DSG 1300: Sci-Fi: CHROMED, MULTI-ARMED, BE-SWORDED ROBOT FRAMED BY BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY

[William b. Hand]

[ A Stylishly Terrifying Foe. ]

[ A Dazzling and Deadly Dueler. ]

[ A Gleaming Life-Ending Abomination of High-Tech Metal-Smithery. ]

[ Make your Hypnotic Horror Shine in the Sun with Aesthetic Awe! ]

[ :^^: ]

[ If making this fully-chromed is either unachievable or undesirable, then just utilize some chrome detailing. ]

[ A few puffy or whispy clouds might be nice, but I'm just thinking out-loud now. ]

[ I highly suggest utilizing a bit of web-searchery and finding some chrome references to help shore-up your understanding of super-reflective surfaces. ]

Sci-Fi: CHROMED, MULTI-ARMED, BE-SWORDED ROBOT FRAMED BY BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY
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[Mr.Dabit]

On a grassy hill with 4 arms. From the planet Chromotalon 3 in the Tellipivos Galaxy.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g257/EliasTheShiznit/chromemonsterintheskyfinal.jpg

My chrome coloring skills might not be up to par, but I impressed myself with everything else at least. I'm proud. Crits for ole Mr.Dabit would help.

Something happened with the quality. Dont mind the ashyness

[airrunkle]

1hour idk why but i chose a green grass base as well, heh.
http://airrunkle.com/other%20stuff/DSG1300.jpg

[Eullogy]

first try.. 10 minutes, brushpen
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/5799/chromo1jt0.jpg

[Weetbix]

WIP. Needed something to draw so I decided on this :)

The 2 extra arms act as shields!

More in my sketchbook ;)

IMAGE LINK (http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/9288/robowip1xm8.jpg)

[Honey]

I just got my first ever wacom, so any critique or tips, particularly if they're technique related, would be really helpful and welcome.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/dreamer286/dsg1300.jpg

[Izi]

Great Topic WBH! (wonders why more people havn't thanked you?!) :blah:

[muleskinner]

Big day off today! Home alone, w/computer time galore! SuperSweet creative goodness opportunity. Great lookin' robo terrors here, and yes, this is another awesome topic William b. Hand. Then again, they usually are here at the DSG (just my two sugarcubes). Here's my Dueler.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z202/dnickoli07/robomechwarrior.jpg
BR-549 hated taking orders and being told what to do. The stop sign offended him greatly.

[Nightblue]

go chorme :)

http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/33503/2004386189593368493_rs.jpg

[Mitze]

Chrome is kinda hard to do. My one is a bit all over the place threw a few filters on it.

Good job nightblue and honey

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/mekese2000/crome2.jpg

[Bismod]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j315/gpmann/FinalSwords.gif

[Izi]

ooh, dramatic Bismod

[StorieTeller]

Pencil drawing. Still no scanner, so sorry for quality.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w261/confused1028/HPIM0683.jpg

[JIVA*SOUL]

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f304/jivasoul/ca-robot.png

[Izi]

very nice you two

[Chuckcamo]

http://psychostrat.com/pics/robotchromo.jpg

[Ryoken]

http://www.ryoken.net/pictures/digital/3d/chrome_warrior.jpg

*shine*

[muleskinner]

Honey, Nightblue, Ryoken - Wow, you all really pulled off a super chrome-e feel to your robos. Nice renders.
Lady Hydralisk - Awesome display of action in your scene. Good chrome look starting to happen.
airrunkel - Nice form to your robot. the chrome look is really starting to happen with the lighting and the contrasting shapes.
Eullogy - Fantastic form and design to your robot. Especially for a ten minute sketch.
Psychostrat - Nice action shot. Leaping into the foray!
StorieTeller - Wow, that's alot of arms! It looks like you've got some reflective shapes starting to form on it's head and body. Nice drawing.
Bismod - Interesting symmetrical layout. With those black blades and spider like appendages, yours definitely has the deadly and terrifying look happening. Intense contrast and reflective lighting.
Mitze - I really like the form and detail of your robot. The reflective quality and the contrasting shapes are very convincingly rendered. Nice color work too.
JIVA*SOUL - Very happy looking robot. It looks like a defending guardian, more than a terrifying foe. Must be the beautiful woodland location and it's effect. Nice render
Mr.Dabit - It looks like you've got some nice detail work and form starting to happen with your robot but it's so small in your composition. I think more contrasting shapes and reflective lighting would help push your robot into action. Hope this helps. I know I need to work on mine in the way of reflective lighting too.

