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mostlymade In reply to adamtheant1 [2009-12-09 20:43:01 +0000 UTC]

To be honest, these are the first real Mechs I have drawn myself, so I am not seasoned either. However, this may help;
If you have any Mech toys, try drawing them, or drawing from images is fine, but make sure you aren't just copying them. Sketch a figure in motion and use the image as reference for where things go.
The first couple times you draw a mech from reference you will be trying to get all the details and make it look just like the picture/toy. Then draw it again. and Again. You will have spent so much time looking at it that the shapes are familiar and you can start drawing them however you want. That's how it worked with the Eva Heads. I didn't know Unit 0's head that well, but I drew it so much I knew all the details and could do it without reference.
Play with mechs, like in the Unit 02 heads I drew a couple and said 'what would it look like with a huge chin? Or huge eyes?' and the rest just came out.
Also, in terms of books, I cannot recommend enough '50 robots to Draw and Paint' by Keith Thompson. Don't let the cover fool you, the stuff inside is awesome. He has great illustrations full of detail and good explanations and examples of breaking a mech down to it's basic shapes. He is also here on DA, you can check him out here:
[link]

If you are looking to draw more anime-inspired mechas, I would just browse around the net. There are a lot of bad 'How To' books out there on drawing anime stuff which are done by amateurs. Don't buy them until you look through it and make sure it's something you want, because they are never as cool as the pictures you see of Gundam, etc.
Hope this helps. Best wishes.
Peace and Robots,
-Ian

He has a lot more robot stuff, it's just not posted here.

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adamtheant1 In reply to mostlymade [2009-12-09 21:32:35 +0000 UTC]

Cheers for the detailed answer
What I find difficult about drawing mecha is that, while they often have humanoid shapes, they don't follow the same proportions. So I think I'll do try squash/stretch/distorting (maybe add wheels ) a basic figure and see how it comes out. Thanks again for your answer.

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