Designing Droids
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Designing Droids Chapter 01: Recon Droid Chapter 01: Recon Droid Software Used: Photoshop Hello, my name is Alex. I draw mechs… a lot! Some might say it’s a calling and they would be right. When you get down to it, robots are just plain fun to draw/design/model etc. It’s practically a fact. Between the numerous aesthetic approaches one could take, imagining the functionality of a design, the design flexibility to make stuff up as you go and the miscellaneous cool factor that robots innately possess, it means that, at least for me, (having grown up on a steady diet of video games featuring the piloting or blowing up of mechs of every stripe) it’s always been a fun endeavor. In the case of this particular robot image, the goal was to create a scout droid of some sort, so let’s go on and explore that. The tools I used were an Intuos 3 Wacom tablet, Photoshop CS5 and various brushes and textures. While not always a necessity (as it very much depends on if the piece is for fun or for a client, as well as just how much familiarity you have with the various mecha genres in general) it often helps to stop and really think about what your design ought to have. Just mull things over for a bit. Think about what kind of role this scout is supposed to fulfill; think about what sort of equipment and configurations of parts it would need to succeed in that role; think about the relative level of technology this design is supposed to be a product of. Now, when I think of scout droids the first thing that comes to mind is something lanky,
these I keep the requirements of the design in
for the pose and form. These included shrinking
lightly armed and armored, with a considerable
mind as I play with various shapes, poses and
the left arm a small amount and seeing how the
amount of spotting gear and electronic
body configurations. More often than not if you
image might look running instead of standing.
countermeasures. Something that looks like
go this route it might feel like taking a Rorschach
While there is always room for adjustments
it would have only just enough protection and
test at the same time as you create one. As the
later, it does help to sort of settle on a basic
armament to affect a speedy escape. In terms
silhouettes develop you should start visualizing
form from the onset (Fig.01).
of relative tech level, as a matter of preference I
the relative placement of parts and features, and
went for something that would look like it could
begin extrapolating their general placement. In
Now I started the clean-up of the sketch. I began
potentially exist somewhere within the next 25
the case of this particular scout droid, I ended
by reining in the shapes, defining the angles of
– 50 years.
up going with my second design, as it seemed
various parts and further interpreting the loose
to convey the scout feel the best.
sketchy amorphous shapes into having a clearer function. I also established a particular shade
After brainstorming for a few minutes I started messing around with various different
With the sketch decided upon I started to make
of gray, which would become the relative base
silhouettes straight in Photoshop. When doing
a few subtle experimentations in black and white
tonal value of the design that I would work off of
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Chapter 01: Recon Droid
Designing Droids
later. I also made adjustments to the pose and proportions, as the hip area was not looking all that great to me anymore and the left arm felt too long (Fig.02). As I continued I made further adjustments and alterations as I interpreted the rough shapes of the design into more detailed forms, moving steadily into the detailing work. I also returned the pose to the original sketch’s standing position as I felt it worked better. With the main figure more or less settled upon it was time to begin establishing the environment surrounding this scout. Considering its scouty nature, I felt that the implication of an overlook of sorts would be fitting, and considering the machine’s splayed feet and long flexible arms, it seemed suited towards picking through broken and potentially unstable terrain. So I went for a desert ruins motif. At the end of this stage, I took a sandy yellowish color and applied it as a Color Burn layer to the entire image to set the basic starting hue (Fig.03). Continuing onward I began to add additional line work type details, refined the shapes further and adjusted the position, size and angle of the droid’s left arm. Feeling the need to have some spots of more saturated color in an overall unsaturated image, I decided to give the droid a bright orange eye. In order to establish a more defined set of shadows and highlights on the droid, I roughly painted into two separate overlay layers – one white, the other black – where the general highlights and shadows were to go. I then used Gaussian blur to soften both layers and reduce their opacities (Fig.04). Following that I copied and merged the image into a new layer and desaturated it completely. Then, using the Dodge and Burn tools as well as the level adjustment tool, I tweaked the overall contrast before setting the layer type to Overlay. I also significantly decreased the opacity so as not to make the design too contrasted. At this stage it felt like the design needed to be made a bit more crisp, with slightly sharper looking edges. To do this I copied and merged a
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Chapter 01
Designing Droids Chapter 01: Recon Droid new layer and used the High Pass filter, then set the layer type to Overlay, thus causing edges over the entire image to come in a little sharper. At this point I began to poke around the image looking for small details to correct/add and rough areas that could stand to be refined. Later secondary and tertiary colors/tones were added to the droid, namely as orange striping and bare grey metal surfaces. In order to accent the edges further and brighten up the design a small amount the image was copied and merged again, run through an accented edges filter, set to the lighter color layer type and dropped significantly in opacity so as not to be overpowering (Fig.05). Although I continued to add small details and make slight tweaks, this stage of the image’s development focused primarily on establishing some of the atmosphere in the environment that the droid was standing in. Using various sand and dirt textures set at a low transparency I was able to establish the terrain in the foreground. Various cloud textures were repurposed as drifting smoke by adjusting their hues and transparencies. I set one layer to Soft Light, one to Overlay and a third as a subtraction layer, as this gave the impression of a bit of light bleeding around the sides of the figure. Additionally the entire image was copy merged and run through a darker setting of the accented edges filter to get more of an overall grittiness. Then the opacity was dropped. At the end of this stage the image was looking rather dimly lit (Fig.06). Next I began to add weathering, scratches and bullet holes for a little extra authenticity. This was done via setting a layer to the Color type and then, in the blending options, I adjusted the Bevel and Emboss sliders as well as using a grimy metallic texture with the bevel/emboss effect. I then began to paint scratches and dings where they would seem most logical to occur. For example, near joints, on areas that would likely bump into things and areas that I just wanted to look battle-damaged to some extent. In light of the overall dimness of the image I used some Overlay layers and bright colors to
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Designing Droids
make certain areas pop out more brightly and to add color and highlights to the bare metal surfaces, as their specularity would be higher than the painted metal, and thus would take a hint of color from their surroundings. Also time was taken to use dedicated circle brushes to clean up some of the more irregular hand-drawn rivets, joints, bolts and assorted round areas (Fig.07). At this point I was happy with the droid (though I did end up slapping a unit designation decal on it), which meant I could concentrate on achieving a good look for the rocks and broken ruins surrounding it. This was done by taking various images of broken concrete and resizing and reshaping them to match the breaks and cracks in the original silhouettes. I then erased the parts that where necessary. Certain foreground rock shapes were redone completely to make them fit the image better. The layers were color corrected from their original tones to match the sandy yellow hue of the rest of the image (Fig.08 – 10).
