Sarah Clarity Studios

Chapter 3: Faction Livery & Manufacturer Trim Levels

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Faction Livery & Manufacturer Trim Levels for Mecha Concept Artists

Faction livery is the social identity of a mech: who owns it, who funds it, what doctrine it serves, and what it wants you to feel when you see it. Manufacturer trim levels are the industrial identity: which company built it, what tier of parts it shipped with, and how standardized or bespoke its surfaces are. When you combine these two layers well, you get a machine that reads clearly at gameplay distance, carries believable world logic up close, and can be scaled across an entire fleet without collapsing into inconsistency.

This article is written equally for concept artists on the concepting side (defining factions, brands, and visual systems) and on the production side (building repeatable livery rules, decal kits, and trim variants that downstream teams can apply reliably). We’ll focus on how icons, numbers, decals, and hazard language fit into livery and trim, rather than treating them as afterthought stickers.

The key idea: livery and trim are two different “voices” on one body

Think of a mech’s surface as a conversation between the builder and the operator. The manufacturer voice is what arrives from the factory: paint architecture, clear coat, panel labeling conventions, safety baseline, material stack, and the kind of precision the company can afford. The faction voice is what gets applied afterward: unit colors, emblems, tactical markings, kill tallies, local camouflage, and field-level modifications.

When these voices are distinct, the asset feels layered and real. When they are mixed randomly, the design feels like a single pass of decoration without history.

On the concepting side, you decide what the manufacturer voice looks like and what the faction voice looks like. On the production side, you separate them into controllable layers so they can be swapped and updated without repainting the whole mech.

Start with a “factory base” that is readable before any faction paint

A strong factory base is neutral, disciplined, and built for legibility. It should support silhouette and value grouping with calm, repeatable rules.

Factory base usually includes a dominant neutral (industrial gray, off-white primer, dark composite), a secondary accent used sparingly (edge bands, access doors, standardized warning plates), and a consistent approach to labeling: small serial plates, standardized stencil text, and baseline hazard pictograms around truly dangerous zones.

If the factory base already reads as a coherent product, then faction livery can be added on top without breaking the machine. This is especially important for production, because it gives surfacing a stable material stack and gives designers a safe fallback when faction overlays are removed or damaged.

Manufacturer trim levels: what they mean visually

Trim levels are a way to communicate budget, prestige, and intended customer.

A low trim level is utilitarian. It uses fewer color breaks, more visible fasteners, more exposed primer or simple paint, and straightforward labeling. Decals are often stenciled or vinyl plates applied quickly. Hazard markings are functional, sometimes blunt, and often high contrast.

A mid trim level has refined material transitions and better fit-and-finish. Panel gaps are cleaner, paint edges are masked, and decals may be printed under a thin clear coat. Numbers and compliance markings look standardized and consistent. Accent colors might appear on access doors, vents, and brand “signature” locations.

A high trim level is premium and controlled. The surface has deliberate gloss management, metallic or pearlescent coatings, subtle micro-graphics, and tightly integrated brand motifs. Markings are often quieter in color but still legible through material contrast. Compliance plates are crisp. Hazard labels may be integrated into the industrial design rather than slapped on.

On the concepting side, define trim levels early so you can communicate class differences at a glance. On the production side, trim levels become shader/material presets plus decal set variants.

Brand signatures: how manufacturers “sign” a mech

Manufacturers want their machines to be recognizable even when faction paint covers most surfaces. That recognition comes from brand signatures.

A signature might be a specific shape of hazard plate, a consistent corner notch on label panels, a recurring stripe placement around intakes, or a distinctive typographic style for serials. It might be a particular way the company uses accent color: a narrow band along the shoulder shells, a colored service hatch, or a high-contrast ring around sensor clusters.

Brand signatures should be subtle and repeatable. If it’s too loud, it competes with faction identity. If it’s too unique per asset, it stops functioning as a brand.

Production tip: deliver a tiny “brand guide” with a few recurring placements and a set of reusable decals (manufacturer logo, serial plate styles, inspection stamps, caution plate templates).

Faction livery: design for role, readability, and doctrine

Faction livery should make the mech readable as part of a group. This is where you encode allegiance, role, and squad.

At distance, faction livery is primarily big shape and value. Choose where the faction primary color lives (large armor fields), where the secondary accent lives (shoulders, chest stripe, thigh plates), and where neutrals remain (mechanical core, joints, undersides). The “big read” should not require the viewer to interpret small decals.

At mid distance, faction livery is unit identity: emblems, large numbers, role stripes, and recognizable icon families.

At close distance, faction livery is story and wear: hand-painted touch-ups, mismatched panels, updated squad tags, or removed insignia after defection.

If a faction has a doctrine, let it shape the livery. Scouts may favor minimal markings and lower contrast. Siege units may carry bold recoil and blast hazard zones. Support units may include high-visibility patches for friendly recognition and rescue.

