platform city concept

[lincolnhughes]

hey guys here's the cleaned up drawing, set up the composition and it's ready to be painted.. or i think so at least, anything i should know before i start?

[Kanji2000]

There's a building in the center, and then another building slightly behind it at a distance...These two buildings look like one because the tip of the spire of the building in the back ends right at the edge of the bottom protruding platform of the one in front...See it???

Another thing, make your lines even...The outlines of the building should be thicker than the lines that make up the facade...This will make the whole piece a little clearer to the viewer...Also, the geometry of some of these building are a little off...Spend a little more time planning the overall shapes...

[lincolnhughes]

what's the facade??? and could you please be more specific about the geometry shapes being off? thanx

[Kanji2000]

(from dictionary.com)
fa·çade also fa·cade

1. The face of a building, especially the principal face. (this is what I mean)
2. An artificial or deceptive front: ideological slogans that were a façade for geopolitical power struggles


Imagine a cube...There are these lines on the outside...These ore the outlines of the edge of the object...What I meant by facade is the face of the building...I'm talking about the lines "inside" the overall shape...The lines that make up the detail...The cube has more edges than the ones you see on the outline...Right??? If you made those outlines or "oustide" lines, thicker than the ones inside, it looks more professional...It's thicker because the light hitting the edge gives it more contrast...

Right now, your line thickness is all over the place...Be more consistent...Objects in front should have thicker lines as opposed to objects in the back...This will give the overall piece a feeling of depth...

By geometry, I meant structure...I couldn't tell how these buildings are shaped...Other than their outlines of course...Even that's a challenge...Look at the structure of your buildings...Some, if not most, are cylindrical...Are those windows that curve around them??? Is that your facade??? There's no discernible logic to the facade or "inside" lines...

I know it's a rough of a concept piece, but you need to plan it out some more...

In animation, sometimes, the background layout artists would block in simple shapes to portray a room, a city, a forest, a garden, anything...Using simple geometrical shapes, one can plan an entire scene...This saves time in planning by using simple shapes and forego the detail...A 3D grid is drawn on the surface of these shapes to show depth and mass...Once the scene is ready, the grid is erased and the details are added...Try this excercise...It will improve your understanding of geometry and perspective...