[Dr. Scribble]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/bulletproof_matt/multiplearmchromerobotthing.jpg

[hallo]

Yeah, robots. I felt quite a bit inspired, although the results - yes, I actually made a whopping total of TWO sketches - didn't turn out as good as I was wished. Anyway.

Nr. 1
http://www.notmybiz.com/files/fb_portfolio/bilder/chromebot_sketch_1.jpg

Nr. 2 (aka Highlights Galore)
http://www.notmybiz.com/files/fb_portfolio/bilder/chromebot_sketch_2.jpg

[senanimach9]

http://a4.vox.com/6a00d09e54df91be2b00e398baea340004-pi

[Kaldsnap]

http://tinyurl.com/29fphl

hallo, your second submission- I absolutely love it.


[Edit]
Okay, I realized I had absolutely no contrast [or chroming] in the first version (http://tinyurl.com/2xm83m) whatsoever, so I played around with it in photoshop a bit.

Dodge tool or not, I think I'm spot on, now.

[sandworm]

Just a quickie, done in Colors! on my DS.
http://gallery.ilidesign.com/art/sword in sand.png

[addleheaded]

kaldsnap i think you should search for some chrome references.. the body is nice but maybe you should do something with the head and maybe a useful function for the other two hands.

sandworm just a quickie, but it's yet pretty realistic. maybe a little change on the sky and some other hills.

i will draw some more thumbs in my sketchbook in school today. so maybe in the evening i can post my first linework or maybe allready a bit colored^^

[senanimach9]

sandworm - How did you do it on your DS? Thats awesome!

[Crimm]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/youkai-chan/multiarmed.jpg

Here's my bit! : ) I just had to participate in this one since I like robots theme! It's prolly my best perspective drawing ever. lol!

[airrunkle]

Wow there are a lot of replies to this one, i think i will leave a few comments..
hallo - i really like those shiny parts, i should have put some of those in mine to get a smoother metal feel. nice job
Ryoken - reminds me of the old windows xp desktop background with a twist
JIVA*SOUL - awesome style choice, luv it.
Bismod & StorieTeller - interesting non-bipedal approaches :teeth:

[asaru]

great work from everyone.
appreciate the additional description William Hand, easily helped get the gears going.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/asaru01/chrt3.jpg

[Hamsta]

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/9261/1300chromebotpr1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Demiurgic]

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/3083/chrombot1copyir0.jpg

[Nightblue]

hallo - really like yours. Very shiny, and the city scenes are nice.

asaru - great pose and composition.the upper body is a bit too large for the perspective, but it's still an awesome piece nonetheless. Ground is nicely positioned and rendered.

psychostrat - interesting tin-foil feel, the design also reminds me of old tin toys.

mitze - very nice design there. I love the centaur-feel.

[sandworm]

senanimach9 - Recently I've really gotten into doing quick value and light studies on my DS using a painting program called Colors! (http://www.collectingsmiles.com/colors/) It's simple, uses HSV sliders, and is of course pressure sensitive. In any case, I love it! Carrying around my wacom and a laptop is too much, but I always have my DS, so it's perfect for me. On the downside, I've gotten spoiled not having to sit in front of my computer, so I rarely finish work anymore, just move on to the next idea. Gotta work on that :)

Good posts everyone!

[Demiurgic]

Honey and Mitze are definatly my favorite sketches here.
Mitze it doesn't look like your typical chrome but it is certainly highly reflective, and looks like it has kind of a pearl quality to it like reflecting in so many colors if that makes sense. The design is very different and has a great alien feel to it IMO.

[EchoArt7]

Well, heres my take on the topic.. lol its a good break from the piece I'm workin my ass of on cause there both robots.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/EchoArt7/sky-robot-sketchcopy.jpg

[Rósek]

*meekly enters the room*

Hi there :D ;;;
I never really was good at drawing anything mechanical or robotic...so I thought I'd take a more organic approach to this theme and model the robot from a land and water bug.
I hope b/w is acceptable.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g24/strawberrystudio/linesandtones.jpg

Mediums:
Black touch marker, technical pens, liquid white acrylic for touch-ups
Tone and text in photoshop/powertone.