Alexander Iglesias Web: http://flyingdebris.deviantart.com/ Email:
[email protected]
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Designing Droids
Chapter 02: Repair Droid
Chapter 2: Repair Droid Software Used: Photoshop Hello, my name is Alex Iglesias and I am a mech art addict! In this tutorial we’re going to go through the process of designing and illustrating a repair droid. Now when it comes to the basics of mech design, the first thing you want to ask yourself is, “What is this mech/droid supposed to do and how is going to do it?” In the case of this design, the “what” was part of the assignment and that was repairs. Now, to different people the idea of some sort of repair droid means different things. Some people might picture some sort of anthropomorphic robot handyman; others might imagine spiderbots working in unison, or maybe some kind of ambulatory multi-tool. In the case of this design, I pictured some sort of battlefield engineer unit that follows around combat units and patches them up, or tries to salvage them
As I looked at the initial sketch it became
sketch into more specific surfaces. I also began
if they are blasted apart. With that approach in
apparent that there were a few things that didn’t
experimenting with certain dark areas and
mind I began making sketches exploring that
quite sit right in the image – it felt too static and
aspects of lighting. However, it was still fairly
idea.
lacked energy. The solution I found was to flip,
crude and more clean-up work and refinement
warp and distort areas of the image to make
continued well into the process of this piece
At this point the idea of the “how” began to form.
things appear just a little bit more dynamic.
(Fig.02).
It would fix up/interact with other droids via long
Tilting the horizon a little bit helped this too. Also
spider-like appendages ending in pincers, tools,
I put more of a lean into the repair bot’s pose,
Immediately after I was comfortable with the
cutters, etc. After a small bit of exploration of
which added a little more implied weight to its
basic details and layout, I added a flat brown
silhouettes, I decided to depict the repair droid
form.
tone over the whole image and added some rudimentary shadows, in order to provide a bit of
mid-work, sifting through wreckage while its allies converge on an off-screen fight in the
After I was happy with the sketch I started
a background tone as I continued the rendering
background (Fig.01).
defining the originally ambiguous shape from the
process (Fig.03).
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Designing Droids
I began to add some color gradients to start establishing the dusty atmosphere of the piece, and started to clean up the design of the droid itself. I also began to establish the forms of the background vehicles at this point. I really wanted to give the impression of some large mobilization consisting of a combined arms force. Part of the reason for this was to give the viewer some rough idea of what the blasted wreckage at the repair droid’s feet might have looked like (Fig.04). For some reason I really enjoy bright yellow color schemes on vehicles. So in the case of this repair droid, to help distinguish it from the combat units and to make it associated with industrial equipment, I applied an Overlay layer of a bright, school bus yellow! I didn’t add this yellow to the areas I wanted to leave as exposed metal. I also painted in some dust to show the movement of all of the droids in the scene (Fig.05). I wanted to differentiate areas further, help diversify the color scheme and add even more of an industrial flavor, so I made several surfaces much darker and unpainted. The caution strip was also added to several areas as it’s a classic, easily identifiable motif that helps cement the industrial aspect further. In order to make the machine appear more used, areas of chipping and fading in the paint were added. Experimentation with the color scheme via the Hue and Saturation tool also caused the overall colors to become brighter and more vibrant (Fig.06). After taking another look at the image, I found that the colors actually a bit too saturated now and the machine was still not looking worn enough! More weathering was added using grunge brushes I had, in addition to some smaller clean-ups and edits. The overall effect made the machine appear a little darker and its paint job a bit more mottled. At this point I also felt that one of the surfaces was woefully empty and decided to add a number decal for fun. Areas that were meant to be bare metal were also considerably more defined at this stage in the progress (Fig.07).
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Designing Droids
The mech’s details were pretty much nailed down at this point, so it was necessary to move on to other aspects of the piece. In this case the foreground. First and foremost I had to come up with some convincing dirt! Using the underlying color plus a texture I found I was able to create exactly what I was looking for (Fig.08). After that I had to edit the overall silhouette of the scattered debris, cleaning up the shapes and adding form to them. For added form and detail I used various metal textures and grunge brushes at low opacity to get the necessary amounts of metal noise. The fires were essentially tweaked and modified textures that I applied using the Lighter Color layer style, which really gives that sort of “flames in broad daylight appearance.” My personal favorite part of the background
The image was now looking pretty solid to me,
With the foreground and focus point where
though was the creation of the artillery muzzle
but it was still a bit too clean and flat. Something
I wanted them it was time to finish off the
flash on the far left giant mech platform.
had to be done about that. Using some gray on
background. The attack units took a bit of work,
Essentially it was just a sketched blob shape
a Color layer I opted to desaturate certain areas
namely in cleaning up or adjusting the individual
that had some tweaked fire textures dropped in
of the image to make the repair droid seem a bit
silhouettes. But as they were relatively small,
it. The texture was then merged, set to Lighter
more worn. Also, finding the bare metal surfaces
implied detail went a long way here.
Color and dropped in opacity (Fig.09).
themselves a little lacking, I decided to clean them up and contrast them a bit more, so as to
The giant weapon platforms in the far distance
The end result was something relatively minor,
also got some measure of refinement and
but it goes a long way to showing how much
definition, but not too much as it would not be
dust and distance there is between it and the
Although the image up to now looked dusty, it
conducive to conveying their far away distance
viewer. A considerable amount of hand-drawn
didn’t really look that acrid, scorched earth, type
and immense size.
smoke clouds were also involved.
of dusty. I really wanted that “carcinogens in the
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make those parts stand out.
