Hi, this is a step by step making of my "All Terrain Tactical Mech" concept design. This depicts an all terrain mech, design to help and coordinate land troops, to support with energy and rockets weapons.
In the beginning I just play with the shapes (if I don't have a drawn sketch already), to find a better design.
Once I nail something good I start to polish that area in few steps. I also usually change design on the go if I find better shapes. It's very useful to start playing with scale or invert tools to obtain fast results to see which works best.
Also, it can be useful to add photographic details from a library on your drive or web, to nail some proportions. They don't have to be polished or final, they can be altered later on.
A color palette is always necessary when establishing 1st color tones. I usually carry this color scheme layer until the end of the work.
Add contrast to the artwork by changing the background to some complementary color, or even add some pictures with clouds or other environment to start with.
Always establish (from the start) the direction where the light comes from, so you can keep shading constant over the work.
The most important thing, when designing this kind of hard surface vehicles, is to be original and keep new visuals, avoiding clichés or already explored shapes and designs.
Whenever you feel your design get similar with something you've seen over the web change it; for this is important to be aware of everything out there, from time to time have a pause and see what others create, what's trending or not. This is also useful to compare your art with others and establish your current artistic level and where you want to go from here.
Evaluate your work from time to time, it's the online way one artist can evolve.
Always think about the functionality of your vehicle/object/details, compare them to real life vehicles or devices, read about military devices (in this case) to see how they function and what is their purpose.
I always create my designs with this word in mind: epic. Designs have to stand out from the crowd, avoid doing the same thing everybody do.
This vehicle was designed to help land troops in remote areas, maybe harsh terrain. A device this large not only that should be capable to sustain itself (so he can't depend on peoples or other machines to function) but it also have to help others with ammo, communications, shelter, energy or even food ratio on the field. You pretty much can think of anything you want if it's not a real life reproduction.
I designed this one so it can do pretty much everything on the field. It is partially driven by a pilot from its "head" hatch), have few entry hatches or doors at several heights. The device from the tow it's the main weapon, which is also an ammo carrier, it can also work independent from the main droid.
Adding soldiers around, sky and background vehicle.
Top image with some crops from finished work. Bottom image is the finished piece. Since it was designed as a concept it can stay in the center of the image, even occupy entire canvas so the 3D artist which might model this later can have a better look at every detail. This is why in general I don't leave loose areas if the finished piece have to be a concept.
In case you need to make an illustration out of it this approach might not be that good, because you might need some action there, a different perspective perhaps along with some effects around too.
Thanks for watching, Daniel