Back in the Swing of Things

      This week I've revisited a couple of alien species in Novus Imperium that haven't been getting enough attention.  This first sketch is just me trying to get a feel for the Reos.  They've been around since the early days of NI, but they've received by far the least attention in terms of development art.

      The Reos have always been somewhat crustacean in appearance, and I've tried to make that more apparent in this sketch than I had previously.  I'm not quite sold on the arms and legs, but I'm very happy with how the head and torso turned out.  I've drawn inspiration from crabs, lobsters and the wonderful giant isopod.  Previous versions of the Reos have had small sub-limbs folded against their torso.  I seem to have forgotten that in doing this sketch.

      This second one has been mentioned on the blog before.  The Corrupted have received more attention than the Reos, but I've still not quite got their look figured out.  As the overall shaping goes, I'm actually fairly pleased with this design.  I am, however, really iffy regarding the color scheme.  In sci-fi, it seems like the color purple has sort of become shorthand for "alien."  I've been playing around with other color schemes, but as yet I've not found a satisfactory alternative.

      And lastly, still more sketching with Reina.  Here I'm testing out a somewhat simpler / cleaner style than how I usually sketch.  I've also been working to clean up the design of her prosthetic arms, particularly the backs of the arms, and how they connect at the biceps and triceps.  I've also been researching anatomy texts to better understand the human musculoskeletal system, and by extension how prosthetics might integrate with it.

      This week's been far more productive art-wise than the last couple.  It's nice to be getting back into the swing of things.

Cheers,
Geoff

The Giant Robot Groove

      Recently, I've been trying to get back into mecha design.  It's been a couple years since I last was working on mecha designs on a regular basis.

      One way I've been getting a feel for mecha is in sketching out some designs for a Gundam alternate universe with the fighting set on Mars.  The mecha I posted last week was a tentative design for the same Mars Gundam idea.

      The head on this fist one is just a placeholder.  I'm still working on the actual head design, but I still haven't gotten it quite where I want it.  With these Mars designs, I'm going for a very geometric aesthetic.  The proportions here are a little wonky.  It needs refinement.

      This one's actually from last year, but I never really posted it anywhere.  Basically, this is a rough idea of what I think a Real Grade model of the Nu Gundam from Char's Counterattack might look like.  It's one of my favorite official Gundam designs.  I've always felt that the white/black/gold color scheme is supremely classy.

      I've also been having fun with some fantasy-themed illustrations.

      This last one is something I've never tried before.  Having finished my "Neptune Astray" custom Gundam model, I've been figuring out what my next custom Gunpla project will be.  This is a pre-visualization of what I think I'll be going for.  It combines parts in roughly equal measure from a GN Archer from Gundam 00, as well as a G-Bouncer and Clanche from Gundam AGE.  The proportions and color blocking are based on Reina's armor.

Cheers,
Geoff

Spring Break

      Well, it seems that last week was the first week this year that I've entirely missed a post.  In fairness, I was involved in helping to make a wedding happen, so that pretty effectively ate up the end of last week.

      I do however have a more substantial post this week.  As per the norm, I've still been getting Reina's armor figured out:

      I'm finally getting pretty close to how I want the thigh armor to look.  Of course, as soon as I get that how I want it, I start changing other things, because I just can't leave well enough alone.  I've started playing around with moving the armor on the forearms up to the biceps instead.  Reina's already got a fairly wide hips-to-shoulders ratio, and I'm worried that the bulky forearm armor places her visual center too low.

      Nothing particularly special here, just a couple more sketches getting the details ironed out.  I suppose it's worth pointing out:  The exaggerated curvature or the lower leg isn't a stylistic quirk- Reina's prosthetic legs actually do have a more pronounced curve, allowing for a higher degree of shock absorption.

      This one's unrelated.  Just playing around with mobile suit design.  My aim was to try to blend the "realistic" sensibility of Gundam's UC timeline with basic geometric styling similar to Gundam AGE.

Cheers,
Geoff

Gunpla Fight 2014

      This week's post is a little something special.  I've had this project going on the side since last December, and have only just gotten it finished.  The MAHQ group on Facebook is hosting "Gunpla Fight 2014", an informal model-building contest celebrating the currently airing Gundam Build Fighters.

      I haven't yet taken the photos of my model that I'll be submitting, but I've taken a few test-shots just to get an idea of what I'll be going for with the final photos.  Meet the "Neptune Astray"!

      The base model is the HG 1/144 scale Gundam Astray Red Frame, and it incorporates a few bits from the Blue Frame Second L and an old Non-Grade kit of the Red Frame as well as a few other miscellaneous bits from my parts bin.  The kit has been very heavily modified; virtually every piece has been altered in some way.  Additionally, the feet, bicep components and the beam-edge sword and tanto knife are fully scratch-built (I felt the feet and biceps included in the kits were too large/bulky).

I may do a lengthier post over the weekend detailing all of the modifications and alterations that were required to make this custom model happen.

Cheers,
Geoff

The Early Crunch

      Well then, I have been just slammed with schoolwork the last couple weeks.  While I am managing to keep up with my classes (something I'm both glad for and proud of) the artwork that I do for myself and for others has been suffering as a result.  But enough of my complaints.  You're here for artwork (what little there is this week).

      Have you ever had one of those ideas that ends up with you saying to yourself "This is so incredibly stupid, that I must make it happen"?  Because I've had one of those ideas, and this is it:

      This is the Balldam, and I am going to make a model of it.  Or rather, I'll be making a model of it when I have the time to.  It is for the most part the legendary RX-78-2 Gundam, except that the space where its chest and head should be is now filled with the chassis of an RB-79 Ball, frequently considered to be the most useless thing in all of Gundam.

      In other news, as should come as no surprise to regular viewers, I'm still having trouble figuring out the thigh plates on Reina's armor.  I like all of the individual components, but I just can't quite seem to make them fit together properly.

I should have some more substantial offerings in next week's post.

Cheers,
Geoff

Egads, I Missed a Post!

      Well then, it seems I missed my weekly update yesterday.  In fairness, I've got very little to show for this last week art-wise.  I've been kept quite busy with papers and lab write-ups and and the first of several midterm tests.

      Most of what time I haven't spent on school-related things has been spent revisiting Dragon's Dogma, one of my all-time favorite fantasy RPGs.  Playing it has called to mind the fact that a few months back, my brother was considering organizing a weekly session with friends to play Dungeons and Dragons, and it occurs to me that I'd love to do designs for people's characters and help them to paint their miniatures.  I'll have to see if he'd still be interested in doing something similar over the summer.

      At any rate, it got me thinking about how I'd portray Reina (at this point sort of my default character archetype) in a Western fantasy setting:

      It's a rough sketch, clearly.  I've tried to portray her as a sort of Rogue-Ranger character, someone who spends most of their time out in the wilds.  Stylistically I've drawn inspiration from both Dragon's Dogma and the Monster Hunter series to try to affect a sort of cobbled-together look to her garb and equipment.

      Fair warning- this next week's post may be a bit sparse as well, as I've still got several large assignments ongoing.

Cheers,
Geoff

V-Day 2014

Happy Valentine's day, everyone!

In addition to that silliness, I spent the last couple days marathonning all of Attack on Titan season 1.  It really captures the imagination.

I'm inclined to think that Reina would do well with 3D Maneuver Gear:

Cheers!

Geoff