Chapter 02
Designing Droids
Chapter 02: Repair Droid air” type of smoke factor in my image. Using some textures of overcast skies and various clouds, and some tweaking of layer types and opacities, I managed to get the amount of smoke desired (Fig.10). Lastly it came down to adjusting the general color, hue, saturation and contrasts to finally make the image pop, plus a few general color overlays and gradients. After a fair bit of tweaking the various image aspects I finally reached a point were I was satisfied with it. The air in the image looked so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. Also the mech looked well-used and sturdy, which fitted the image perfectly (Fig.11).
Alexander Iglesias Web: http://flyingdebris.deviantart.com/ Email:
[email protected]
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Chapter 02
Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid Chapter 3: Medi Droid Software Used: Photoshop
Introduction In my opinion, the most important things to learn when working for a game developer are how to follow a brief, and how to develop a style or closely follow an existing one. A concept artist’s job is not only to come up with something visually appealing, but, more importantly, it’s to create an asset that is functional, scientifically viable or at least believable and which is based on the parameters of the game’s plot. A process needs to be followed that enables the art director (AD) to give ample feedback throughout the development and that also makes the 3D modelers’ jobs as easy as possible. The more information supplied to the modelers, the faster the model moves through production. The
Day One: 9:30am – Brief
In terms of design, the droids should be
concept artist has a huge responsibility early on,
The AD has requested a medical droid for the
futuristic, but not too slick and curvy, and still
hence the importance of following a solid design
front line level of our game. The setting is Earth,
in-keeping with current military designs. Some
pipeline.
approximately 2050, and a variety of droids
organic shapes should be present for specialty
assist military efforts on the front line. The
areas, but they need a mostly hard and solid
I’ve written a short brief similar to that which an
medical droids are used to assist injured troops
construction. Special metals and hard plastics
AD would supply. The following steps are based
and they have GPS and communication abilities
should be used.
on a pipeline that – in its most basic form – can
to locate injured soldiers. Every soldier has an
be found in any game company. This method
encrypted tracking device that links them with
You can’t always hope for an in-depth brief, but
is one that has worked well for me. I’ve also
the medical droid and this device is activated
basically the more information you have up-front
added approximate times for a typical work day
when needed. The primary function of the
the better your design is going to suit the game,
as a rough guide to what is expected. Some
medical droids is to locate and assist the injured
therefore hugely cutting down on revisions and
artists are slower and some are faster, but this is
soldiers and, if need be, operate on location and
even do-over’s.
roughly the pace I work at.
safely transport the injured back to base.
Day One: 10:00am – Research Research is the part I really enjoy. I learn about all sorts of subjects I would never usually read about. It’s also the best place to start. To assist you in your research, it’s a good idea to first break down the brief into key words. That way you will cover everything in your design. Here is my interpretation of the key brief points: • Year 2050 • Front-line military medical droid • Some curves, but mostly rigid construction • Main appendages protected with high density composite cowling
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Designing Droids
shape brushes. The method I prefer is simply to use a large brush to block in rough shapes and
• Visible GPS and communications systems
then define them with quick lines and shadows.
• Transportation device for injured soldier
To save time when selecting brushes, I put
(possibly stretcher) • Arms to perform tasks such as lifting body,
the ones I use the most at the top of the brush selector menu (Fig.01).
moving debris and performing surgery • Audio and optical
I usually start with an A4 landscape page and rough out about six to eight shapes in two rows
At this point I then start looking for references
(Fig.02). I try to make each thumbnail different,
on Google Images, using key words that
but sometimes find that once the first few
address each of the bullet points from the brief
shapes are created, an idea starts to form and
breakdown; army medic, military surgeon,
this stops the flow of new ideas. It’s difficult to
military robot, army stretcher, medical robot and
move past the urge to do variations on a single
are thinking so your working drawings are not
so on. I then compile all of the reference images
design, but it’s a good idea to try. Some ideas
misinterpreted early on. You could save your
into one in Photoshop (PS) and place it on my
will be terrible, but it’s important to work through
initial work locally of course, but leads often ask
second monitor. That way, it’s always there so
as many as you can. It’s just as useful to show
for you to work on the server for this reason. So,
I don’t stray too far from the brief when working
ideas that don’t work as ones that do. Bad
it’s quicker to scribble a few notes as you go, or
on my thumbnails.
designs also make the good ideas stand out. If
even paste an image to show what textures you
a co-worker comes to look at your progress, it’s
are thinking of rather than painting it.
Day One: 11:00am to 12:30pm – Thumbnails: First Stage
much better to have a page of rough scribbles
When starting thumbnails it can be difficult to get
able to see your thought process and let you
past the initial blank page. It’s important to let
know if you are heading in the right direction.
your ideas flow onto the page without judgement
It’s a starting point and if the direction changes,
or over-thought. Otherwise you can get caught
you haven’t wasted much time on detail and can
Day One: 1:30pm to 5:00pm – Thumbnails: Second Stage
up in the details on a single concept and before
quickly amend the roughs.
Once you feel you have some good ideas
than only a few detailed ones. The AD will be
down and the lead is happy for you to continue,
you know it, two hours have passed. The panic of a deadline sets in and productivity drops.
Day One: 12:30pm to 1:30pm – Lunch
When working in a games studio, it’s common
you can add some detail and better define the
for leads and ADs to be watching your progress
shapes and surfaces.
There are many methods of starting thumbnails,
from their own desks over the network. It’s
from blocking-in silhouettes to using random
handy to add little notes to reinforce what you
A method I use a lot when I’m painting digitally is to first break the object into readable chunks of light and dark values; light being the main chunk or section of an object, and dark being the recessed area in between (Fig.03). I do this by using the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to mask an area. Using a large flat brush I then lay in some basic values, similar to that of a base 3D model with global lighting. I then invert the selection using Shift + Control + I and block in the darker areas. At this stage I’m working at 33% zoom. Fig.04 shows a comparison between 100% and 33%. I find it easier this way to keep an eye on how the design is reading as an object from a distance, and to determine how the light and
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dark areas contrast with each other. Any closer
To add highlights I like to start with a flattened
To finish off it’s always good to add some notes
than this and the detail is largely pointless as
layer. Select all (Ctrl +A), then Copy Merge
if you haven’t done so already and label the
thumbnails are often only viewed all at once on
(Shift + Ctrl + C), then Paste (Ctrl + V). I do this
thumbnails with letters or numbers. This makes
a screen or printed onto an A4 page. No one is
because I use the Dodge Tool for highlights and
it easier for the AD to let you know which ones
going to be zooming in to look at detail at this
I like it to affect all of the layers.
are preferable (Fig.05).
