8 replies to this topic

[ebea51]

Gday MWO FANART!

Guys, LOVE YOUR WORK. LOVE IT!
But for the folk that:
1) Cant draw,
2) Once knew how to draw but can no longer (myself, 3 years cartooning),
3) Can draw,
... can we get some step by step breakdowns of you you guys are creating this amazing stuff? Or perhaps some tutorials?

You know, to help out the folk who are artisticly challenged

KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK!

[CocoaJin]

Im relativly new at this stuff, but this is what I do.

1) Download theGIMP...its free
2) Save the desired MWO Concept Arts to a folder
3) Find inspiration
4) Open the desired file in GIMP
4a) Use the lasso tool to carefully cut out the mech and paste it as a new layer so that you can get it alone on a transparency or leave it as is.
4b) use the lasso tool to isolate desired parts of the mech, use the "Color" slide down(top tool bar) to desaturate the colors into grayscale.
4c) Also in the "Color" slide down to use "colorize", "brightness and contrast", "color balance" and perhaps some others, to re-color the area as desired.
4d) Experiment with paint brushes, smudging, etc for small touches.
4e) Using a copy of the original image, you can use the lasso tool to "cut and paste" parts of the original image onto your modified image in orde to preserve original characteristics...like I "cut and paste" laser apertures/lense from th eoriginal image onto my custom image so that they look authentic on my mech. I even swap laser apertures/lasers to lets say, replace a small laser with a medium. ex: teh Flea in my sig below has all medium lasers instead 2x MLas and 2x SLas.

Thats the basics for me, everything else is trial and error, epiphianies and a little luck.

Edited by CocoaJin, 30 November 2012 - 12:32 AM.

[ebea51]

Cheers mate, but i more ment freehand drawing rather then image editing.
Photoshop/GIMP skills arnt bad... personally though, my freehand is terrible

Edited by ebea51, 02 December 2012 - 05:54 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

ebea51, on 02 December 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

Cheers mate, but i more ment freehand drawing rather then image editing.
Photoshop/GIMP skills arnt bad... personally though, my freehand is terrible

Honestly?

It's mostly a matter of practice. Once you get proportions down, the rest come with practice.

Easiest thing to do? For me, I draw light line "skeletons" in pencil, and then after I have the pose and basic proportions where I think I want them, make a "box outline". From their it is just adding layers of detail, oftentimes over existing ones. When I get something where I want it, then I ink in the parts I want to keep, and erase the rest.

Sometimes, until you get used to it, it might even help to trace the basic pose or out line from a picture you like, then practice filling in the details,

[Shimmering Sword]

I put a stylus in my hand, my hand over my wacom, pop acid and watch an epilepsy inducing video. When I regain consciousness I have the following: http://shimmering-sw...y/?q=battletech

Really though like Bishop said, practice is all you need.

[Joseph Ward]

I actually have posted something in the way of a how-to guide, just a few threads down: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/78162-my-clan-mech-production-line-okay-miniature/

[AceTimberwolf]

Help me plz! ::ughh:: m_(_)_m

[Wargtass]

Step by step guide:

1: Get Loomis here: http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/
2: Practice! Practice! Practice!
3: ???
4: Profit!

I'm actually serious. Loomis is a good place to start. Once you can draw a decent human in 10-15 minutes, doing 'Mechs over an hour or two becomes a breeze.

[Durahl]

Hmm... I'm kinda baffled how we're supposed to help with such a widespread help request.

What exactly do you want us to help with?:
2D Drawing with Pen and Paper
2D Drawing with a Program like Photoshop using a Tablet
3D Modelling with a Program like 3DS Max
Kitbashing a Scalemodel using various Materials and lots of glue

You really might want to be a little more specific what you want to do.

Except for the Kitbashing I'm doing all of the above but none of them are particularly easy:
Traditional 2D Drawing with Pen and Paper requires quite some understanding of how Perspective works to achieve a result that is also pleasing to the eyes of others.
Perspective mistakes are, at least in my opinion, the major reason something looks bad cause it can't be covered with "artistic freedom". It's either Yes or No.
Anatomy is another thing when drawing Humanoids or Animals. People thend to intuitively know when something is anatomically wrong even it they don't quite know what it is.
A Pen or Pencil that feels good is enough and you're ready to go - No excuse not to do something.

Example using a Ballpoint Pen

2D Drawing with a Program like Photoshop using a Tablet builds on the same experience like Traditional 2D Drawings with a Pen and Paper with the added benefit of beeing able to make quick and clean changes to your actual ( or past ) Projects within seconds.
Personally I'm using a Wacom Cintiq 21UX which is a Pen-Enabled Monitor giving me a 1:1 experience of working ON the medium rather than NEXT to it like with Tablets.
I'm looking forward to the MS Surface PRO in hopes for beeing able to use it as a Pen-Enabled Tablet on the go.

Example using the Wacom Cintiq 21UX

3D Modelling with Program like 3DS Max is pretty much the next stage. It easens the pain with perspective as the Program is doing it for you but it's probably the least intuitive artform when starting to learn it.
You could theoretically use the 3D Modelling to make your own references for 2D Drawings!
If you find great love doing 3D Modelling I'd recommend to use a 6D Mouse to work in 3D Space - I'm using a 3DConnexion SpacePilot PRO which makes navigating in 3D Space like flying.

Example using 3DS Max and the SpacePilot PRO

Like I said, you might want to be a little more specific what you want to do and where you need help.