Crankshaft's Sketchbook

Thanks Val! It's a lot of fun but also really hard.

Ok my mentor gave me a huge challenge but says I'm ready for it (I don't agree with him). He said just to jump in and not worry too much (I tend to over think everything). So taking his advice I just started blocking things quickly on 1-2 layers. No paths or or pre planning as I usually do. Scary.

The next step is to paint the thumbnail but in a night time scene. Something just feels off. Does it read easily?

Any help would be appreciated!

Updates. Super fun with the environment! Also some quick vehicle doodles. Focused on exploring different shapes.

Mentor was sick last week so I got an extra week to work on this. Sort of worried as I wanted some critique before committing to polishing.

Cleanup nightmare!!! So many things were originally on 1-2 layers but now the clean up begins.

Just cleaning up the perspective alone was time consuming. Also spent a lot of time re designing the head and centre plinth thing. Still not happy with it, it doesn't really match the story and environment. So many problems and headaches. I miss my truck!

I'm liking this one, crankshaft, it looks like a piece of concept art for a video game.
Keep working those values to separate the depth, especially at the bottom left; that second character isn't quite noticable at first glance. But don't be fretting too much about doubts and problems, just let it develop naturally.

Implemented some painful critique from my mentor. Was really tough (came close to giving up) but he said that struggle means you're improving. Unfortunately that's it for the mentorship so any advice would be appreciated.



Thanks Val! Your words are encouraging, especially at a time like this I'm get to that guy soon.

Update on my environment. Clarified the story a bit more by replacing the stone with a tombstone instead. The symbol there is the Buddhist symbol of reincarnation. Crit away.

Looking good Crank,
You have a very clear image there that is very easy to read. The environment is solid, the action is clear and the colour scheme is excellent.
The longer coat on the character at bottom left now shows his movement much better though I do think he is lit too well now (but I'm sure you know that already). The rim light that you have started to add to the objects and dragon in the foreground are working nicely already. Your main character is well grounded in the scene and the flagstones he stands on are very convincing in their slight irregularities.
The only other crit I can venture right now is regarding the symbol. It appears at first glance to be emitting a light of its own. When I looked a little harder though there is a shaft of light that seems to come from the tombstones plinth. A little more clarification on that would be good.
Otherwise I think this is probably your strongest work yet! Keep it up!

Edge control and cleanup nightmare! But it's super fun, I feel like I'm creating my own IP/world. Also some anatomy.

Atto wrote:

Looking good Crank,
You have a very clear image there that is very easy to read. The environment is solid, the action is clear and the colour scheme is excellent.
The longer coat on the character at bottom left now shows his movement much better though I do think he is lit too well now (but I'm sure you know that already). The rim light that you have started to add to the objects and dragon in the foreground are working nicely already. Your main character is well grounded in the scene and the flagstones he stands on are very convincing in their slight irregularities.
The only other crit I can venture right now is regarding the symbol. It appears at first glance to be emitting a light of its own. When I looked a little harder though there is a shaft of light that seems to come from the tombstones plinth. A little more clarification on that would be good.
Otherwise I think this is probably your strongest work yet! Keep it up!

Thanks man! Your words are very encouraging! Thanks for taking the time to say that. This piece is beyond my limits so I'm anxious if it can be better than my tank

Updates. I'm dying to get back to my truck and kit bash ship. Just dying to get back to machines in general. So I did a bunch of quick sketching from imagination. Also included is a page of the thinking behind the temple design.