Using an airbrush with the range set to Mid-
End of Day One – Meeting with AD
point. Thumbnails are about the basic design. Once the basic shapes are defined, I can then
tones, I drop in some quick down light. I then
suggest detail with quick lines and break up
change the range to Highlights and use a
the panels with joins and creases. It’s good to
smaller brush to pick out high contrast areas.
Day Two: 9:00am to 10:30am Finalize Design Choice
use a few simple colors to hint at decals, glass
I like to add extreme light right next to shadow
By this point the AD will have looked over
and artificial light sources. I then lay in shadows
areas, which emulates a trick that light plays on
your roughs and hopefully made a selection;
with a large flat brush using complete black at
the eye. If the objects are looking too washed
either one particular design with possible
100% opacity. If you don’t press too hard, you
out here, I create an adjustment layer set to
amendments, or a combination of thumbnails.
will achieve a nice shadow effect with single
Selective Color. I then set the colors to whites
For example, he might like the top of A, with the
strokes. The standard Round Flat brush does a
in the menu and slide up the black until the
bottom of D and the arms of E. For the purpose
good job for this, but I find that textured brushes
balance is right, maybe introducing a little bit of
of this exercise, D was chosen as a suitable
such as Chalk do just as well.
yellow as well.
rough to work up.
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Designing Droids
Day Two: 10:30am onwards – Front and Back ¾ Renders The first thing I do when working up a thumbnail into a final front and back ¾ view is roughly plan out both views beside each other. I find it’s important to do this early on as it helps to determine if the back works well with the front in its present state. It also allows me to see if I’ve missed anything in the front view that should be visible. I try to make the front/back perspective as straight on as possible to make it easier to do the orthographic views later. The fastest way to do this is to simply copy the thumbnail and flip it horizontally. Then, by dropping the brightness and contrast to black, it’s easier to imagine that you are looking at the object from the back (much like a silhouette), as there are no details to fool you otherwise. By running lines across from key points on the thumbnail drawing, you can determine where things are placed on the back view. I also do a quick render of the medical droid with the stretcher down and the soldier inside being operated on. This gives me a good idea of what parts I need to add in order for this design to function (Fig.06). The next task is to paint in the front view using the same method as described earlier in the thumbnail section, but taking more care to render surfaces a bit more smoothly. It’s at this stage that I basically clean up all of the shapes and start to make sense of how the parts fit together. I often use the Elliptical Marquee tool (M) as a mask tool for arcs and circles. The thinner lines are created using the stroke function, as shown in Fig.07. I use Transform Selection to make the mask bigger or smaller and also the Modify/Expand and Contract function for irregular shapes that don’t transform that well. Using the shortcuts I’ve mentioned so far (selecting with the Lasso, blocking in value,
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inverting selection, blocking in value), rinse and repeat! I work my way down the image, cleaning everything up and solving any issues I find (Fig.08). I do the same with the back view, constantly running guide lines across to see if everything matches up (Fig.09). Shadows are created using a large flat brush as stated earlier, but this time I use the Lasso tool to more accurately select the areas (Fig.10). It’s good practice to keep sections of detail on separate layers. That way it’s easy to select specific parts, and add lighting or make changes later on (Fig.11). It is then time for another clean-up pass and to add more detail lines and joins, making sure all of the surfaces are the right color and all of the points match up from front to back (Fig.12). I find that a good way to achieve crease lines is to take a flat brush and turn off Other Dynamics in the brush pre-sets. You can then hold down Shift while you are drawing a line and just keep clicking from point to point. I use this a lot. I finish the front and back renders by adding some metal and grunge textures using a Multiply layer, and paint in scratches, dents and decals. Finally I flatten the layers and use the Dodge tool to add highlights, like I stated earlier. A drop
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Designing Droids
Chapter 03
Designing Droids Chapter 3: Medi Droid shadow is created by making a Load Selection of the robot and using Transform Selection > Distort to change the perspective to ground level. A simple gray fade and it’s done (Fig.13). Sometimes it’s a good idea to add samples of the texture references you’ve used in boxes to the side of your renders. This is to make sure that the modelers know exactly what type of materials you would like to use for each surface. Even if you render the object beautifully, it can still be misconstrued as another texture.
Day Three: 9:00am onwards – Orthographic Views Orthographic sheets are where all your hard work will pay off. If you have designed your object well, then this stage should hopefully be a walk in the park. I start off by placing the front ¾ render onto the page and dropping the opacity right down. I then drop in some guidelines at key points, similar to when I was doing the back ¾ view. Rough lines are used initially to get an idea of where sections sit and how the model translates into a front view. I try to imagine the model turning slowly in order to get an idea of how the shapes appear when facing straight-on to the viewer. Basically the side planes will become thinner and the front planes wider. You can even select some of the larger shapes from the ¾ view, drag them across and widen them slightly as something to start from (Fig.14). When I’m rendering the ¾ views, I keep in mind that it would be handy to have some of the arms and legs close to the correct plane for orthographic use. This way I can simply paste them in and draw over them. The arms are bent in places so I straighten them out by moving the pivot point in Transform mode so I can rotate the arm from the right spot (Fig.15). It’s important to show the arms straight and have the legs side-on so that the modeler can use them to model from properly. Movable
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Once I have everything laid out, it’s time to drop
stretcher and the arms, should be removed and
in the final linework. This is simply a matter
drawn separately so that detail can be added
of being more precise with lines and making
behind them (Fig.16).
certain that all points match up in all of the views
Designing Droids
as best as I can (Fig.18). It’s not crucial to get To get an idea about whether the front half
everything spot on, as the 3D artists are usually
is correct, mirror the image and make sure
very good and can fill in the gaps. Although it’s
everything looks good before continuing. I’ve
nice to get it close!
found that when doing orthos in the past, everything looks good until I mirror it, and it
When doing the side view, it’s a good idea to
always seems to have a chunk missing out of
have it as close to the front view as possible
the middle, especially with faces (Fig.17).
