Introduction: Unveiling the Tank Head Phenomenon
In the pantheon of mecha art and alternate history lore, few creations have captured the imagination as vividly as the Tank Head. Born from the inventive mind of concept artist Emerson Tung and expanded through the collaborative efforts of writer Tim Popelier, the Tank Head universe melds the raw power of World War II–era machinery with towering, anthropomorphic battle armors. This fusion gave rise to the Neverwar—a perpetual global conflict waged not by foot soldiers or tanks on tracks, but by colossal walking fortresses. As the Tank Head artbook, TANKHEAD: Mechanical Encyclopedia, prepares to launch its deluxe hardcover edition, enthusiasts around the globe are preparing to delve deeper into the origins, design, and impact of these mechanical behemoths.
In this article, we explore the Tank Head phenomenon from its humble inception during a casual “drink-and-draw” session to the meticulous world-building that underpins its alternate history. We’ll examine how the Tank Head designs combine familiar military hardware with futuristic sensibilities, investigate the lore of the Neverwar factions, and uncover the technological innovations that make tank heads both plausible and fantastical. By the end, you’ll appreciate why Tank Head stands as a testament to creative collaboration and why its legacy will endure in mecha art circles for years to come.
Origins: The Accidental Birth of a Mecha Icon
The story of Tank Head begins not in a top-secret design studio, but in the vibrant atmosphere of San Francisco’s artist community. In 2014, Emerson Tung—later lauded for his work on DOOM Eternal and Warhammer 40K—sketched a simple doodle of a robot whose head resembled a tank turret. This playful fusion struck a chord, and from that first drawing, the concept evolved rapidly. What started as a whimsical caricature grew into a sprawling mechanical universe when Tim Popelier joined the project, weaving narrative depth around Tung’s visual inventions.
Their collaboration birthed the Neverwar, a fictional conflict where humanity’s greatest military minds had turned away from conventional tanks and aircraft in favor of immense walking armors, each uniquely suited to its faction’s culture and technology. Early concept art featured rough sketches of quadrupedal walkers, bipedal battle frames, and even lumbering centaur-like hybrids. The Tank Head’s signature feature—a turret atop a mechanized humanoid body—served as a symbolic and practical bridge between tank tactics and mecha mobility.
As concept sketches proliferated on social media and in industry portfolios, an enthusiastic community coalesced around the designs. Fans began sharing mock battle diagrams, fan fiction, and even rudimentary 3D models. This groundswell of interest convinced Tung and Popelier to package their creations into a definitive artbook, ensuring the Tank Head legacy would endure beyond the ephemeral trends of online galleries.
The Neverwar: An Endless Conflict of Ideals and Innovation
At the core of Tank Head’s narrative lies the Neverwar, an unending conflict among three principal factions: the Britonica Alliance, the Greater Kyzerian Empire, and the Yamaichi Dominion. Each faction’s tank heads reflect its strategic doctrine, aesthetics, and cultural heritage.
The Britonica Alliance favors heavy armor and long-range artillery. Their tank heads often feature massive gyrostabilized cannons, layered frontal plating, and reinforced leg joints built to hold defensive positions. In contrast, the Kyzerian Empire’s designs embrace sleek, aggressive lines and high mobility. Their tank heads pack rapid-fire gauss cannons and auxiliary jet boosters for swift flanking maneuvers. The Yamaichi Dominion, drawing from Eastern influences, employs zen-inspired symmetry, multi-barreled grenade racks, and advanced electronic warfare suites to disrupt enemy communications and targeting.
This tripartite struggle plays out across diverse theatres of war—from steel-grey urban ruins and dense pine forests to scorched deserts and snowbound tundras. Each environment tests the tank heads’ capabilities, revealing weaknesses in trackers when terrain shifts or deficiencies in cooling systems under desert sun. The Neverwar’s perpetual nature ensures that innovation never rests; every defeat becomes an opportunity to trial new armor composites, energy cells, or weapon configurations.