[ashton]

Rósek nice work. Almost too finished for this thread. The robot seems a bit lost in the composition. You could cast the women in shadow and work on some chrome highlights on the robot.

[Anthis]

Mr.Dabit; Like the pose with the swords like that, even though its a bit stiff. The grassy texture looks good around the edges. I'm missing a light source, since you have no highlights on the chrome and no shadows either. The position of his feet make the hill look a bit flat too.
airrunkle; Interesting concept and some nice and clean brushwork. I'm not digging the ground though, with all those lines towards the middle. Lost its perspective. The 'feet' seem uncomfortable, I like the design on them though.
Eullogy; Nice job on the pose. Good cohesive, easy on the eye design. Can't really see how his head looks, are those little things teeth? Not sure what the thing he's sitting on is doing in that hill :).
Honey; Afraid I don't own a wacom so I can't help you with that :P Like the chrome texture, and those strings. They seem a bit loose for such a complex pose though.
LadyHydralisk; Pretty complex design. Some nice highlights as well, especially on the water splash on the left. The arms seem a bit too weak to use. Like planks with a hinge.
muleskinner; Love how he cut down those lanterns. He really feels like a strong warrior robot. I see you've added those typical daggers as well ;) He seems a bit dark for chrome though. And the background seems smudged, rather than faded away in the distance.
Nightblue; Very very convincing chrome, and a killer pose. Perspective seems good, but you've rendered everything with the same detail. Makes it a bit harder to see what's going on at the lower back/elbow/hip area. Aside from that, this way exceeds a sketch, more like a finished work :)
Mitze; Personal fave because of the interesting colors and original design. His head, decorations, and out of the box anatomy makes him a great character. Like the color palette too. Nice and cold, mountainous feel. My only crit is the way you cropped the image, with the swords hitting the edges everywhere ;)
Bismod; Very interesting take on the subject, and carried out well in the pose. Allthough it adds to the drama, I think the background is a little too overpowering.
Storieteller; Nice to see a pencil sketch too. Fun design with the head sticking out. Chrome isn't really convincing yet. Think the hill is a bit on the round side too.
JIVA*SOUL; Fun robot. Like the fact that you've actually given him teeth and a tongue... And a metal robot using wooden swords. Nice feel about it. Background is a bit empty, perhaps some clouds would help or some stars.
Psychostrat; Nice to see a jumping pose. Think the clouds could be a bit sharper. Even though they're far away, they are never just faded blobs. Like the chrome look on the chest area most.
Ryoken; Dramatic look, and pretty sky. Not into 3d, so hard to comment. Don't really like how he's positioned right on top of the horizon. He seems pretty detailed too, but hard to see from this distance.
Dr. Scribble; I like the organic feel even though its still a robot. Like the sword-arms too. The chrome doesn't strike me as chrome yet. Maybe a broader variation of colors? Or at least the black parts and the blue from the sky would reflect in it.
hallo; You're doing a good job sketching. Few brushes strokes for a great effect. Not sure which I think is best. I like the added cityscape in the first, because it adds a sense of scale and places him into a story. Good use of atmospheric depth there. He does seem to trip over though, seems top heavy. The second has some intense highlights, and an interesting touch with the helicopter and the desert. (I'm assuming its a desert though, thought it was loads of blood at first, I'm a little colorblind) He has a more solid build too. Think whats missing in both is a consistent light source.
senanimach9; Like the pose, but think he's a bit too cropped in the picture. I think joints and hinges and such would really add to him being a robot, his arms and legs seem too fluid, almost organic now (like a man in a suit). Nice touch on the eye.
kaldsnap; You did a good job on boosting the contrast from the 1st piece. Pretty dramatic now, he seems huge. Think the best thing about it is the deliberate but calm pace, he seems well balanced. Only think the chest looks a little flat, somehow. And you could also use the detail, contrast and saturation to indicate which parts are further away. I can only see from the shape that his chest is turned. Not sure about that dodge tool, people advised me to avoid it from the start.
sandworm; DS? Thats just pretty damn cool. Nice job on the texture, and sense of depth. Not sure which way the robot's walking though. No footsteps near the sword, so I assume he's walking towards it?
Crimm; Nice viewpoint, I see you worked on the perspective. Like how those arms are attached, even though it may be a bit disfuncitonal :P See if you can tone it down on the black linework next time. He's also oddly placed in the left of your piece.
asaru; Very damn nice concept. Almost organic shapes, but clearly a robot. Nice mood about him too. I'm just confused by the soldier on the left. Thought he was hiding behind a wall at first, but then I realised that was probably a mountain in the distance since the bot's in front of it. But the splash is probably blood. Ah anyways, think its a little hard to read. I think I can feel what you were going for though, judging from his colleague lying in the back...

