Crankshaft's Sketchbook

More anatomy studies. Wip of my spider mech. Focusing on big forms and proportions then I'll tighten things up. There's a lot to think about, how many people does it hold, where to put the doors, is it a slow mech or fast mech etc. Also got some pics to suggest the mood of my engine room.

Testing out some color with my engine room. It still feels off but I think it's much better. Maybe too much saturation? It has a candy like feel but I want a dark hot evil feel. Critique away.

Yes, much better! The white area stands out really well now against all the other different saturated hues and the little blue touches add a little bit extra and make the white seem different and more varied. When you throw some of that cool glow onto the support structures to light the edges then it'll make it pop even further.

I see what you mean about "candy". I think it's perhaps the predominance of orange, even in the darks (which goes a bit browny.) If you make the transitions go to a more reddish dark then it might look a bit more hot and sweaty.

Thanks Val! About the cool glow to the support beams you mean adding a rim light? That sounds like a great idea! Thanks for your help! I'm nearing completion of the engine room (finally) but I think I surpassed my engine room which was my main goal.

More anatomy fail.

Yes, that's the kind of thing I was thinking about, but not just on the beams. The structure that holds the central wheel in place has some really nice detailing (I think they're called "greebles" aren't they?) and picking out one side of these with the subtle blue light would add some more dimension to what is otherwise a dark area.

Thanks Val! I get what you mean now. I've added some blue light to the back of the turbine and it looks great. Thanks for all the help! However because I've given myself so many assignments everything is incomplete and not really presentable. Expect fewer but more concentrated updates.

More anatomy fail.

More anatomy studies. Hours at work are getting longer as it's tire season. Design work takes so long but I guess quality is more important than quantity. Updates on my spider mech coming soon!

My anatomy is really weak as you can tell I'm using my strengths (like perspective) to compensate but then the figure starts looking like a robot instead. Need to work more on gesture as I'm realizing how stiff everything is. I may do things in stages where I post the initial gesture then the full pose side by side after to make it easier for critique.

Big update on the mech. Focusing on one part at a time. This looks small but was deceptively hard and time consuming for many reasons:

-It has to move in multiple directions and axis
-The perspective is very hard, even harder with moving parts, you have to "imagine" the parts moving in your head. You have to consider the range of motion as well.
-It has to look like it can work and support heavy weight
-It has to be visually balanced
-It's a tight close up line drawing of a man made object which means every nut and bolt has to be designed. No loose suggested brush strokes.
-It has to match the story. It's a military mech so no exposed soft parts such as pistons.
-Shape/form language (?) I'm going for a modern clean mech with that's boxy and angular so I have to be careful what shapes I use. Eg using too many pipes will give it a steam punk look, the opposite of something modern.
-There are no refs from life of mechs so I had to borrow pieces from all over the place and some how harmonize them in one piece.





10 hours of references every day, 50 hours a week! No need for google

Schoolism assignment. Critique away.

It's always difficult to critique school assignments without knowing the specific criteria that were set. Also any feedback may be something that will be covered in a later assignment and you don't want to pre-empt or undermine the curriculum.
Having said that though, the one thing that stands out from this pic is the need for deeper, darker occlusion shadows.

But I'm looking forward to see what things you produce during this course.