This isn't one of my favourite aesthetics when it come's to sci fi and fantasy. Its Victorian routes and reliance on obvious gears have never truly appealed to me. The closest thing I enjoyed was the look of Full Metal Alchemist - A manga series with a look very similar to that of the staples of Steampunk.
However, it IS a staple of this industry and I took the challenge head on. I wanted to create something maybe a little bit more subtle and ominous looking. To begin with as usual, I assembled a mood board of images I liked. I gravitated more towards hints of antiquity and wealth within my character. I wanted to create a villain who is clearly human in form but has that form shrouded in secrecy.
I sketched up some character designs and ended up cherry picking my favourite elements from each. I definitely wanted a helmet and some sort of weapon. He had to look regal, as he's the David Cameron of the Steampunk world. I wanted him to exude wealth and power. With these done, I noted my favourite elements and got to work on the grey scale image.
I tried a number of new techniques whilst painting this in black and white. I wanted to subtly use textures and used the warp tools to make sure they matched the form of the clothing.
Overall I'm stoked with how this one turned out. I'm tremendously proud of the coat and cloth textures. The claw could maybe look less Crab like and a bit more three dimensional. On a second pass, I'd love to introduce some more cogs and overtly obvious steam punk elements. The helmet could also be a bit bigger as this guys head must be tiny to fit in that thing.
Next time!
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