Gotta go now, will see if I can crit the rest later today.

Made it quick this time, about 50mins. Hate to do metal with a mouse...

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/sketches/swordbotdsg.jpg

__________________
Sketchbook;
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10502

[Rósek]

Ashton, thank you for the critique. After looking over the image I would have the agree. The composition is a bit off, I was looking at it earlier before posting and I couldn't put my finger on it -- so I thank you for pointing that out.
I'll have to work on texturing a chromed look in ink. I haven't done this texture often, so it would be a welcome challenge. As for shadowing I couldn't agree more. I tried to use minimum tones in this contribution, but I do see your point. without adding a shadow, it makes it lack three dimension.
Thanks for the heads up on those issues :D

--
Anthis; Wow! That was done with a mouse?! Seriously? Incredible.
After living a few years with my wacom, I cannot imagine life without it, so you definably got my respect there haha.
I really like the design you've given here for this bot.
I especially like the touch of the motion blur on the swipe.
I'm not sure if I can give much critique, since I'm still learning myself.
However, I think what would really add to this piece was if some enemies were put in.
This piece already has a lovely feel of action to it, you can feel the danger from this bot as he strikes and draws blood. However, I feel it would add to the drama if we could see perhaps the creature/person he is slaying (even if its just a fraction ) ; ), or perhaps some slayed/ready for the fight too in the background.

[Honey]

Honey; Afraid I don't own a wacom so I can't help you with that :P Like the chrome texture, and those strings. They seem a bit loose for such a complex pose though.


I was really just looking for something give the whole thing some hint of form. They do look a bit loose. I want to either make them look like tubing with fluid pumping through them, or just power flows, but I couldn't decide and this is just the sketch. I think they'll make more sense when it's all finished up though.

[airrunkle]

Okay, I realized I had absolutely no contrast [or chroming] in the whatsoever, so I played around with it in photoshop a bit.

Dodge tool or not, I think I'm spot on, now.

I think in order to get a better chrome look you have to reflect the environment more. You've got the highlights from your lightsource down, just throw in some more reflections and you've got it.

[Anthis]

Added some crits. So many participants this time -_-

Rósek; Yeah.. mouse :( I sure will be buying a tablet though, but I decided to postpone it a little, there's more than enough to learn anyways. Can be a pain with the mouse though. Thanks for the crit. I couldn't really find a good way to do the motion blur. I actually did want to go for a blood splash, or a hand, as if he would be attacking the viewer. I had decided to keep this one quick though, so I left it out. Those are some good suggestions though, because I had no idea whatsoever what to do with the background.
I've always liked ink drawings, you seem to handle them pretty well. A lot of interesting details everywhere, and loads of character in both the bot and the girl. She seems rather passive though, like she doesn't notice him. Her left arm is a bit stiff too >_>. You've done well on the organic/metal shapes.
Honey; I see, tubing or power flows seem like a nice touch. Matches the slender, agile feel as well. I just went for "strings" since I saw them connect the joints and such. I stand corrected :)

__________________
Sketchbook;
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105027

[senanimach9]

senanimach9 - Recently I've really gotten into doing quick value and light studies on my DS using a painting program called Colors! (http://www.collectingsmiles.com/colors/) It's simple, uses HSV sliders, and is of course pressure sensitive. In any case, I love it! Carrying around my wacom and a laptop is too much, but I always have my DS, so it's perfect for me. On the downside, I've gotten spoiled not having to sit in front of my computer, so I rarely finish work anymore, just move on to the next idea. Gotta work on that :)

Good posts everyone!

