I was in awe. The graphics were insane for the Xbox 360, a massive leap from Reach, but what felt the most impacting was how colossal this strange new human ship looked. Rising from behind the clouds, lightning at the bow, a monstrous statement to humanity's new effort in strengthening UNSC's military after the Covenant War. Much larger than anything we had ever seen in the games prior to Halo 4. I think imposing is a good word for it. The fact that it serves as the only military aid for Chief during the entirety of the game is a statement to how badass and well-prepared it was.

Say what you will about Halo 4's MP, but the campaign was awesome (minus the ammo scarcity - how are you giving such a juicy AR with so little ammo to use it?).

Also, I'll never forgive 343 for just killing the Infinity off-screen and with so much ease. It was an entirely new class of ship, top-notch military tech, humanity's pride and joy, and... torn to pieces like it was just a go-kart in space.

First, an introduction.

My name is Glenn Israel.  I joined Bungie in 2008 as a Senior Concept Artist and designed props for Halo 3 ODST’s New Mombasa, philosophy for Halo Reach’s pioneer architecture, and almost everything new to the Covenant arsenal (five of eight elite armor sets, all new weapons, the Revenant and Corvette, et cetera).  In 2010 I moved to 343 Industries as a Senior Concept Artist and served in that role until early 2019 - mainly as a Covenant specialist as well as informal “Keeper of the Flame” for visual aspects of the franchise (providing legacy reference and compiling design theory into style guides) - when I became de facto Concept Art Lead.  I then transitioned to Art Director on Halo Infinite’s multiplayer sustain from 2022 to 2024, interim Studio Art Director in 2023, and Art Director on an unannounced project from 2024 to 2025 (yes, there was a roughly nine-month window in which I served three director-level positions concurrently).  At the time of my departure in 2025, I had contributed directly to the production of Halo games longer than any other person on the planet.

I am proud of the work the art team at 343 Industries contributed to Halo 4 and 5, and believe these to be some of the best-looking games on their respective platforms… but I understand the community opinion that these aren’t necessarily the best-looking Halo games.  Indeed, on Halo Infinite I was part of a team determined to ground the experience in the aesthetics of our legacy – if you’d like to see this team speak at length on the topic, I’d highly recommend the following video (I come in around the 20:00 mark, but the whole thing is an excellent watch) -> https://youtu.be/XTkwGw9J1Z8?si=Km-Z2oTcIoCYQXvL .  Sadly, I might add that none of these talented individuals remain at Halo Studios.

Second, I’ve made a statement in two parts on my LinkedIn page regarding my departure from the studio last October.  I’d love to copy-paste it here but it's quite long, so I hope you’ll forgive me for simply including the following links –

Post 1 - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/glenn-israel-19696485_post-1-of-2-under-the-revised-code-of-washington-activity-7445823648378273793-GTYH?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABId_gIBa3AfAEtxcdMMJ72scXm6SDgSrOE

Post 2 - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/glenn-israel-19696485_post-2-of-2-given-the-number-of-people-who-activity-7445824183718232064-y16I?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABId_gIBa3AfAEtxcdMMJ72scXm6SDgSrOE

There is more to come, and I’ll be sure to update this thread with further information in the future.  Until then, thank you for your time and your appreciation for our work through thick and thin.  I know it’s been a struggle at times, and your continued support has kept food on the table for many hard-working people who share your concerns more than you might expect.

g

This figure was originally a red Elite, but I repainted the whole thing. I have to say, JOYRIDE’s Halo figures are really well-made. Also, there was some damage on the mouth part, so I just painted it to look like a battle wound and used purple to mimic the Elite’s blood from the game.

Also it's my birthday today 🎉

These were in-development maps which were cut from retail release, for numerous reasons. Do not expect any of these to make it to the retail game.

Cut content is the standard for every single video game out there.

Remakes:

• sga_beltway (Elongation)
• va_harbor (High Ground)
• fo12_world (Forge World)

Others:

• va_desert (Corrosion)
  • developer blockout version before it was later turned into a Forge map)
• sgh_ruins
• gauntlet
• design_27 (Elevation)
• bridge
• btb_rockridge

Source: Surasia

Made in Blender, part of testing more painterly workflows and compositing =)

(it took 235 files and total of 22.5gb storage but was worth it all in the end XD)

Full rez versions here.

Cheers!

I present to you, two of my favorite Halo characters, the Master Chief and the Arbiter.

Halo 3 is one of my personal favorite games, and the Citadel cutscene where the Arbiter says, "We trade one villain for another" is one of my favorite moments in the ENTIRE franchise =)

Made in Blender, full resolution versions here.

Cheers!

What's up with these wisps coming up from Reach's surface?

Hey everyone I’ve been working on designing a Reach Fusion Coil and am looking for some insight. Sadly my computer isn’t up to par and I cannot work from reference photos in my CAD software. So I’m going back and forth from screenshots like a mildly crazy person. This consists of 27 pieces that are keyed and ready to assemble after printing.

Shot my Halo 2 Jazwares figure with some spare old computer parts.

Next up, max rank.

Next I’ll be making the major for elite and what are your suggestions on what armor I should make next?

Hey all, long time fan and just wanted to finally post this after talking with a friend.

For years, ever since we see in Halo 2 that classic ODST drop scene with Chief, I've had this minor concept in mind.

With the door blasting open, wouldn't it be very practical that it doesn't just blindly blast away? Why not engineer it to become cover as it falls away? Maybe deploy charges on top so it buries itself or deploy legs, depending on terrain?

Because honestly they're sitting there vulnerable even if it's only for mere moments. Please enjoy my amazing concept art. And my apologies if it's been suggested or done before, I searched for a little bit and didn't come across anything similar.

Full ROG build set to Halo theme with Master Chief olive and Covenant purple.

Case: ROG Hyperion

MB: ROG 870 E-E

CPU: Ryzen 9800 X 3D

AIO: ROG Ryujin Extreme III

RAM: G.SKILL Trident 2x32gb 6400 DDR5

PSU: ROG THOR III 1600W

GPU: ROG RTX 5090 ASTRAL OC

SSD: SAMSUNG 9100 PRO 4TB

OS: Windows 11 Pro

MONITOR: ROG PG27UCDM 4K OLED 240Hz

ROG MONITOR ARM

Audio: SteelSeries Arena 7, ROG Delta II on ROG Throne II Core headset stand, ROG Cetra Pro with USB-C Dongle

Mic: ROG Carnyx

Mice: Steelseries Aerox 9, ROG Spatha X

Controller: ROG Raikiri 2

Mousemat: ROG NH04 Moonstone Tempered glass mouse mat

Keyboard: ROG Azoth Extreme Keyboard

Chair: Haworth Fern Master Chief edition limited chair

Router: ROG GTBE 98 PRO

After I finished building, my PC told me "Wake me when you need me".