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Here is an odd little aside, since I did get one question about it a while ago. This is my process of drawing a battlemech (or at least the very basic steps).

1) Silhouette: I try to find lots of reference material, and draw up a very basic design, usually quite small so I can draw it quick.

2) Sizing: Then I will compare it to my pre-existing mechs, usually taking a cue from mechs the same size, or close to it.

3) Line Drawing: this is the fun part, figuring out how it will look, the shapes involved, and often using pre-drawn weapon systems (like the medium lasers and the missiles). I use a lot of reference pictures at this time, but also have a drawing book on hand to sketch out shapes on the fly (pencil is still faster than pixelling)

4) Shading: this might be one of the most time-taking parts, shading on each line, and making the thing look a bit more three-dimensional (like the lines on the shoulders making it look cylindrical).

5) Camo Swatch Preparing: picking out Near panels and Far panels for use with the substitution tool and a pre-designed camo swatch. At this point I also made the insignia on the leg, and applied and shaded around it before panels were coloured.

6) Camo Swatch Applying: usually I sorta clip sections of the mech apart, if I cant fit it all on the camo swatch. I took the legs off for the Duan Gung, and did those together on a separate camo swatch (the camo swatches are still real big, and take up a lot of room).

7) Colour all the rest: all the bits that were not coloured by the camo swatch; hands, gun barrels, cockpit glass, engine intakes. I will often use the substitution tool and a bright colour to make sure I don't miss any.

Thats about it, I also gave an example of some camo swatch that I used for the basis of this one, but I changed the colours involved. This one is an older one, used for smaller stuff, so I had to make one about 6 times bigger.

Anyways, I hope people get a kick out of it. Cheers!

Description

Here is an odd little aside, since I did get one question about it a while ago. This is my process of drawing a battlemech (or at least the very basic steps).

1) Silhouette: I try to find lots of reference material, and draw up a very basic design, usually quite small so I can draw it quick.

2) Sizing: Then I will compare it to my pre-existing mechs, usually taking a cue from mechs the same size, or close to it.

3) Line Drawing: this is the fun part, figuring out how it will look, the shapes involved, and often using pre-drawn weapon systems (like the medium lasers and the missiles). I use a lot of reference pictures at this time, but also have a drawing book on hand to sketch out shapes on the fly (pencil is still faster than pixelling)

4) Shading: this might be one of the most time-taking parts, shading on each line, and making the thing look a bit more three-dimensional (like the lines on the shoulders making it look cylindrical).

5) Camo Swatch Preparing: picking out Near panels and Far panels for use with the substitution tool and a pre-designed camo swatch. At this point I also made the insignia on the leg, and applied and shaded around it before panels were coloured.

6) Camo Swatch Applying: usually I sorta clip sections of the mech apart, if I cant fit it all on the camo swatch. I took the legs off for the Duan Gung, and did those together on a separate camo swatch (the camo swatches are still real big, and take up a lot of room).

7) Colour all the rest: all the bits that were not coloured by the camo swatch; hands, gun barrels, cockpit glass, engine intakes. I will often use the substitution tool and a bright colour to make sure I don't miss any.

Thats about it, I also gave an example of some camo swatch that I used for the basis of this one, but I changed the colours involved. This one is an older one, used for smaller stuff, so I had to make one about 6 times bigger.

Anyways, I hope people get a kick out of it. Cheers!