and other fast flying objects. They loved racing them! Going so fast so soundlessly, it was too easy to go by without being noticed nearly. This time, they followed close by a plane, but noticed humans were jumping out of it. How fun! They could race the humans down to the ground and then see who pulled up first! These humans seemed like they were diving fast anyway, an Sparrowmon just wanted to join in the fun.

Noticing all the humans pulling something and then deploying a parachute, the Digimon huffed as they continued downward, leveling with the human that was left freefalling to challenge them. They were... panicked looking? Why did they look so frantic as they pulled at their pack? Sparrowmon didn't get that it clicked when the human looked at them and near pleaded with them to help, not even seeming to care about the strange creature beside them.

Sparrowmon decided helping the human was more important than the race, as much as they wanted to have their fun. Very carefully moving towards them to let them grab on before slowing the decent towards the ground and letting them hop off. Sparrowmon was quick to introduce themself as they made sure the human was alright as they laid in the grassy area, seeming to still try and calm themself from shock.

Sparrowmon did laugh a bit and say that they were lucky that they were just flying by at the right time, otherwise, the poor human might have gone splat on the ground! Probably not the best thing to say... but Sparrowmon wasn't the best at picking up on context or certain cues. Maybe the next time they go diving from the sky, they should call for Sparrowmon. They might show up! They do leave before the other humans reach the ground, off to find something else to do!

[shoutmonishere]

When did you even get the chance to take this

[digimonpolls]

Bracket 6/64

[catyreiji]

blackGaogamonX3 (Black gaogamon+sparrowmon+shadramon)