so you can easily eyeball back and forth to see
where things should be going. It would take too long to make this an exact match, but as long as it’s close, the modelers will love you for it (Fig.19). If the arms and legs are the same on both sides, it’s not always necessary to draw them twice. So I’ve left them off the back view to save space on the page for other sections. In Fig.20 you can see that I’ve simply drawn over a shape from the back ¾ render and will just drag it across and manipulate it if necessary. The more views you do, the more problems you will start to find, so it’s a continual process of moving lines around to make everything work. Once I’ve finished the linework, I make sure that there are no gaps in the outer perimeter by drawing a single thick line around the whole drawing (Fig.21). The reason for doing this is so that I can then use the Magic Wand tool (W) to select the empty white space around the droid. Once this is selected, I then invert the selection using Shift + Ctrl +I, create a new Multiply layer and fill it with a light gray. I then lock the gray layer and paint in some darker areas using the Lasso tool. Finally, I use the Dodge tool to add a small amount of light for curved surfaces, label the views “Front”, “Back”, “Side” etc., and it’s done. It’s also a good idea to add a human figure for scale reference (Fig.22). If you have time, sometimes it’s nice to do a quick painting of the object in its proposed environment. This will help sell the idea and also be a good addition to your portfolio (Fig.23)!
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Chapter 03
Jeremy Love Web: http://jeremylove.com/ Email:
[email protected]
Designing Droids Chapter 4: Bartender Droid Chapter 4: Bartender Droid Software Used: Photoshop
Introduction This image was a great challenge to think about. When I got asked by the editor of 2DArtist magazine to do it, my first thought was to draw something simple, perhaps, with my focus being the design. But finally, as I nearly always do, I ended up making things much more complicated so that my work has an added value. I believe that in order to produce a more desirable idea, it is necessary to be a perfectionist.
The Idea I really like to wander here and there at night with my friends, along the streets of Buenos Aires, stopping for a while at any one of the numerous bars or pubs that open throughout the night. I like to enjoy a beer or a drink whilst watching a football match on the TV, or just talk
visitors from abroad can choose how and where
or Irish pubs where foreigners usually meet,
a mixture of nonsense and seriousness while
to have fun.
together with artists and lovers of beer and good football.
getting acquainted with people who enjoy the never-ending journey like I do. From Mondays
So while looking for inspiration and references,
to Saturdays this cosmopolitan city offers a wide
I visited several places that were decorated in a
The first thing I did was to draw several
variety of places where Argentine people or
modern or classical style, and also some British
thumbnails and sketches so that I had options available by the time I needed to start the final design. I always say that the best thing to do is draw anything that comes into your mind, without any limitations. This is the way you have to work in the film and video game industries; thumbnails and sketches are what you have to get done first (Fig.01). When choosing a single design among several concepts, the best thing to do is meet with the art director, lead artist and lead designer to select the parts you all like from each design. You can then put these parts together and link them in a final concept (Fig.02).
The Design The nightlife made me think that the best way to show a robot bartender was in its work environment. I chose a retro 80’s style, with a lot of influence from Star Wars, which is one of my favorite movies for its designs.
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Chapter 04
Chapter 4: Bartender Droid
Designing Droids
In the production of professional work, we have to show a schematic of our designs. This technical guide is useful for 3D artists when modeling the character (Fig.03). The easiest way to make a schematic is based on the ¾ view, which means we can project the guidelines in order to step to the next view. It’s like moving the plan of a house to be able to see all the sides of it (Fig.04). The most important views are the ¾ view of the front and back. If we want, we can add the profile view and detailed plans of the areas
To understand how to make a schematic better, I
To obtain a perfectly presented idea, we can
that perform some specific functions. The more
made an example with simple geometric shapes
add the color design along with the schematic;
information we give to 3D artists, the more
(Fig.06).
this is a more professional and aesthetic way to
accurate the final model will be (Fig.05).
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introduce our designs (Fig.07).
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Chapter 04
Designing Droids Chapter 4: Bartender Droid
The Illustration Previously I said that the first stage was the concept, the second stage was the final approved design and the last stage was marketing materials or the finished artwork. Almost all video game studios work this way. The final illustration will show the method of creating this style and how the design is applicable for all other project designs.
Once I knew which scene I was using, I began to add detail to the sketch on a new layer;
To begin the illustration I made a couple of
I enlarged the image and began to polish it
sketches. This was to see which the best option
completely (Fig.09).
was to see how a bartender works. In Fig.08 are some examples of this.
The next step was to set the background color; this is the base to add colors to each element
I found the first sketch very symmetrical and
of the drawing. Red will lead all the other colors
front on, without much action. The second
(Fig.10).
option seemed perhaps a bit more dynamic, but I still did not like it. What I needed was a
When the drawing is very complex I usually
scene where I could feel part of the situation,
define volumes in black and white or in this
as if I were stuck in the scene. So I went with
case, using the base color. I found that drawing
the last option. I really like pictures that have
the robot was very difficult. That is why I detailed
photographic effects like films do, or make me
volumes in a single color first, so that afterwards
feel as if I were interacting within the scene. I
it would be easier for me to add the final details
think they are a lot funnier and impressive.
(Fig.11).
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Chapter 04
Chapter 4: Bartender Droid
Designing Droids
To accurately define geometric objects, in this
layer in Normal mode. From there I started
As I always say in my tutorials: paint the light to
case the bar and walls, I used the Polygonal
painting, using a brush at 70 to 100% opacity
show the shape of the individual elements in the
Lasso tool towards the vanishing point. I painted
(Fig.13a – b).
scene (Fig.15).
edge. Using the vanishing point as a guide
For painting I am guided by the lights in my
To help achieve a photographic effect while
helped give a perfect finish to all surfaces and
picture. In this case, there was an orange light
giving depth to the picture, we can place objects
flat edges (Fig.12).
on the top right and a blue light coming from the
that are further back and out of focus. This
bar at the bottom left. The blue light effected the
creates an illusion of being inside the action; as
Color
robot’s base, since it came from below and, at
if we, the viewer, are the ones taking the photo
Once I had defined the basic plans of the
the same time, touched the top of the face and
(Fig.16).
drawing I started with color, creating a new
hands of people leaning on the bar (Fig.14).
with a mask to create a well-defined and neat
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Chapter 04
Designing Droids Chapter 4: Bartender Droid Conclusion To work professionally, you don’t need to be an expert in digital art. As you can see, almost everything I have explained can be done with the Brush tool, masks and a few layers. The important thing is to have a good foundation of traditional drawing and a lot of patience. To create this picture it took me two weeks to think about the idea before I was prepared to draw it. Always keep in mind the way in which you will present the image. Making sure it’s different from others will give you the opportunity to do great things.
