Howdy-do ! I can certainly try to explain my process !
With mech, I always start with an idea first, and I draw it how I usually do it— Like say, Mephisto’s prosthetics ! The first step is to just draw regular limbs first and figure out the individual parts. This is the “it does not need to look good it just has to exist first” stage, and you’re basically just doing what you know. [Four limbed Mephisto jumpscare]
Now, you’re gonna take these shapes and try to see exactly how they join together and bend. I like doing it by taking everything apart in 3 groups- The big shape (The “flesh” if you will, basically everything you see on the outside), the lil shape (Articulations for the big shape, basically what allows it to move) and the connectors (The skeleton for how your big shape is going to be structured ! it defines how lifelike or how robotlike your character will feel depending on how bendy or stiff). The simpler everything is, the better for stylizing !
Looking at ball jointed dolls and other such puppet characters has really helped me understand anatomy as a whole, but it’s been especially helpful to robots since it has that certain natural stiffness to it, which I personally find crucial in robot designs. Here it is applied to the diagram !
Then, you’re gonna wanna refine these shapes into something more cohesive ! Really string everything together with the same principles, but a little more stylization. These still look like limbs, but you can see exactly how they bend and stay in place through the exposed articulations. Just remember to keep it all relatively straight-edged and using of the skeleton to make sure you don’t get too organic looking ! Mech is about geometric designs most of all !
And finally, once you feel it looks good, you go back in again and carve out your detail ! Add some stuff to that guy ! Make him look more interesting !
AND you still get to follow principles ! How fun is that !!!
The best way to practice this method imo is to just trace over robots you know and love. Transformers especially is a really good source of inspo for me, since they’re made with toy features in mind and therefore allow for greater range of movement. You can do it to basically anything though ! Even more humanoid looking bots ! Here’s two I did on Optimus prime and Fl4k from BL3!
A really good tutorial on this stuff is How to think when you draw: by TheEtheringtonBrothers on DA. Seriously, their stuff is highly informative, and they do a better job explaining than I ever could ahaha. They’ve got a bunch of tutorials with really good breakdowns of fundamentals and all that stuff up on their pages too, so I highly reccomend you check em out !
But yeah, most of all, practice is your friend. Observe how other people stylize machines and try to replicate it, read up on tutorials, see real life machines, get inspired by your favorite cartoon robots— It’s all part of the process ! Like with anything in art, you need to crack a whole lot of eggs beforee you finally learn how to make an omelet you like, but whats most important is that you make an omelet at all. Some stuff is gonna burn or turn out not how you wanted it, and that is also normal, so you need to learn to embrace it and keep on going !
Happy drawins ! Here’s a peepaw seal of approval just for trying :]
I’ve been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard
Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.
Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.
Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.
SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.
SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.
Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.
Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of “how to draw” videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can’t make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.
Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.
Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.
Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here’s a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.
