Robocop Head Concept Art
Wow, time moves quick. Lots of things going on, so I’ll keep it quick. Here are a few concepts for the new Robocop helmet designs. The main thing I want to talk about is the mouth guard. Everybody has always wondered “what if they shot you in the face?” (much like dumb and dumber). We’ll that a perfectly legitimate question. So why not have a cool mouth guard just incase. So I came up with the concept of the face guard. Which if I may say so, is a really cool addition. When he puts this mask on you really know he plans on throwing down.
Next up I plan on throwing out some concepts for Ed-209. Then after that wrapping up with the final designs. Don’t forget to check out the other Robocop redesigns here and here. then tune in for the finals coming in the upcoming weeks.
See ya,
A
SOTW Space Coffee Maker Design
This week the SOTW is going back to my Industrial Design heritage. But of course since I’m doing this for fun I wanted to throw in a sci-fi twist. This week I dreamed up a coffee maker for use in space, specifically in zero gravity. Call it an exercise in the absurd to get the creative juices flowing.
This was just a quick exercise for the blog, so I didn’t get to put in as much research as I normally would for a real product design. So here goes. I knew that whatever happened the system had to be 100% leak proof. So everything would be contained in bags (fig D). These bags would be LDPE with a heat resistant coating. This bag would be stored with water (room temp) then placed into the top of the coffee maker (fig G) along with the coffee packet (fig F). The coffee packet would be similar to what you get at those cheap hotels for your in-room coffee maker.
There would be a second bag in the actual mug. This bag would be completely empty and compressed. When the coffee maker is activated, the water is heated and the water bag is compressed forcing it through the grounds, then into the mug. No gravity needed and no liquid is released.
The mouth of the mug would be similar to existing baby sippy cups with the rubber mouth, which needs to be sucked on to release liquid. Another note is that the original water bag would be reused in the mug for the next brew.
Figure B gives you an idea of the materials. The mug would be made of some sort of brushed steel so that the mug can have a vacuum like a thermos and the main coffee maker would be made mostly of an ABS plastic.
Well that does it for now. Feel free to leave comments/ideas for the design. And remember in space no one can hear you percolate. Yeah I said it.
Toy Design Portfoilo Update
Yet another portfolio update. This time I’ve updated my toy design portfolio with a video. Lots of new slides on the video that aren’t on the website yet. Those slides will be added to the website next week. Also for next week the sketch of the week will be back (maybe sketch of the year would be more appropriate). I’ll give you a hint, think this but in color.
With out further adieu the 2011 video portfolio.
Tron Recognizer Concept SOTW Dec 20/09
It’s about time! Finally, the final sketch for my Tron Legacy concepts. This week’s concept is the Tron Recognizer. I always hated these things on the movie and it was not because I didn’t like how they looked or they scared me a child. No, it was because the Intellivision’s “Deadly Disk of Tron” video game. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20552 The game cheats and the booklet tells you that you can destroy the Recognizer by hitting it in the “eye”. Much like cake, the eye was a lie. Young, fat Andy wasted many days trying to beat that game and never did manage to destroy the in-game Recognizer. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure it just repeated on forever.
Anyway, I stayed close to the original version’s body shape. The original felt kind of skinny, so on this one I tried to beef it up by adding heavy shoulders and a thicker mid-section. That helped give the look more of an intimidation factor. I also tried to add some function to the look by adding some mechanical looking sections. For example, the silver-ish pieces on either side of the shoulders are rotating cannons. You can see more of that on the rough sketches.
My favorite addition is the power source in the mid-section. Imagine, if you will, a screen that starts out pitch black and the blue glow emerges out of the darkness followed by the red lines. Could totally be one of those O $#^@* moments in a movie. I also liked the addition of the blue lights coming out of the bottom. It looks like a jet stream in the sketch but really I see it as more of a spotlight or a tractor beam.
If anything color and texture has been one of my weak points, so I tried to push it a little this week. I didn’t go crazy, baby steps. I added a galvanized metal texture over the body and set the layer style to a soft light. The beams of light are a combo of gradient and some new texture brushes I found. And the chest glow is just a layer style (glow) with the noise turned up.
Well, that’s the last of the Tron series. Not sure what’s next but I’ll figure something out.
A
The Tron Light Cycle Concept Nov 21/09
As promised this week, I worked on some concept art for the Tron light-cycle. The original light-cycle has to be one of the coolest looking vehicles in movie history. In the top three at least, next to the X-wing and the dog van from Dumb and Dumber.
Anyways, I really wanted to draw the crotch rocket version of the light-cycle but the demon voices in my head kept telling me “Stop sucking and do something unique”. So then it hit me, wouldn’t it be sweet if there were a chopper version of the light cycle?
It was a little tough to keep the tech look with the chopper feel but it worked out pretty well. The hardest part was finding a place to attach the handlebars and make them look in place. Wrapping them around the wheel and connecting them in the wheel well became the best solution. I’m also a fan of the barbwire detailing on the gas tank too. That accent really seemed to combine Tron and the chopper feel.
Originally, I started with blue highlights but decided to go red to keep with the bad boy feel. Finally the fire red/orange jet stream is a nod to the Ghost Rider.