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Chapter 04
Ignacio Bazan Lazcano Web: http://www.neisbeis.deviantart.com/ Email:
[email protected]
Designing Droids Chapter 5: Demolition Droid Chapter 5: Demolition Droid
B), or maybe built to roll over all types of terrain
Next, I started planning my illustration. I wanted
Software Used: Photoshop
(E). Perhaps the droid is equipped with tank
to show the droid at its most exciting – a
treads or multiple sets of wheels (C, D, and F)?
squad of these units, powering forward, arms carrying explosives ready to be planted, missile
I thoroughly enjoyed working on this tutorial and was pleased with how it turned out! I’d
In the end, a design that hovered was chosen,
launchers firing (indicating there are enemy
like to show my overall working method for
as the droid could go anywhere and wasn’t
units ahead of them). I felt this model of droid
completing these pieces in Photoshop, as well
limited by height, terrain or blockades. The
would be particularly effective as a squad, hitting
as communicate a little of my thought/design
design needed to be durable enough to take
multiple targets at once and striking quickly
process.
a few hits and still function, so thumbnail B
before the enemy can regain ground.
seemed the most suitable. The main body would Since the main purpose of a demolition droid
be a sturdy case, which held small explosives
I started drawing out some quick compositions
is to destroy things – hopefully in a planned
operated by a small arm. This arm could
based on this squad mentality, until I arrived
and organized way – I started out creating a
place the explosives strategically, to maximize
at the one I was happiest with. From there
few thumbnails that demonstrate this objective
the bomb’s potential to destroy a structure
I created a rough drawing of the scene and
(Fig.01). I wanted it to read as a droid and not
or vehicle. To aid in the placement of these
blocked in my basic shapes. I created an
as a mech or battle-suit.
explosives, a cutting torch was added, to slice
extremely rough proxy model of the piece
through metal bulkheads and doors. Lastly,
in Google SketchUp, just to get some rough
First off, it would need to be durable, small and
missile launchers were added, so the droid
perspective lines in there, as well as a 3D
somewhat stealthy – maybe able to fly/hover (A,
could defend itself or remove obstacles.
feel. I tilted the droid to give it some force and
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Chapter 05
Chapter 5: Demolition Droid
Designing Droids
some dramatic appeal. Then I added in a few more rough perspective lines to help me do an accurate under-drawing (Fig.02). I will frequently flip an image and keep an eye on my Navigator window, to be sure the piece reads when it’s small. I started to indicate my lighting and values now that I was somewhat satisfied with the overall design. I want the front droid to be dark against a background of fog and explosions (Fig.03). Next, I concentrated on picking out a color palette. I wanted the piece to be mostly warm, indicating explosions and fire around the squad of droids, but with the smoke from the burning targets bringing in some cooler hues. To add
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Chapter 05
Designing Droids Chapter 5: Demolition Droid
more action and depth, I would eventually want
place out in some oil fields of a desert or plain.
Here I continued to tighten up the piece, defining
some enemy fire crossing over and behind the
The main body would be a brown/tan color, so
my edges on the main droid and indicating the
main droid (Fig.04).
that it blends in with this particular environment
other robots and structures in the background.
(Fig.05).
I wanted the ground to be on fire for a very
Here, I refined the design/color/lighting. I will
warzone-like feel, which would allow me to add
usually do both drawing and blocking in shape
I toned down the saturation of the entire painting
some light from beneath, to make the droids
silhouettes at this point. I looked at many military
a bit, because I felt that the color was getting too
stand out from the background. I also fixed a
references for color, and decided this would take
bright and vivid for a war scene (Fig.06).
few perspective issues as I saw them (Fig.07).
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Chapter 05
Chapter 5: Demolition Droid
Designing Droids
A friend suggested that the droid needed some
military, as well as caution symbols and danger
overlays, dirt around the edges and some blast
small details that made it really stand out and
signs around the engines. For some scale
marks were also added to push the battle-worn
gave it character – warning signs, ID numbers,
reference, I added in some handlebars on a few
appearance (Fig.08).
logos, etc. I came up with a logo for a fictional
of the panels. Extra scratches, grime, texture
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Chapter 05
Designing Droids Chapter 5: Demolition Droid A few lighting tweaks and it was done! I cleaned up some of the edges on the main droid, added detail and texture, and brought the enemy fire beams back into the piece (Fig.09). Usually I do the turnaround sheet while I am still working on the illustration, to be sure the design is right and is exciting from all angles, not just the one I’ve chosen to illustrate (Fig.10). I felt like the piece was done and accurately illustrated the basic idea of what a demolition droid does – blows stuff up! Thanks for reading!
Justin Albers Web: http://www.justinalbers.com/ Email:
[email protected]
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Chapter 05
Designing Droids Chapter 6: Fighter Droid Chapter 6: Fighter Droid Software Used: Photoshop
Intro We’ve reached a point where neon lights and metallic/technological matter can quickly becoming boring and predictable, which is why I tried to do something totally different for this droid. It’s very hard to create something very classic that is based on contemporary times, so I went back in time to a very sensitive, but very interesting event: World War II. I was specifically interested in the German technology of this time period.
History, Legends and Design There are a lot of myths and legends about the weapons and unfinished projects of the “Bad Guys” that could have changed the course of the war, so I set out to investigate. What I found included things like special jets, aired canons and alleged flying saucers! I took these legends and generated a collection of data in order to be able to design a revolutionary droid for the time that was elegant in design, but also highly functional in a war situation. Next I studied the basic needs of a good combat weapon. The scope for urban combat was a necessity – the German troops were not
Design References
• 360° rotation
prepared for these urban struggles. I concluded
I referenced many armored vehicles, guns and
• Grab land system against bullet impact
that the required features for an extremely
soldiers. All of these things helped me to find
• Nuclear reaction battery
effective and reliable war prototype were as
the perfect balance.
