Crankshaft's Sketchbook

It's great to see this mentor thing working for you, crank., it's clear that you're learning and progressing quickly, and enjoying it too.
Your work on this new mech is lovely and clean and this development process shows the extra design and thought you've put into it.
I think the end result in the image is much more understandable than your earlier stuff and reads well as a thumbnail as well as a full size picture. Well done.

Quick update on my mech wip before bed. Getting nervous as the deadline is approaching . Still so much to do. But this is probably my coolest piece so far! My brain's fried, time for sleep

Valence wrote:

It's great to see this mentor thing working for you, crank., it's clear that you're learning and progressing quickly, and enjoying it too.
Your work on this new mech is lovely and clean and this development process shows the extra design and thought you've put into it.
I think the end result in the image is much more understandable than your earlier stuff and reads well as a thumbnail as well as a full size picture. Well done.

Thanks Val! It's tough and I'm burning the midnight oil. I'm basically working 2 full time jobs by now so all I want to do is give up I've noticed my values have improved a lot.

crankshaft wrote:

Thanks Val! It's tough and I'm burning the midnight oil. I'm basically working 2 full time jobs by now so all I want to do is give up I've noticed my values have improved a lot.

Crank you're my hero, i'm off work disabled and I can't even do as much as you do working two full time jobs !
Just think of how hard it is for you, and you said you want to give up, but after it's over you will gain so much more that you will retain for life ! So don't sweat this small period of time it's going to take to aquire that skill/knowledge, as everyone is saying your stuff is improving quickly because of it, and that's the biggest modivation to keep going when you actually see yourself benefiting and improving ! I especially like the plane, even tho the latest mech design is looking awesome!

Updates. My mentorship is ending soon then I've got some CGMA classes with Robert Chang. Busy busy!

Some advice I learned from my mentor: Concept art is really misleading to what most people think. I understand what is but most people don't. It's all about problem solving and engineering, you are making blueprints for a product. A lot of times when time is limited a concept artist would outsource a rough painting or sketch for another artist to flesh out in greater detail. Or sometimes a concept artist would do a line drawing then post pics of texture then point arrows to those textures. Ie make this metal. 90% of concept art is very rough and barely presentable. There's lots of great photo real art there but not a lot of good designs. Here's an example of how a designer thinks vs an artist/illustrator:

Designer/engineer: Let's make a rwd car. So the back tires need to be wider to increase grip. We could put the engine in the back, to put more weight and hence traction on the back wheels. But then the tires could wear faster and the car could over steer/fish tail. We also have to put huge intakes on the back to allow air flow to the engine or else it'll over heat. And so on. Notice how nothing about art was said. Ie nothing about vanishing points or horizon lines.

Artist/illustrator: Let's make the car red, the color of rage and malice. Then let's make the camera angle with us looking up at it, to give it an epic feeling of power. Let's place the vanishing points close to each other to really force perspective and make the car feel like it's coming at us.

So really understand what it is that you like to avoid putting effort in the wrong places. If all you do is spend 100 hours a day making beautiful pictures and forgo design then you will struggle to find work as a concept artist. It's also a good idea to study your passions well, beyond the surface. Ie Did you know that boxer engines are flatter allowing for a lower center of gravity? That improves handling, which is one of the main reasons Porsches are successful in that field. Fundamentals will always come in due time but design is very non linear.

Some crappy sketches practicing more dynamic perspectives and views.



Color update of my mech. Not happy with the color palette but my mentor did some quick post processing (not shown) and within 30 min the whole piece looks like something on Artstation! Seriously! Stay tuned, I'm going to repeat his results (so that I can learn how he did it) and post it soon, 2-3 days.



Fail.

Thanks Micro! Your words are very encouraging! You're so right, I remember Feng Zhu saying that to be a game artist you will have to only sacrifice a small chunk of your life for that dream job.

UPDATE ON MY MECH! HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? ALL THOSE LATE NIGHTS ARE FINALLY PAYING OFF! IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING FROM ARTSTATION!

hahaha wow! I mean WOW! I can't find anything to crit nice job Crank!

Terrific work and progress, Crankshaft.
The use of cool reflected light on the legs adds that extra dimension and polish to the image. I know that technique has been discussed before in previous posts but now you seem to be able to make these ideas work practically rather than just in theory.
That transition from knowing something and then being able to actually do it is a very important step and I think you've done that now.
Can't wait for your next one!