Hey is there a site or video tutorial on how to get your DS able to use "Colors!"? I'd love to be able to paint with it whenever I want,the idea of having a little digital sketchbook just makes my mouth water!

[GRETCHEN]

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h79/WEISSERHAI/DSG1300.jpg

nice thread today...it´s very interesting, almost all of you are using a blue sky :)
maybe my sketch is wrong :\ Was very busy the last days and today, so I hope I can criticize some sketches next post. :confident


Good posts everyone!

[JIVA*SOUL]

~


3 favorites: [who stayed with the topic]

1. Kaldsnap...Beautiful use of contrast with your edges and values. Creates a very nice feeling. Gesture seems a bit stiff...maybe give a little bit more life to the far right arm...and introduce some desaturated oranges in the clouds/figure for some color contrast. Good job tho.

2. Sandworm...Great feeling through your use of strong color...nice perspective...color is great...I'd pay more attention to a full value range...especially in the sword handle + robot. Your edges could be sharpened up also. Great continuity though...the eye travels around very nicely.

3. Ryoken...Your imagery is very strong...did you use maya for this or something?
I love the way you've handled light in your picture...Not loving the robot so much, seems kind of over the top, like he wouldn't be able to handle the shit he's carrying, you know what I mean? Otherwise, i love the feeling you've captured.


~

[Tommoy]

Some nice sketches here. Mine first got two arms then i red the multi part and i quickly plugged two extra arms in.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t19/Tommoy/DSG1300bk.jpg

[Izi]

*meekly enters the room*

Hi there :D ;;;
I never really was good at drawing anything mechanical or robotic...so I thought I'd take a more organic approach to this theme and model the robot from a land and water bug.
I hope b/w is acceptable.



GET THE FUCK OUT WITH YOUR HUMILITY

THAT IS AWESOME:xpld:

[sandworm]

Thanks JIVA*SOUL and Anthis! Actually, the fuzziness is a bit of an issue with Colors, since the working area is so small (it's the screen of my DS!). I'll generally clean them up with PS later, but hey, it's Daily SKETCH, right? :)

Regarding Colors!, I suggest you check out the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS_homebrew), there's good info here for getting a homebrew device for DS. I have an R4, which I picked up here in Taiwan. There are a number of solutions out there, not too expensively. If you absolutely can't find one in your area, I could mail one to you, but it'd be expensive (about $100). Anyway, once you have the card, you just drop the Colors! application in the main directory, and away you go.

Check out the Colors! homepage (http://www.collectingsmiles.com/colors/) if you're interested. It's been a godsend for me, for sure.

[Ryoken]

http://www.ryoken.net/web_pages/conceptart.org/dsg/chrome_warrior_unrendered.jpg

Anthis: Yeah, I remember you mentioning that before (regarding 3D). And honestly he's not very detailed at all (see above)... I only spent 30 minutes modeling him, 10 minutes posing and shading him and 10 minutes setting up the environment and render. It wasn't supposed to be the horizon though, just a nearby rolling hill... I love the motion in yours, mouse or no!

GRETCHEN: Well... the topic DOES say "beautiful blue sky," but that's what artistic license if for! I like the face on yer bot too.

JIVA*SOUL: No maya, just plain ol' Cinema 4D. And as for the big swords... what good is an anime-esqué robot if his weapons aren't 2-3 times his size??

[GRETCHEN]

Dear me! I´m soooooo clouded, too much work actually.......:nohope:
So it´s blue sky during sunset....

Cheers from Bavaria...

[Izi]

beautiful work kaldsnap...

[JIVA*SOUL]

Dang, that's ill.

I want me a DS now.

I'm sure I'd be wasting to much time on games though...so maybe it's not such a good idea...

Have you heard of the MacBook that premiered at MacWorld last year?
They stripped off the keyboard and configured a Cintiq-style wacom tablet over the screen...it's called the "Modbook"...that's the shit...

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

[Demiurgic]

Wow, I want a ModBook...

[William b. Hand]

Please keep the conversations tied to the DSG postings, please. Chit-chatting about stuff that's other-than should be done in PM's or in chat forums. Thanx guys.