Chapter 2: Deliverable Types

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Mecha Concept Deliverables: From Silhouettes to Paintovers

Mecha concept art is often judged by how exciting the final illustration looks, but teams rely on it for a different reason: deliverables reduce ambiguity. Every deliverable type exists because a teammate needs to make a decision, build an asset, or keep a system coherent across months of production. If you want to think like “The Mecha Concept Artist,” the fastest upgrade is to stop thinking in terms of “pieces” and start thinking in terms of “documents.” A deliverable is a tool that answers a specific production question.

This article walks through the major mecha deliverable types—silhouettes, orthos, cutaways, transformation sheets, callouts, and paintovers—and explains what each one solves, who uses it, and how it changes between indie and AAA. It’s written for both concepting-side artists (who explore and define the language) and production-side artists (who translate, troubleshoot, and preserve that language through implementation).

A simple mental model: deliverables match the team’s unknowns

In early development, the unknown is usually “What is this mech supposed to be?” In mid development, the unknown becomes “How does it move and function?” In production, the unknown becomes “How do multiple people build and iterate on this without losing identity or breaking the game?” Your deliverables should evolve with those unknowns.

Concepting-side work tends to be deliverables that test direction quickly—fast comparisons, clear role reads, and language exploration. Production-side work tends to be deliverables that prevent rework—build clarity, mechanical logic, and repeatable standards for variants and outsourcing. The best teams keep both modes in a feedback loop.

Roles across indie and AAA: same deliverables, different emphasis

In indie, deliverables often need to be “multi-purpose.” A single sheet might have silhouette options, quick orthos, material notes, and kit logic because there are fewer specialists to interpret gaps. Indie mecha deliverables also solve scope: they help design machines that look rich while staying within model/rig/animation budgets.

In AAA, deliverables tend to be more specialized and more standardized. Because many teams touch the asset, the cost of ambiguity is higher. AAA mecha deliverables often include clearer conventions: naming, layer structure, model standards, modular hardpoints, and variant rules. Production-side concept artists become guardians of continuity, ensuring the mech reads the same across LODs, skins, promotional art, and future content.

The collaboration map: who each deliverable is really for

A mecha concept artist collaborates with more people than most specialties because a mech is simultaneously a character, a vehicle, and a weapon platform.

Art direction uses your deliverables to keep the project’s visual language coherent. Narrative uses them to reinforce faction identity and meaning. Game design and level design use them to validate role clarity, size, collision risk, and fairness. 3D modeling and surfacing use them to interpret forms, materials, and detail density. Rigging and animation use them to plan joint logic, ranges, acting, and stow states. Tech art uses them to anticipate performance constraints and shader requirements. VFX, UI, and audio use them as attachment maps for telegraphs, icons, and sonic logic. Marketing uses them to find signature features and hero angles.

When a deliverable is “missing,” a different discipline fills the gap with guesses. Mecha production gets expensive when guesses become revisions.

Silhouettes: the fastest way to solve role, scale, and identity

Silhouettes are not warm-ups. They are a decision tool for readability and role differentiation. A silhouette page answers: “If this mech is a tiny black shape at distance, do I still know what it is and how dangerous it is?”

A strong silhouette deliverable compares options side by side. It includes posture variations (neutral, combat-ready, sprint/boost stance) because mecha identity is often expressed through stance like a character’s body language. It also includes scale cues—pilot size, door height, or a human figure—because scale affects level design, camera framing, and the emotional read.

For concepting-side artists, silhouettes are where faction language and role families are born: heavies share a mass rhythm, scouts share a sharpness rhythm, supports share tool language. For production-side artists, silhouettes are a guardrail: whenever attachments, armor changes, or optimizations are proposed, you can sanity-check whether the silhouette still reads as intended.

Indie teams may use silhouettes as near-final direction selection because they need quick convergence. AAA teams often use silhouettes to create a “silhouette bible” that prevents role confusion and helps multiple artists design consistent content.

Orthos: the build map that prevents interpretive drift

Orthographic sheets (front/side/back, sometimes top/bottom) exist to help 3D build accurately and quickly. Orthos solve: “What is the actual shape from all angles, not just the heroic view?”

In mecha, orthos benefit from being clean, uncluttered, and consistent in proportion. They should communicate what is symmetrical and what is not, where major seams are, and how large forms connect. Good orthos also anticipate what 3D will ask: what is hard surface armor versus underlying frame, where does the cockpit open, where are the sensors, and where are the major joint pivots.

Concepting-side artists often hand off “directional orthos” that establish the chosen design. Production-side artists often refine orthos into “production orthos” that include clearer segmentation, hardpoint standards, and alignment notes (for example, how shoulder armor floats or how hips clear the torso in extreme poses).

Indie orthos may be lighter—enough to build without over-documenting—while AAA orthos are frequently part of a larger package with strict naming and consistent templates to support outsourcing.

Cutaways: the believability and function sheet

Cutaways exist to explain what the mech is made of and why it works. They solve: “What is inside, and how does the outer shell relate to the mechanical story?”

A cutaway is less about perfect engineering and more about coherent fiction. It helps teams anchor VFX placement (where heat vents, power cores, exhaust paths might be), audio logic (where hydraulics and engines live), and damage logic (what breaks first, what is critical). Cutaways also help the player fantasy feel earned—maintenance hatches, ammo feeds, actuator clusters, and cockpit systems give the mech “life.”

