Tutorial: Mech Illustration with Character & Story
The Gnomon Workshop has released Mech Illustration with Character & Story, a detailed guide to contemporary illustration workflows, recorded by art director Hamish Frater.
The workshop, which is aimed at intermediate-level artists, provides over five hours of video training in Maya, V-Ray and Photoshop.
Create 3D illustrations with a hand-drawn feel in Maya and Photoshop
In the workshop, Frater reveals how to create engaging, characterful illustrations with a hand-drawn feel, combining the flexibility of 3D workflows with the expressive freedom of 2D.
He begins by discussing the importance of collecting the right volume of reference material, before sketching out initial ideas for the project.
Frater then moves on to blocking out the design in 3D in Maya, finding a composition within the 3D scene, then rendering it in V-Ray, and overpainting the render in Photoshop.
In addition to setting out his own workflow, the tutorial features Frater’s tips for improving the design, composition, lighting and use of colour within illustrations.
As well as the tutorial videos themselves, viewers of the workshop can download the 3D files for the tutorial, along with Frater’s own most-used brushes.
About the artist
Hamish Frater is art director at racing game developer Hutch, and works freelance for the TV and film industry. He previously worked as an entertainment artist at Sony’s London Studio.
His personal work is influenced by his love of old machinery and the idea of human survival in a postapocalyptic world.
Price and availability
Mech Illustration with Character & Story is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, providing access to over 300 tutorials. Subscriptions cost $54/month or $499/year. Free trials are available.
Read more about Mech Illustration with Character & Story on The Gnomon Workshop’s website
Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.