Senitenel

220x220px
12 colors
3 hours 40 Minutes
Photoshop

As usual, I started with some hand sketching. If not a particular vision, I will have a general theme or vibe in my head from the get go. The sketching helps me pin down the idea with a bit more clarity and guide the work. Even if very small and crude, the sketch keeps me from getting lost in the weeds of my imagination. But, sometimes that's what I want, and I'll jump in raw. In this case, I had a definite vision for a full frontal design of a mech. After looking over some Front Mission bots for inpso, I sketched up this sheet of paper enough to give me a good direction on the mech in my mind.

Next, I created a pixel concept. On a normal piece this would just be the start of the final art, however, for these recorded processes, I like to prove the concept in a somewhat final form before committing to the camera. This allows me to establish colors and composition, so the process goes smoothly, making for a more digestible viewing.

After designing the basic torso portion, I felt I had more than enough to go on, and the rest should come out smoothly in the process. Furthermore, in the video you can see it starts out with very precise decisions, while there is more trial and error involved as I work beyond what was established in the pixel concept. Sometimes I edit out the trial and error stuff when it gets messy to follow, but I like to keep some in there for the insight.

There's bit of a jump in the process at 3:18, as I forgot to hit the record button for a short session. No biggie, just want to let you know I'm not trying to hide any tricks.

The canvas starts at 256x256 and I cut to down to 220x220 towards the end of the process. I often start with more canvas than I think I need, eventually resizing to find the best composition. Or, I'll start small and find I need to expand the canvas for a better comp. The bottom line is, don't stress so much over canvas size, as you can easily change it anytime with out losing the information that gets cropped off screen. In Photoshop, go to Image/Canvas Size.

Obviously, I've had mechs on the mind lately. I tend to lose touch with my strengths and definitive sense of style with all the experimentation I do. So, lately I've been deliberately trying to lean into my classic style, which is well suited for hulking geometric structures. Expect to see more machines.

Watch process