Android pirate

[IllustratorOrBust]

This is an android pirate who was originally some kind of worker droid, maybe in a mineral mine. But an ion or other kind of storm has made him sentient, and he’s cut himself free from serving humans. He’s made it his job to attack other ships to free their droids and make them sentient.

The idea I’m going for here is mostly the look of the Hollywood pirates like Captain Blood and the Crimson Pirate, but with hints of robot. His face has a few exposed RF coils or diodes, and one or two limbs are hacked down to steel rods from battles.

I appreciate any comments. The comments I got on my original robot were hugely helpful.

Darrin

[manlybrian]

This sketch might be okay to get an idea of where you want to take this but I would start over if I were you.

If/when you do: First think about what this picture is. Telling a story? Showing off a character design? Is there anything you want to communicate to the viewers? A mood, a thought, a feeling?

Do some thumbnails, ESPECIALLY if you're going to draw any environment around him. Then do the environment first and place him in it. If this above drawing you posted is what the final image will look like, then it's not as big a deal, just make sure his body is in proper perspective with the floor. (People advice against plain white backgrounds though, fyi.)

Get his gesture/stance down solid. A nice interesting pose (even if he's just standing there) with good balance. Right now his feet are too close together, his arms have no expression, and his body is rigid and stiff. It's a boring pose. Try some poses yourself, sketch out some different options, and look around for references too.

After getting the gesture you want start constructing his anatomy. Use as much reference as you need to get it accurate. This site could be helpful for finding gestures and anatomy. Make sure it's all good, post it here for second opinions.

After that, draw his clothes on him (again using reference to see what pirates wear. Reenactors are you friends, look them up too. ) Try to get the folds and drapery accurate by using reference as well. I know it's hard because I had to do the same thing for my pirate but it's worth learning.


I know this is a lot to do but it's seriously helpful and you'll really learn a lot. I learned a lot by doing it all for my pirate drawing, so I thought I'd share it with you. Good luck!

[Artfix]

ManlyBrian Lol I liked that cleaning pirate. How do you guys think of this stuff?

IlloOrbust I agree with brian. Take this sketch and build on it. Push the idea of pirate and android.

Is this an isometric character design? Or is it supposed to have a story?

[manlybrian]

I was carrying a heavy vacuum by walking as it rested on my foot and then I was like, "What if my leg was a vacuum?" and thus the cleaning pirate concept was born.

[IllustratorOrBust]

Brian: thanks a million for the tips. The pose definitely feels boring to me. My main problem is pretty simple: I’m not doing what guys who do character design regularly are doing.

Your advice on doing a gesture of a cool pose, followed by building structure makes sense. Thanks also for the reference link.

Hey your pirate guy has a lot of detail! Good job-- and good concept--on that.

Artfix: Thanks for the encouragement. I was going for a perspective, not isometric sketch, but maybe the stiffness of the pose makes it look isometric. Or, maybe I just botched the drawing! The character is part of a story. I summarized it in my original post: he’s an android made sentient by a freak storm, and he’s out to free other androids from their servitude.

Thanks again guys.

Darrin

[Vay]

The cloth folds, the head, and the robot hand needs some work.

Can't really see where his eyes are because of the thing blocking it. If the eyes are where I think they are, and you have a side way view of the nose, which is wrong if your cyborg is not messed up on purpose. The forehead also needs work if you did not put that bulge there on purpose.

[Artfix]

Ok so you do want to illustrate the story. Then you need to draw the whole scene starting with thumbnails. Its a good idea to get some idea how he should look however first, like you've done. I would say keep sketching ideas for him. Then maybe try some thumbnails of a scene. Maybe liberating his brother androids, or looking at the ship where they are being held. Or maybe he's still serving on a boat, and hes angry--thinking about escaping.

But then again, you will benefit the most from drawing a LOT lot lot of simpler things until you improve more. Draw still life, and live models if you can. Find tutorials and practice, practice.

The complicated scenes may need to wait.

[wooden mango]

I agree with artfix (practice and brush up on the basics) but when you are ready to come back to this guy I would suggest really pushing the android component of the this concept as it is he seems more like a regular pirate to me, even with the arm the way it is.

[IllustratorOrBust]

Vay: thanks for spotting the nose problem. I totally missed that, but can see it now after you commented on it. The nose isn’t in the same POV as the rest of the head.

Artfix: Great advice, man: get back to basics. I interpret this as doing stuff like drawing block guys--lots of ‘em-- from books like “draw comics the marvel way”. I’m serious here. I feel like I’m out of my depth with character design on a portfolio-quality level. I need to go for quantity, quantity, quantity of block guys and other basics like figure drawing and drawing from life.

Wooden Mango: Thanks for the comment on him not looking enough like an android. I sensed that when I finished the drawing, and your comment confirmed it.