Mechanical Spider (Updated 4-4)

[keith_v]

The final project for my Adobe Illustrator class was to create a mechanical bug or insect on a clean white backround. I chose to do a spider. I'm not to crazy with the crop job I did, so I'll probably go back to the original file and save a better aligned jpeg file from it, with the spider more centered.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to lay this image out, that would be great.



Mechanical Spider, made in Adobe Illustrator, touchups in Painter

[El Jeremie]

Please, erase those shadows

[digitalfly]

You'v made great job in Illustrator but you ignore anatomy and ground rules of spider. If it your design - let it be. I'd like to check a shadows - too much for thin legs.
Any way keep working. Good job

[keith_v]

Thanks for the critiques! Especially Digitalfly, your stuff is some of the best I've seen on this sight. I really see the problems with the shadows, so I'm going to really refine them. And I think I'll clean up the shape of the image. A wide shot with the spider centered is much more eyepleasing than the current shape of the background.

[stoph]

a good thing to do when drawing mechanical structures is to use reference. if theres a construction site nearby, go look at the hydraulics, the joints and other mechanisms of the excavators and other construction equipment and machinary. i think where you suffer most is establishing a clear light source, and this would be rectified with a solid understanding of how light behaves on these objects. also, perhaps look at eggs for the body shape (thats right, i said eggs). wider on one end, narrower at the other. thats essentially the shape youre going for, but given the limitations of the gradients you've used its failed in popping the form correctly. draw some eyes on a ping pong ball, and you will see how they wrap and relate to the curved surface, too.

[Aniboomer]

the shadows are akward, and I think it could use some textures...

[keith_v]

Thanks for the input guys. The shadows are going to go, and I think I will edit the lighting on the actual spider a bit. I don't want to rework the mecahanics, because I like the look of surreal machinery. I've always been inspired by the owl in Clash of the Titans. That type of technology has always appealed to me much more than the kind of stuff you see in a lot of modern Sci Fi (I'll take shiny saucers above the techy ships of Independance Day any day.)

And when I throw the image into a real backround I'll add in the texture. I'll rework the shadows then, too. And Stoph, that texture thread you have is great. I looked at it for 2 minutes and already got a bunch of ideas from it.

[keith_v]

I updated the image. I didn't make any massive changes yet. I got rid of the shadows (though I left a little bit) and moved the image into the center of the paper within a frame. I'm toying with the idea of throwing a very rusty texture over the body.