Sijun Forums :: View topic - WIP

Cendol · Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2002 7:57 am

Hello everybody, this is my first post on this kick ass forum.
I'm practicing with my wacom and made my first drawing today. Please don't comment on the picture itself cuz I know it sucks. I just want to know how I can create a more realistic look rather than this cartoon-style look it has at the moment.
Please give me some helpful tips...thnx !

J Bradford · Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2002 2:56 pm

Continue on with your shading technique you have there, it is looking nice. Study how light falls onto objects when you shade, and practice adding more details. That can help with getting away from the technique you don't want.

Cendol · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2002 1:47 am

the thing is...i never like my drawings...lol

I always start something and hardly ever finish it...
I think a lot of people have that problem..
anyway..I'm gonna use your advice...and use more detail..thnx a lot dude

Cendol · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2002 5:51 am

Ok, here's the update..
I like it better this way...need to work more on the light...

tell me what you think..

Cendol · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2002 5:57 am

And here's a sketch I did today...
Damn, this wacom thingie sure is addicting

mitch · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2002 8:24 pm

If you made your lines thicker and thinner in spots and didnt make them so perfect it would help. Too strait and too perfectly round is whats makin it look 'toony'. I like them though. I like how they're all cute and little. Makes me feel fuzzy inside.

Monolith · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 9:35 am

@ Cendol:
For me a robot shouldn't look like he's made by one piece... Make more details... Fan- & exhaustholes, bulges for the heavy machinery, screws beside a seam, scratchs, etc...
Maybe something like this? ( okay okay... wasn't more available for 3min of work... )

( Btw... I wouldn't use that funky colors for a robot but that's just me... �:} )

Atherium · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 9:57 am

Monolith has a good pint here, the one thing I find that made a fast and significant change in my mecha drawings was knowing where to segment the limbs etc and how to segment them with style.

Another thing (remember this is just me here) that understanding where curves should and should not go, it differes from drawing to drawing but to much curvilinear line will make your robot seem cartoonish and almost deflatable, and excersiaze I recommend for this is drawing for an entire week with a straight edge and mechanical pencil ie. no curves at all. It really helped to train my eye.

I think that drawing Mecha is one of the toughest things to do because we all seem to have this sub idea in our minds of what shapes make us "believe" this is a robot, you just need to find those base elements then wrap your own style around that...man I made that sound impossible. lol.

tek9z · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 10:14 am

so u want a more realistic feel huh..?
then u should consider redesigning yur
robo/mech more logical.
for instance leave some space for the
forearm to bend by cutting some part away
in his upperarm.
also think about how his head would turn.
make room for it so it can turn around.
also the hover-part looks too small to
lift such weight up.
add some extra features as Monolith replied.
industrial references help a lot.
find some of my mechs to show what i mean
overhere..

Cendol · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 12:42 pm

ok...this took me way longer than those 3 minutes u needed...lol, and it still sucks way more too

but anyway...i think im getting somewhere here...just need to practice...i think ?

Cendol · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 11:19 pm

Guys, thnx a lot for your replies...this really helped me a lot !

Monolith: although you drew that in 3 minutes....it rocks dude!

Atherium: I think I understand what you're saying...too many round shapes does make it look cartoony..i will keep that in mind.

tek9z: I really didn't think about these industrial aspects yet...I just started drawing without thinking about it....lol..this actually was my first tablet drawing..I think I'm gonna start a new drawing and hopefully i can make it look more logical...

thnx again all..maybe everybody can post his/her robot in this post ? to get inspirated....i guess there are a lot of robot topics already but it would be cool..

Cendol · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 11:21 pm

inspired that is...lol, excuse my english..i don't use it too often

Jeise · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 11:50 pm

Not having those black outlines would really help its realism. In your first draft you didnt have as many, but then in your second you actually added them! It's hard to get right, but take away the lines and allow the contrast of the colours and shading of the mech against the background to form its own outline. Use your negative space (you should alter the colour of the background if you're worrying about the white highlights blending into the white background).

Edit: also, I see you've added extra highlights. Those highlights are appearing on the side of the mecha away from the light... which is not possible, save for a second light source (I didn't think so).

[ July 23, 2002: Message edited by: Jeise ]