Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School Art Reference: Power Armor Revision

Hello everyone! Well here’s a bit of a surprise! As all of you might already know, the first piece of art I ever commissioned for Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School was of the titular power armor itself! This was way before Emma, Thacea, or even Ilunor was illustrated, let alone all of the book covers and backgrounds I’ve commissioned since then! Over the year or so after starting this story however, amidst the other art projects I’ve commissioned, I’ve slowly come to feel a desire to give that first commission a bit of a refresher. However, I’ve always been reluctant to do it since the power armor from that first commission has become so synonymous with the story and so iconic with its straightforwardness and striking design!

That’s sort of why I wasn’t actively shopping for a new artist or for a new refresh of the design, at least, that was until I came across a certain piece of fanart of the armor late last year!

Some of you may have already seen it on my subreddit, but this particular piece of fanart caught my attention the moment I laid eyes on it.

From that point on, I knew I had to at least pursue the possibility of potentially updating the design.

So, several months later, and after a lot of back and forths with the artist in question (who was amazing to work with I might add!), we finally came through with a refreshed and updated design for the power armor. A design that was made with an attempt to retain as much of the original silhouette and aesthetic as possible, all the while adding and developing upon it!

A design that I ultimately hope still holds true to the spirit of the original power armor commission!

So, without further ado, I’m proud to present to all of you, the updated official artwork for the titular power armor from Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School!

And, in the spirit of this update, I’ll be writing down a bit more about the armor as well, just as a reminder of the different layers and components of it from the original post more than a year ago! :D

• Starting from the first layer and making our way out, we first have an undersuit that’s sealed onto the wearer, resembling something akin to a neoprene wetsuit in texture and thickness. The undersuit performs a variety of functions, including but not limited to: active and passive health monitoring and life support systems, thermal regulation and control systems, and of course the all important haptic feedback systems. The latter allows the wearer to ‘feel’ the world through the suit, mimicking touch to a high degree of accuracy and fidelity that’s customizable through the suit’s user control interfaces!
• The second layer consists of an ‘oversuit’ that superficially resembles a flight jumpsuit! This acts as a layer of essential padding that aids in protection from impacts, as well as protection from kinetic and direct energy weapons alike owing to the gel-like layer that comprises the lining of its fabric. In addition, this layer also has redundant mana radiation resistant properties of the suit, in addition to the undersuit too! It also acts as an anchor point for the exoskeleton above it in the third layer, which then connects to the power armor itself in the fourth layer!
• The third layer consists of a powered exoskeleton that essentially ‘encases’ and ‘wraps’ around the second layer’s oversuit, enhancing a user’s strength, agility, reflexes, and endurance, amongst a wide variety of other physical augments!
• The fourth layer is essentially the structural ‘frame’ and the meat and potatoes of the actual armor itself! It’s essentially the power armor, and whereas the prior three layers have been more geared towards accommodating the wearer, the fourth layer is where all of that preparation finally comes into play as it’s essentially the ‘shell’, or rather - the ‘vehicle’ that the wearer has to integrate into and ‘pilots’! :D
• There is, of course, a ‘fifth layer’ in the form of the attachments Emma can add onto the suit. These attachments have been hinted at but not used in the story just yet! :D The most notable of which being the flight pack that Emma had mentioned a few times before!

Aside from that, the art actually illustrates quite a few cool features that were mentioned in the story but weren’t explicitly shown in the original artwork! :D This includes, but is not limited to such notable items as:

1. The various equipment pouches along the torso of the armor!
2. The medic bag that Emma had utilized a few times before, most notably during Apprentice Larial’s encounter with the null as well as during the factory incident with Rila following the explosion!
3. The titular “gun” Emma has used only a few times thus far: the Luna Defence Arms P225c :D
4. The drone bays for both the infil-drones and the survey drones seen beneath the pouches, and on the backpack respectively!
5. And of course, the backpack itself! :D

Having a back view of the armor is absolutely awesome as well, and it adds a whole other dimension to the armor that I think really completes the look! I just absolutely love how that turned out! :D

There's also quite a few other details in this design that will be mentioned and touched upon later in the story! 

I really do hope you guys like the refreshed look! However I do want to make  a note that both versions of the armor are valid to me, and all interpretations in any other piece of art depicting the armor prior to the refresh are still considered perfectly accurate in my eyes as well! :D

The artist honestly really outdid themselves in this one, and they were great to work with, so please do check them out! :D

Artist Reference: @ puceq_art on twitter