Sketches and Final Concept
follows: I liked the top features on the Panzer PzKpfw
I already had a clear idea in my mind, so I didn’t
• Cheap production method
model, a WWII tank, and decided to add them
draw too many concepts. I wanted a robot
• Full autonomy
to my own invention to give the model more
that was inspired by the Panzer, and looked
• Lightweight design, suitable for urban
functionality (Fig.01). These features included:
like a half-wolf, half-raptor, with large feet, a
combat
good shock absorption system, jumping ability,
• Self-sufficiency
• L/24 de 75 mm
lightweight design and overwhelming speed
• No logistical troubles
• Anti-aircraft gun
(Fig.02 – 03).
• Good relationship between weight and
• Flak 43 L/89 de 37 mm in an armored turret
power
with a Panzer IV chassis
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Chapter 06
Chapter 6: Fighter Droid
Designing Droids
Composition and Colors At this stage, I tried to clarify the composition of the illustration. I wanted to prioritize the full view of illustration more than a 3/4 or cinematic view. I thought a linear drive composition might be very interesting in this case. In terms of colors, I wanted to have a very desaturated color scheme, contrasting with the fighting and fire details that would fill the illustration’s environment. For that reason I chose a warmer palette to show a “day-time war” atmosphere, with this killing machine center stage (Fig.04 – 06).
Brushes Brushes are a very frequent issue for an artist. Which one do I use for this? Which one do I use for that? Some people make it more complicated than it should be. I personally opt to create my own brushes and settings for each material texture. I use the Calligraphy brushes, and based on these brushes I create new ones, then add texture and special dynamics for each one. Here you can see an example of my brushes, plus a graphic explanation of my realistic illumination theory with natural colors (Fig.07).
Blitz Painting This was a very simple stage. I used a big brush to paint very quickly all over the canvas without worrying about the details. I also did a quick approximation of what would be in the painting later.
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Chapter 06
Designing Droids Chapter 6: Fighter Droid Here you can see an example, plus the brushes and key colors that I used at this stage (Fig.08).
Adding Photos Sometimes it’s important to look to other resources to help you with difficult details. In this case, to expand my range of possibilities, I had to turn to my girlfriend’s camera. I took lots of pictures to help me with the background, or weird details like the windows, buildings, textures, etc. To get a reference of houses destroyed by war, I took lots of photos of huts in ruins. I also photographed the structure of a dismantled car and cloudy field landscapes. To add a photo to an image is not hard; you just have to consider a few things: Lightning: The photos will naturally have their own lighting and your painting another, therefore you must make sure that they match. On this matter, also make sure that the photo elements are illuminated by a diffuse light source to avoid creating harsh shadows. Geometry: Try to take pictures in which the textures or elements that are going to be used are in a front view toward you, without vanishing points, or perspectives that are hard
behaviors to add photos to your painting in the
The photographic elements in this illustration
to transform. If this is not the case, you can edit
most realistic way possible. You can put your
are the windows, car structure and fire (Fig.09
the geometry of your picture with Ctrl + T in
photos in many modes like Hard Light, Dodge,
– 12).
Photoshop.
Linear Dodge, Pin Light, Linear Light, etc. Each
Layers: Photoshop has many kinds of layers
one has very different lighting behavior, so you
Finding the Right Materials
must find the one that best suits your needs.
I’m a fan of materials; for that reason, when I’m painting, I pay close attention to each of
and you can take advantage of these layer
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Chapter 06
Chapter 6: Fighter Droid
Designing Droids
the materials in my illustration. I don’t have a definitive creative process when it comes to painting materials, because it’s like a “seek and find” process where you use the photos to study each of the different materials. Here is a guide on how to paint the materials that I used specially for this illustration. All these materials are under the same hierarchy of
The advantages to this technique are that you
same for the materials, colors, etc. You can see
colors, and illumination system (Fig.13).
can paint each item faster, with no worries about
the step by step in Fig.15.
crossing the boundaries of other close elements,
Mask
and you can get good definition in the details.
This is a very good tool for optimizing your
Silhouettes The two soldiers are based on real WWII
work and speed up your painting time. It’s very
The disadvantages are that it’s a very
photos. I tried to keep as close as I could to
simple: just select each item separately and
mechanical method and you can lose the flow of
these photographs to get a more realistic effect
paint each one a different color. That way, when
the painting.
with the poses and drawing structure (Fig.16).
the Photoshop Magic Wand tool and paint them
Legs
Soldiers
separately (Fig.14).
For this stage of the painting, I used the mask
These two men represent a remarkable
method that I explained above, doing the
contribution to the narrative of the image. The
you want to, you’ll be able to select them with
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Chapter 06
Designing Droids Chapter 6: Fighter Droid first soldier, who looks to the right, helps to increase the feeling of advancing, as does the linear composition of the illustration (Fig.17). The second soldier in the background adds to the narrative history of the piece and, along with the sniper on top of the ruins, helps to generate momentum within the image.(Fig.18).
Adjustments To finish I edited the illustration, correcting colors, editing element proportions and retouching areas, etc. To do this I used a number of filters including Levels, Color Balance and adjustment layers.
Conclusion To sum up, here are some final thoughts and
illustration is a good tool, but don’t abuse it. • Examining your process is a good way to
suggestions:
improve your way of working. • When painting an image, make sure the
Christopher Peters Web: http://trejoeeee.deviantart.com/ Email:
[email protected]
• It is fascinating to see how the wit and
detail is sufficient in the areas that deserve
intelligence of man is freely discarded in
it. To ensure this, use big brushes at first
favor of our capacity for self-destruction
and then small brushes to add the detail.
(Fig.19).
• Using reference photographs for your
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Chapter 06
Designing Droids Chapter 7: Pleasure Droid Chapter 7: Pleasure Droid Software Used: Photoshop Stressed? Your back feels tight? Do your arms hurt after long hours of making concept art for the buck? Well, suffer no more! Simply ask one of our latest I-pleasure 2000 robots for a free back rub (relaxing music included) and we guarantee you will feel in your twenties again!
