22nd Mechanized Force Recon Squad Leader "Apoptosis"

I should start by mentioning that this is both my 1000th piece and my first use of Flux Pro Ultra. I'm forgoing the detailed tech specs I often put into these blurbs this time. I wanted more than just another awesome mech design. I wanted atmosphere of a kind rarely seen in mech art, to show not just the mech but the world it inhabits.

The issue many people have with mecha isn't its alleged lack of realism; they just can't relate to it. This could just be a western thing. But narcissism like this devalues others' experiences. A mech is a Platonic ideal form, a high-tech self-portrait of its pilot and its designer. Rejecting mecha is rejecting the value of self-expression, without which art is rendered pointless.

I noticed after over a month that this resembles the blue Ride Armor in Mega Man X7, which fits because X7 is often maligned, like mecha. I think both are undeserving of the amount of hate they get, but X7 definitely has it worse.

@Valoric_Empath