Design Philosophy: Where History Meets Futurism
What sets Tank Head apart from other mecha franchises is its rigorous commitment to mechanical plausibility. Tung and Popelier conducted extensive research into historical armored warfare, studying tank chassis, turret mechanics, and track failure modes. These insights shaped every articulation joint, powertrain layout, and weapon mount in their designs.
Rather than opting for traditional continuous tracks, the designers chose powered legs, arguing that a walking machine avoids the vulnerability of track hinges and sprockets. Instead of conventional projectile cannons, many tank heads utilize a gyrojet-inspired system: small rocket projectiles accelerate within the barrel, reducing recoil and enhancing sustained fire rates. This choice draws from 1960s experimental firearms, repurposed into an epic scale where each shot becomes a guided missile hug.
Visually, the designs marry brutalist industrial motifs—rivet lines, access hatches, and hydraulic pistons—with elegant, almost biological silhouettes. Some tank heads sport crab-like legs that allow sideways strafing, while others possess humanoid limbs affording dexterity in wielding melee weapons or deploying field generators. These flourishes enable dynamic battlefield roles: artillery, cavalry, engineering support, and command control.
Technical Innovations: The Anatomy of a Tank Head
Dive beneath the plating, and the anatomy of a tank head reveals a marvel of hypothetical engineering. At the center sits the fusion reactor—a compact but potent power source derived from arc reactor concepts. Surrounding it are modular power conduits, heat sinks, and electromagnetic coils that channel energy to weapon systems and locomotion.
Mobility comes from advanced servo-actuators and magnetorheological fluid dampers, providing both explosive sprints and shock-absorbing landings. The sensory array integrates infrared, LIDAR, and electronic warfare modules, granting situational awareness in low-visibility conditions. Defensive measures include reactive armor panels that detonate microcharges upon impact and nano-coated self-sealing composites to patch breaches on the fly.
Communication between tank head and pilot is realized through a neural link helmet, allowing intuitive control of limbs and weapons. Tactical overlays project holographic HUDs, while AI co-pilots assist with threat identification and ballistic calculations. Field reports in the artbook detail how these systems collectively turn individual pilots into near-unstoppable weapons of war.
The Artbook: TANKHEAD: Mechanical Encyclopedia
In July 2025, UDON Entertainment will release TANKHEAD: Mechanical Encyclopedia, a comprehensive 232-page hardcover artbook. Edited by Tim Popelier with cover art by Emerson Tung, the book compiles over a hundred fully rendered tank head designs, annotated technical breakdowns, faction histories, and never-before-seen concept sketches.
Available in Standard and Deluxe editions, the artbook caters to collectors. The Deluxe edition includes a two-sided poster map of Neverwar battlefronts, sticker sheets of faction emblems, and art prints showcasing premium tank head models. The attention to detail—from metallic ink highlights to fold-out schematics—underscores the designers’ passion for craftsmanship.
Community and Legacy: Inspiring a Generation of Designers
Tank Head has transcended its status as an art project to become a pillar of mecha design education. Students in concept art courses dissect tank head schematics to learn about form and function. Fan conventions host Tank Head model-building workshops, where enthusiasts craft 1:35 scale replicas using resin prints and LED lighting kits.
Online forums buzz with fan fiction, battle reports, and even fan-made animations depicting skirmishes between Britonica siege walkers and Yamaichi stealth frames. Some fans have ported tank head designs into 3D games and modded them into popular mecha simulators, ensuring the spirit of Tank Head thrives across digital platforms.
Conclusion: Marching Forward Into Mechanical Myth
From a single doodle to a definitive mechanical encyclopedia, Tank Head exemplifies the synergy of creative vision and fan-driven momentum. By merging real-world military technology with imaginative mecha concepts, Emerson Tung and Tim Popelier have crafted a universe that resonates with artists, gamers, and historians alike.
As we anticipate the arrival of TANKHEAD: Mechanical Encyclopedia, one truth stands clear: the legacy of Tank Head will endure, fueled by the endless ingenuity of its community. In the Neverwar, tanks may stop moving—but the march of mechanical invention never ends. And for every new design revealed, a new chapter in this epic saga unfolds.