Icons and numbers: separate “brand” from “unit”

A common mistake is letting icons and numbers become a mixed soup. A clean system separates them.

Manufacturer icons communicate engineering realities: grounding points, lift points, service access, high voltage, pressure, hot surfaces, rotating hazards. They look standardized and repeatable across all customers.

Faction icons communicate social realities: squad glyphs, honor marks, role identifiers, kill tallies, mission badges. They look culturally shaped and vary by unit.

Numbers split similarly. Manufacturer numbers include serials, part revisions, torque specs, load ratings, pressure values. Faction numbers include unit IDs, squad numbers, or call signs.

When you keep this separation, you can tell a story just by looking at what layers are present, overwritten, or damaged.

Decals as layers: factory → depot → field

Think of decal application as a lifecycle.

Factory decals are clean, aligned, and integrated. Depot decals are standardized but may be applied under time pressure, with small misalignments or slightly different material sheen. Field decals are improvised: stencils, hand-painted patches, tape masks, or scavenged labels.

On the concepting side, this gives you believable variation across a squad. On the production side, it becomes a variant plan: “fresh,” “operational,” “battle-worn,” and “field-repaired,” each with its own decal wear and misalignment rules.

Hazard language: what changes by faction and what should not

Hazard language is both universal and political.

Some hazards are physically real and should appear regardless of faction: intakes, exhausts, pinch points, high-voltage panels, pressurized accumulators, and weapon recoil zones. Removing these labels might be a story point, but it should have consequences.

Other hazards are procedural and can vary by culture: warning severity, label density, the presence of multilingual or symbol-only systems, and whether the organization cares more about crew safety or asset protection.

A ruthless faction might keep only the labels that protect the machine. A humanitarian faction might overlabel for crew safety. A corporate manufacturer might enforce baseline compliance icons because they don’t want liability.

Visually, keep macro hazard bands disciplined. Reserve strong warning stripes for true danger zones, and use quieter icon plates for less critical hazards so the mech doesn’t become a costume of stripes.

Trim levels meeting faction paint: where the conflicts happen

Faction repainting and manufacturer finish often fight each other. That friction is where you get believable surface storytelling.

Premium trim with clear coat will show faction paint as a secondary layer: it may sit on top as a matte field-applied coat, or it may be masked into the clear-coated system for official customers.

Low trim will show faction paint as patchwork: primer peeking through, overspray, and quick stencils. Decals might be applied directly to rough surfaces and collect grime at edges.

If the faction is wealthy, they might order “official” factory faction livery. If they’re not, they repaint in the field. This single choice changes the entire texture of the world.

“Manufacturer-as-faction”: corporate security and house brands

Sometimes the manufacturer is the faction. Corporate security mechs often carry the strongest brand voice: large logos, standardized unit numbers, and consistent hazard and compliance labels. This is a gift for readability because branding systems already function like livery.

In these cases, the trim level communicates corporate hierarchy. Entry-level security units look cheaper and more worn. Executive protection units look premium, cleaner, and more controlled.

Designing for a fleet: livery rules that scale across chassis variants

The test of a good livery system is whether it can scale across multiple chassis.

On the concepting side, build rules, not one-off solutions. Decide where emblems go on “billboard plates” that most chassis share: shoulder outer shells, chest plates, hip plates, and back panels. Decide where large numbers go. Decide which areas remain quiet.

On the production side, create templates. A placement diagram for each chassis family is ideal, but even a general rule sheet helps: “Emblem on left shoulder; unit number on right shoulder and left thigh; role stripe across upper chest; hazard bands only around intakes/exhaust and weapon recoil zones.”

When livery is templated, you get consistency across a squad without having to repaint every asset manually.

Variants and trim kits: how to show upgrades without redesigning the mech

Trim kits are a powerful way to show progression. A mech can move from base trim to premium trim through upgraded armor packages, better coatings, and refined labeling.

Visually, upgrades can add refined edge bands, improved material contrast, cleaner decal integration, and more controlled accent placement. They can also change hazard language density if the upgrade includes new safety features.

Faction variants can be layered on top: winter camo overlays, desert dust filters, maritime corrosion protection, or stealth night-ops low-contrast markings.

In production, this is where modularity shines. If your decals, material stacks, and livery overlays are separated, you can swap trim levels and faction skins without breaking the base asset.

A practical workflow: concepting side to production side

On the concepting side, start by defining three things: manufacturer identity (brand signatures and labeling style), faction identity (big read livery rules), and trim levels (base/mid/premium differences). Then do quick thumbnails that test far-distance readability first. Only after the big read is solved should you layer in numbers, icons, and hazard language.

On the production side, convert the system into deliverables: a decal sheet split into manufacturer and faction layers, a typography and icon guide, a livery placement diagram, and a trim-level material preset list. Include variants for wear states and environment adaptation.

If you treat faction livery and manufacturer trim as layered voices with consistent rules, you get mechs that read instantly in gameplay, reward close-ups with believable details, and remain scalable across an entire fleet and pipeline.