For concepting-side artists, cutaways are a way to reinforce narrative: a corporate mech might have clean modular bays; a militia mech might show exposed frame and patchwork power routing. For production-side artists, cutaways become practical: they help define internal clearance so armor and joints don’t intersect, and they provide a roadmap for damage states or destructibility.

Indie may use cutaways sparingly (only where gameplay or story needs it). AAA may use cutaways as part of a “function bible” so multiple content teams can add gear, skins, and variants that still feel mechanically consistent.

Transformation sheets: making change readable, animatable, and buildable

Transformation sheets are critical whenever a mech changes configuration: flight mode, siege mode, weapon deployment, cockpit opening, shoulder pods unfolding, or full-on combining systems. They solve: “What are the steps, what parts move, and how do we avoid impossible intersections?”

A useful transformation sheet is not just a before/after. It shows intermediate steps, clearly indicates rotation axes, slide paths, and lock points, and calls out what must be rigid versus what can flex or telescope. It also clarifies where mass goes during the change, because animation needs believable weight shifting.

Concepting-side artists often propose transformation concepts to support gameplay fantasy (“this is why it can do that”). Production-side artists often own the transformation sheet because it must survive real constraints: joint limits, rig complexity, collision, camera, and performance budgets. Many transformation ideas fail not because they aren’t cool, but because they add too many moving parts to rig and debug.

Indie transformation sheets usually aim for “simple, iconic, achievable.” AAA transformation sheets may support more complex sequences, but they still benefit from modular thinking: reusing movement patterns and part families across content reduces risk.

Callouts: the language of handoff (and the difference between art and instruction)

Callouts are where mecha concept art becomes a true production document. They solve: “What exactly is this part, what is it made of, and how does it behave?”

Callouts work best when they are precise and limited. They highlight high-risk areas: hands, feet, knees, hips, shoulder assemblies, weapon mounts, cockpit, sensors, and any area with overlapping plates. They also clarify material intent (painted metal, rubberized seals, ceramic armor, exposed composite) and assembly logic (bolts, welds, clamps, quick-release mounts).

Concepting-side artists can use callouts to encode the project’s style rules: what kinds of greeble are allowed, what edge treatments dominate, how panel breaks behave, how decals scale. Production-side artists use callouts to prevent contradictory interpretations across different modelers and outsource partners.

In indie, callouts often function as “the only instruction,” so they should prioritize the parts most likely to break the build. In AAA, callouts can be part of a standardized package with naming conventions and version control notes so multiple teams can track changes.

Paintovers: solving problems on top of reality

Paintovers are one of the most powerful mecha deliverables because they solve issues after the asset collides with reality. They answer: “Given the model, the lighting, the gameplay camera, and the current constraints, what do we change to make it read and feel right?”

Paintovers are used for readability fixes (silhouette confusion, noisy values, unclear weak points), for material and surfacing intent (how wear should behave, how decals should break over seams), and for integration with VFX and lighting (where emissives help telegraph ability states, where heat bloom should appear, where sparks and smoke should originate in damage).

Concepting-side artists use paintovers to protect the original fantasy when the first 3D pass feels off. Production-side artists use paintovers as a bridge between art direction and implementation, often iterating with modeling, surfacing, tech art, and lighting. A paintover is not “correcting someone’s work”; it is a shared language for aligning a complex asset.

Indie paintovers can be the primary iteration method because it is faster than rebuilding. AAA paintovers are often part of review cycles—regular checkpoints where the concept team ensures the mech remains on-model across many contributors.

How deliverables change depending on what stage you’re in

Early, the goal is alignment. Deliverables are comparative: silhouette grids, role families, quick orthos, and language tests. Mid, the goal is feasibility. Deliverables become explanatory: transformation steps, joint logic, cutaways, weapon integration. Late, the goal is scalability. Deliverables become standardized packages: final orthos, modular hardpoints, variant rules, damage states, and paintovers that tune readability in the engine.

A common trap is staying in “illustration mode” too long. Illustration can sell a fantasy, but it often hides the information production needs. Another trap is jumping to orthos too early—locking down geometry before the role language is proven. Good mecha teams move from ambiguity-reducing deliverables to build-enabling deliverables at the moment direction is stable.

A practical handoff structure that works in both indie and AAA

A reliable mecha handoff package usually includes a clean silhouette reference, production orthos, key callouts, and one “function sheet” (cutaway or transformation, depending on the mech). It also includes a short written block of intent: role, faction, signature features that must not change, and the top three readability priorities.

In indie, that package may be compact and flexible. In AAA, the same package may be expanded into a template with naming standards, version notes, and explicit modular rules. The point is not paperwork; the point is shared understanding.

The real skill: choosing the right deliverable for the right conversation

If you’re concepting-side, your deliverables should help leadership and design choose quickly without confusion. If you’re production-side, your deliverables should help builders execute without guesswork and help the team preserve identity through constraints. Both roles require clarity, empathy for other disciplines, and a willingness to treat drawings as tools rather than trophies.

Mecha concept art is expensive to build, so the value of the concept artist is not only “taste.” The value is the ability to turn a complicated fantasy into a set of readable, playable, buildable instructions—and to keep that promise alive from the first silhouette to the last paintover.