Redesigning Ben 10,000's Appearance
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Of course, as the title itself says, I'm interested in discussing my direction on how I would've designed Ben 10,000's appearance. Ben 10,000 and Ben's transition into such a status is one of the biggest potential direction that the franchise should've gone but was never fulfilled...or at least not yet. However, the design of his appearance is something that I'm not a fan of and, from what I recall, haven't been much of a fan of ever since his very first appearance in the Original Series. Having thought about it for a while, here's why. I don't find Ben 10,000's official design to his appearance to be fitting for Ben as a character. First off, I say that they went overboard with his physique. Ben 10,000 looks like a wannabe Arnold Schwarzenegger or at the very least Chris Redfield from when he was punching a boulder in Resident Evil 5. This is even more prevalent in his second appearance in the episode, Ken 10. I don't think it helps much either that, at least to me, he looks a little disproportionate, which could be due to the Original Series art style but it still looks a little off to me. I understand if this was to make Ben 10,000 look more heroic but I can't imagine Ben working out at a gym to get that much muscle on him. To me, it just doesn't fit his character. Sure, it does make sense for Ben to be physically fit though. After all, he is a hero that constantly puts himself in danger for the greater good and therefore is quite often physically active. I just think that they went too much on his physique there. There's also Ben's facial design as well. He...kiiinda...doesn't look like Ben. Just stick with me on that. I'll explain why in a bit. Finally, the Omnitrix. Much like with Ben 10,000's physique, I find that they went overboard with the Omnitrix's design as well and made it too big and bulky. Granted though, obviously, Ben doesn't really have to worry about how big and bulky the Omnitrix is when he's in alien form. I also understand that Ben or Azmuth or whoever could've modified and upgraded the Omnitrix, thus changing its appearance some and that can make sense here. I still find the Omnitrix to be a little too bulky though. I mean like christ, it takes up half of his Arnold Schwarzenegger-esque arm. I don't think it has to be that freakin big. These are the issues that I have with Ben 10,000's official appearance in the franchise and overall, I find that it doesn't really fit Ben as a character and I find that it doesn't allow him to be expressive enough with his thoughts, emotions, reactions, etc.
With that in mind, if I were to design Ben 10,000/Ben as an adult, what direction would I take? First, in regards to his physique, like I said, it makes sense for Ben 10,000 to be physically fit. Therefore, I say that it would be better to just tone down all that muscle that he has and make his body more properly proportionate. I think the best example of what Ben's physique should be like is that of Peter Parker's physique from Insomniac's Spider-Man game. To me, it's just the right and ideal level for how physically fit Ben 10,000 should be. He doesn't look to weak to not make sense given his status as a hero and he doesn't too ridiculous and body builder-esque. It's just the right level.
Next is the Omnitrix. I would rather prefer keeping with the original look of the Omnitrix. There are certain things out there that don't really need to be changed much and I say the original Omnitrix is one of those things. It still looks unique and overall great to this day. Granted, I wouldn't mind if the Omnitrix appearance is changed a little just as long as it makes sense and works for the Omnitrix and the show itself. For example, CarthArts' version of teen Ben (which I will leave a link to below this paragraph) properly replicates the look of Ben 10,000's Omnitrix without making it too big and bulky. It's proportionally acceptable. Again though, it has to make sense. None of that nonsensical junk that Alien Force did where the Omnitrix's appearance just magically changes in a way that makes no sense to its intended design and purpose. Leave stuff like that out. At most, I can at least buy that Ben or Azmuth or whoever made upgrades and improvements to the Omnitrix but no further than that. Some people think it's due to Ben growing older and therefore that's why the Omnitrix changed its appearance but like with Alien Force, I find that it doesn't make enough sense to fit its intended design and purpose. I don't buy Azmuth adding such a characteristic to the Omnitrix (and, arguably, he likely wouldn't modify it post-completion either). Either way, I still prefer keeping the original look of the Omnitrix. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
https://www.deviantart.com/cartharts/art/Ben-10-ExOS-BEN-TENNYSON-Teen-762133651Finally, there's Ben's facial design and overall appearance. I always found it more fitting for Ben as an adult to look more like, well, his younger self. After all, that's pretty much how it's actually supposed to work when people grow up and age. They still look like their younger selves but older. That's the mindset that I rather prefer to take for establishing how Ben 10,000 should really look like. Keep the same hair-style and the same facial features and whatnot and just make him look older. That's what I meant when I said earlier how Ben 10,000's official appearance doesn't really look like Ben. It feels like it doesn't really follow that mindset and therefore, I find that it doesn't really fit Ben as a character. So far, this is pretty much the best example of what I could find that I think best illustrates my point of how Ben should look like as an adult. Probably not my most ideal pick but I think it works just well enough to help back up my point here.
http://www.cartoonbucket.com/cartoons/sketch-of-adult-ben-tennyson/
CarthArts' version of teen Ben is also a good example to use as well. There's also a-l-m's version of teen Ben too. Despite this artist using her own art style, the mindset that she went with drawing her version of teen Ben makes this a good enough example to use here.
https://www.deviantart.com/a-l-m/art/Ben-10-143691444
All three of these artist's versions of Ben do a really good job of, well, properly resembling how Ben should look like as he grows older. They look more natural and fitting for Ben as a character and I say that the same can apply if Ben 10,000 was designed with that very mindset. Not only would going with that mindset help make Ben 10,000's appearance look more familiar due to having a much better resemblance to his younger self but I say that it can also help reflect Ben as a character much better than his official appearance. To allow for Ben to be more expressive in his thoughts, emotions, reactions, etc. and to make the changes to him as a character as a result of the tragic incident(s) that he went through more prevalent and impacting. Having him look similar to his younger self and therefore more recognizable in his appearance could help to make the changes in Ben's behavior and overall character more significant and have him express happiness, anger, remorse, joy, satisfaction, disappointment, etc. pop out more. At least that's what I think.So yeah, I think these suggestions that I mentioned here can help to not only improve Ben 10,000's appearance and make him look much better than his official appearance but also improve and benefit Ben 10,000/adult Ben as a character by making his experiences (past, present, and future) and how they affect him as a character play off more on him and look more significant and prevalent compared to his official appearance. That should wrap things up here for now so if anyone has any thoughts and opinions of their own on this, feel free to leave a comment down below.
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Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TacticalOchoaDeviant-art:
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https://twitter.com/ben10club_bg -
Something recently came to mind and that is who I find to be a suitable choice to provide the voice of Ben 10,000/adult Ben Tennyson; especially for the direction for the redesign that I discussed here. That choice is Reuben Langdon, the voice of Dante from Devil May Cry 3 to the recently released Devil May Cry 5. Thinking back to Dante as a character and Langdon's performance of him (most notably his DMC5 performance), I find that Langdon would be a suitable choice to provide the voice of an adult Ben Tennyson. Dante is an incredibly cocky and fun-loving individual and the same can pretty much be said for Ben as well. Cocky and fun-loving while still treating more serious situations with, well, seriousness and focus. Plus, I also find Langdon's DMC5 Dante performance to also sound like a proper match for an adult Ben. If I were to imagine how Ben would sound like as an adult based on the voice that Tara Strong is well known for displaying, I say that Langdon's voice would be a very close match. Feel free to check out Dante in DMC5 and see for yourself if that sort of voice and this very voice actor would indeed be a good choice to voice an adult Ben or not.
