> About This Piece
Another piece of concept art for an RTS game project. The Anchor is a 100% defensive unit, which I don't think I managed to entirely capture, since it somewhat looks like artillery.
This one is supposed to be very set, unmoving, and solid.
Because of its defensive nature, I wanted it to look like it would have a hard time gettng around, which is why I opted for the very rigid tri-leg setup.
> Process
I started drawing this one with the top turret piece, though it changed a lot over the course of the drawing.
I pulled out pretty simply from there for the body, then tucked in again to start the base. I stopped there for a while, trying to figure out how best to shape the legs.
The legs started out as four, not three, but I couldn't get the fourth one to look like it was the right size, proportionally, to the other three, so I cut it.
The cannon took a lot of work. I was trying to communicate that this isn't a long-range, offensive weapon. I'm not sure I succeeded, but its better than the first few attempts.
The cables and antenna were last minute additions, designed to augment the 'machine' and 'steampunk' look of the character.
> What I Learned
That capturing stillness and solidity is, just like capturing motion, a difficult thing to be attempting. I kept erasing and slightly repositioning lines, trying to make sure the viewer can understand that the Anchor is stationary.