Art Study – Believable Mechanical Design

Topic for this month is believable mechanical design.

Here’s a copy/paste of the description

Believable mechanical design. Have a look at something – preferably organic – and understand how it functions, then go wild. Find out what would work as a mechanical substitute. What would be a cool addition? What would be an improvement? It doesn’t have to be a full robot design, maybe it’s just an arm, a rat, a tree. It doesn’t have to be futuristic, it can be a wooden prothesis. It doesn’t have to be functioning, but believable. Have a look at mechanical references as well. Engines, watches, marionettes, medical protheses (retro and scientific, both super interesting!). And it doesn’t stop at robotic designs, or vehicles, think about toys or designs that improve or make your day to day life easier.

I leveraged my old leg anatomy studies to try to come up with some kind of mechanical leg thing. Very meh about the end result. I love cool looking futuristic/sci fi/cyberpunk/steampunk robot designs, but it’s not something I ever really draw. Not surprising I had a hard time coming up with something that fit the topic + also looks cool.

That plus my nemesis of accurate geometric shapes come to haunt me here.

Started with some brainstorming, and looking at various references.

Trying to turn the leg bones into something robotic

First draft of the design from side view, and a 3/4ish concept view