Ideas We start with a simple subject, in this case a “pleasure robot”. First of all we have to sketch some ideas on our canvas. As you can see in Fig.01, I sketch some simple thoughts for the robot. I choose a “massage robot”, so I decide to add a vibrating massage device as the hands; it is better than a couple of hands and keeps the mood futuristic. In the back you can see a big C battery type, to add humor to the design. In the same line I decide that my robot needs a face (as you can see it already has a camera), so I choose a Japanese style for it and why not, a weird, crazy painted face! In the sides of the legs, I add a medic-kit and in the middle of the chest, a kind of panel similar to the common soda machines, so the person can insert a coin and select the part of the body that needs treatment.
Profiles This step is very important in any production illustration because the design can be used, for example, by a 3D artist, or used to maintain one style in a complex project. Usually I don’t use this for a simple illustration, but in this case I will show you the kind of style I use when a client asks for it. If you can do a simple 3D base in your favorite 3D program (for example, in Google SketchUp – remember to catch my past 2DArtist tutorial with this great program!) it will be a lot easier to work on the profiles. I do a rough 3D model, as you can see in Fig.02 and export the different views to Adobe Photoshop. The common style for this kind of work is line art. In the past I painted all the
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Chapter 07
Chapter 7: Pleasure Droid
Designing Droids
views, but several video game companies told
Now it is time to define much more of our
and the city behind is a good source of light for
me that this is not necessary and they always
illustration. In this step I add better lines and
our scene. But I’m still looking for the correct
used a simple ink line. So forget anything about
a quick pass of grays to add volume to the
lighting and this is an early stage, so I’ll probably
light and shadow in this stage and call on your
illustration. I’m not sure about the lighting,
change the source later on.
interior inker. Check the final result of profiles in
but it is a good start. You can see how all the
Fig.03 – 04.
elements work well together in the composition
You can see in Fig.08 how I’ve started to add
in Fig.06. That’s because I did the first step, the
more color to our secondary robot and client.
Color Illustration
rough sketch. I think an empty robot battery on
But you don’t have to worry about detail in these
I start with a rough sketch, which I select from
the floor will be great to show how cheap this
early stages, so work loosely over the painting
my mind. You can see how fast and quick the
Japanese massage house is, so I add this in.
and don’t worry about the details at all.
want to think too much about the illustration; I
Now it is time to add a simple base color, as you
I start to paint the foreground robot. I pick a
have the idea and now it is time to drop it onto
can see in Fig.07. In this case I pick a brownish
warm palette, but decide to add a little bit of cold
the canvas. So, work fluidly and fast, think of
one for the entire painting to accentuate the
color to the hands, so I pick a violet palette for
what you want to show and start to draw the
poor hygiene of this establishment (don’t tell the
them, but something is not working and I can
rough sketch as I have.
inspector!). The blue letters add a cold contrast
feel it. But as I said before, we can fix it later or
that works perfectly against the background
try other colors; just let the art flow. Sometimes
strokes are in Fig.05. This is because I don’t
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Chapter 07
Designing Droids Chapter 7: Pleasure Droid this kind of exercise is better than thinking too much about an illustration. Check Fig.09 to see the rough palette. I’ve changed the perspective of the front robot too, but maybe it is too drastic. The face of the guy is perfect because it shows how good the robot is at doing its job! The faces are done, as you can see in Fig.10, and I add color to the panel’s lights. In the hands I choose a green because I remember a similar device I have at home, but I don’t know if this will work for this illustration. I now have several colors on the canvas and a nice cityscape behind. I pick some photos of a city to add a simple texture; I’ll paint over it later, of course. Now we have a floor, a foreground plant and some simple curtains behind. As you can see in Fig.11 the green isn’t as strong now that you can see the floor and the background curtains behind, right? We have to keep working on it and remember that we don’t need to worry too much about details. Make big strokes and play with the palette. In Fig.12 we have the color scene complete, we have the palette we’ve chosen, the characters interacting with the robots and some simple details on the curtains. I add a couple of objects to make it more interesting; for example, a carpet on the floor and a briefcase for one of the clients. But now I have some problems. The violet and the green are too strong to work together; I want you to look at the robot, but not just its hands and that’s exactly what is happening now. The floor perspective doesn’t look right and the light is a little boring. So I start to think that maybe a good change to the image would be to make the transition to a night-time scene. It’s a cheap massage house, the city will look better at night and the glowing hands of the robot will look much better as another light source. So at the last minute I decide to change the ambient light. See how
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Chapter 07
Chapter 7: Pleasure Droid
Designing Droids
the hands and the light in Fig.13 are now more
Now I darken the entire image with one layer
choose the correct opacity so as not to over-
turquoise to integrate better with the scene
of overlay from the top of the canvas to cover
saturate the image.
and I’ve added more detail in the face of the
almost all the image. Remember to always use
client and a little puddle of drool on the table.
a gradient to do this; don’t change the complete
Well that’s the whole process! I hope you have
The panel’s lights are yellow now because I’ve
painting.
as much fun trying this one as I did. Remember
eliminated the green from the scene.
you can always improve or add modifications to So, with a military dark green on that overlay
your pleasure robots; maybe even make small
In Fig.14 you will see the extra details I’ve
layer, the painting changes to a night-time
ones for foot massages or toe nail treatment –
added to the floor to accentuate the dirty place,
image and now is just the time to add the extra
that’s up to you! See you in the next one; I’m off
such as trash, papers and a cup. You can see
details. This is the fun part because you have
for a massage!
some reflections too from the lights I will add to
the final palette and you just have to add all the
the ceiling.
details you want. As you can see in Fig.16 the
Carlos Cabrera
robot has some sparks on the neck because it’s
Web: http://www.artbycarloscabrera.com/
Behind the background robot I put some offer
a very cheap model and a foggy ambience will
Email:
[email protected]
letters to show how commercial the massage
give our scene the mood we need. The cigarette
house is and put some extra detail on the robot,
smoke I’ve added is a simple picture of smoke
such as graffiti on its body (Fig.15).
on a layer in Screen mode; make sure you
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Chapter 07
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