Designing Props with Character - Week 7

Designing Props, Vehicle and Set Dressing items with the same attention to detail and personality found in Character Designs (Part 2)

Week 7 - Oct 9, 2018

Principles of Good Design:

 - Strong Silhouette

 - Contrast of Shape

 - Straight Against Curved Shapes

 - Dark v. Light

 - Composition 

 - Variation of Big, Medium and Small Shapes

 - Direction Elements that Lead Eye

 - Areas of Visual Rest

 - Design with a History

WWI Era Design:

 - Vehicles

 - Armor

 - Artillery

 - Costumes

 - Battlefield Design

 - Cavalry

 - Aircraft

Turn the Tank Design

Using detailed reference material, design the 3/4 rear view of the WWI MkIV Tank. Pay particular attention to the hull, tread mechanism, gun ports, hatch door, rivets and exhaust ports/grills. These details will help give the tank scale and add to its realism. We will adjust the proportions later to add interest and simplify the silhouette. 

Start with a very loose sketch of the tank. Do several variations adding interesting details without crowding the silhouette. Work small so the focus stays on the overall shape and proportion. 

Look at my Half Track Truck design from "Time Turkeys", the details add a sense of realism and scale. The suspension and tread mechanism look functional and care was taken to ensure it will model accurately and animate. 

Design a strong 3/4 Front View of your tank. A 3/4 view will describe the front side and top planes all in one view. 

Using Photoshop, copy the 3/4 view. 

Edit, Transform, Flip Horizontal. 

Create a new layer and trace the outline of the flipped 3/4 view. This will serve as the silhouette of the NEW 3/4 rear view. 

Roughly indicate the location and position of the wheels, axles, windows and any overlapping panels from the front and rear view.