Robot/Mech scene help
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Hey everyone! I'm working on an illustration for my husband for his birthday. He's been into BattleTech/giant robots forever-and-a-day, so I thought I would paint a mech for him.
I'm struggling with this sooooo much. I pretty much only do cute things (kids, animals, etc.). I've never drawn a robot in my life, let alone a giant robot in a war zone. I know I need to work on getting everything to be the same scale. Any other thoughts on how I can make this something that will blow hubby out of the water?
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@kaylahh Did you try searching for "mech concept art" in google image search? I found a lot of nice mech designs and some battle scenes that can help you define your mech and the overall composition/feel for the scene.
Also, what kind of mechs/robots does your husband like? From your drawing looks like its more the machine kind of robot like in "Mechwarriors". There is also the more humanoid kind, like in "Gundam". Searching for these two may also help you find more references.
Alternatively, if your husband loves your cute drawings, you can make a fusion of styles. Do a Mech in a cute way. Search google for "cute mech" or "cute mech concept art" and you will find a lot of cute cool machines/robots!
Hope this helps a bit.
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Have you looked at Jake's course "Drawing Robots and Machinery"? I haven't gone through it myself but I would imagine it would be a great place to start. Also look at how Jake and other artists have designed their mechs and robots. Don't feel that you have to do it all yourself.
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@diego_biosteam I did look at some concept art, but all of the poses I found were very static. I'll try looking at some battle scenes and see if that gives me some more inspiration.
My husband's favorite mechs are the "chicken walker" kind. Mechwarrior and BattleTech share a lot of the same robots, so that's kind of what I'm shooting for. The mech I drew is called "Timberwolf" or sometimes "Mad Cat." It's his favorite. He gravitates toward the less human-looking robots.
Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it.
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@gary-wilkinson I didn't realize there was a class on that. I'll go watch it. Thanks so much!
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Maybe try a different perspective on the city and of your robot can help with mood and drama/excitement.
If you use Pinterest, I search there for "research" inspiration till my head is happily clogged up lols. That pumps me up to getting me thinking and scribbling ideas down.
I also really like how Jake combines animals with mechanics! It provides more of an emotional connection for me personally.
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@kaylahh
Making art for people you love is awesome! I know I get inspired by making something a family member would like.
Using diagonal lines in your composition will help give a more active, exciting feel to the image. Did you see Ashely Moore's entry in the Travel Contest? http://forum.svslearn.com/topic/5748/april-contest-travel/55 ( @artwithashley )
I also saw a YouTube video on this exact topic by Mark Crilley, so that could be helpful for you! (Oh, when I went to look it up, I see that it was a Godzilla drawing--close enough!) 3-Point Perspective: Worm's Eye View [Narrated Tutorial], by markcrilley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsfK2ZkrEmc
Looking at both of the above examples, you'll see that none of the horizontal or vertical lines are parallel to the edges of the page. Try printing them out and drawing over them to find the perspective lines in a few places to get ideas on different perspectives you could use to create motion in your piece. I really like how both of them chose a lower perspective to emphasize the height of the city buildings.
If your monster robot is in the foreground, maybe you could add some destruction around it, such as overturned vehicles, or a car being crushed under its feet.
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@heather-boyd Thanks! I think you're totally right. The straight on side-view is too static.
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@miriam Thank you so much! I'll check out the video. Thanks for the perspective advice! I like the idea of adding more destruction, too. I agree that a killer robot would probably cause more damage. My husband also informed me that this particular robot has lasers in both arms, so that's something else I think I'll be playing around with to maybe add some diagonal lines.