Come back next week to see my version of the Recognizers. I’ve been having a good time with the last two Tron sketches so why not go with it? See ya in a week.
A
Sketch of the Week November 13/09
So, for those of you who haven’t heard, Disney finally announced that they are coming out with Tron 2! That’s right Tron, the precursor to The Matrix. I can’t believe it took those jokers sooo flipping long. The story will probably be horrible but at least it will look pretty (see Star Wars 1-3). The teaser trailer is amazing! Is Flynn good? Is he bad? I DON’T KNOW!
The new light cycle looks sweet… from a distance. I just don’t like how the rider sits on the bike. So next week I’ll take a stab at the bikes but this week, I tweaked the tanks from Tron. Much like the storm troopers from Star Wars, the tanks looked sweet but were completely irrelevant.
I’m a bit of a purist, so I tried to keep the overall tank form the same and just updated the style. You can see a little of my thought process in the rough sketches. I tried everything form centering the gun turret, different types of tread, even a windshield. The wheels like rings on the side were added to imply wheels or tread. They don’t touch the ground at all but they help the tank look mobile unlike the original version.
The colors did need to be updated but obviously I didn’t do to much with that. The old orange was a little dull so I pushed the chrome up a little. Less is more. Finally adding all of the glowing lines. So many designs have been ruined by people overdoing the glowy lines and while glowy lines may look sweet, don’t use it as a crutch people! Just use it on the areas where you want to highlight something. Anywhere else use it sparingly.
All right, that’s all I got. Let me know what sucks in the comments. I’m looking forward to the light cycle next week.
A
Sketch of the Week November 4/09
I hope everyone has one last little bit of Halloween in them! I missed the past week due to a fairly big freelance project with a tight deadline. Gotta pay the bills I guess. I was hoping to get in a few more Halloween sketches but what cha gona do?
So as promised I give you ZOMBIES! And not just zombies but zombie clowns no less! I’ve just combined two of the creepiest things on this planet. I dare you to think something creeper! O wait is that zombie on the bottom left Zombie Ronald McDonnald? Heck yea complete with dollar menu cheeseburger. Zombie can has cheeseburger!
I honestly cant give a good reason for the sepia tone other than I found an old photo online and it just looked creepy. So I figured what the heck try it out. For a sketch I think it works. Could be a cool story as to why someone would of taken this vintage photo of some zombies.
O and who couldn’t love the cute little midget zombie clown. I just want to pinch his lil zombie nose as it squeaks at me…. and then proceeds to bite my face.
One last note I realized it helps to think of people with Cerebral Palsy when drawing zombies. No I’m not trying to make a mean joke it’s a helpful tip. The contortions of the body just seems to have an odd parallel.
Se ya next week as always I’m always open to sketch suggestions.
A
As an added bonus I found this sweet picture of a zombie baby. Isn’t he cute!
Sketch of the Week October 14/09
So I was spending some time thinking about what the heck the theme is going to be for the sketch of the week and then I realized “It’s freaking Halloween!” So that being said my killer themes for this week are Witch, Knight and Botany. No Botany isn’t when you sleep with sheep it’s the study plants. Get your mind out of the gutter.
All things considered I like how she came out. I would of liked to push the color more but a great man once said “artwork is never done it’s just strategically abandoned”. Or at least I think someone once said that. I tried to make her armor somewhat light but still have that medieval knight look. She does not need too much heavy protection, incase you haven’t noticed there is a huge golem behind her. That’s actually my favorite part. It’s subtle but what has what has not been seen cannot be unseen!
Obviously the botanical part comes in with the golem but you can see small accents of vines on her legs, stomach and hat. Depending on the situation I can see the vines covering her body for more protection or just to show emotions. One more thing to note about the golem is that it’s mimicking her pose like a puppet. I thought that was a cool dynamic to the image.
If you cant see the witch influence. Well that’s your problem.
Good things to look forward to next week. ZOMBIES! “All we want to do is eat your brains. We’re not unreasonable no ones gona eat your eyes.” That could be one of the best songs ever.
Sketch Of The Week October 7/09
So I’m getting back on track, kind of.. Instead of a two-month gap between post I’m down to a two week gap. Now that’s progress!
This week’s sketch falls in the same universe as last weeks. Remember Castle Von Beacon? Well this would be one of the Marshals heavy tanks. I was going for something not too futuristic with a heavy iron style. Kind of like a big daddy from Bioshock but way “more machine now than man”. Err if you can call a big daddy a man.
First nothing says bad ass like a huge mec with lobster claws for hands! Then if that wasn’t enough he has guns coming out of his arm pits… I liked the guns so much I even threw in a second sketch of it. Throw in some metal bolts to give it that heavy metal feel and boo-yea instant walking tank. I toyed with putting a third leg on the mec but too many dirty jokes came to mind.
All right I’m done for now. As always I open to suggestions for next weeks sketch.
See ya
A
Sketch Of The Week Sept 22/09
Ok so the sketch of the week is really, really late this time. Quit your whining it’s here and free of charge. I’m still getting use to the whole father thing, which is going well FYI, thanks for asking. I finally managed to get some time for this weeks sketch by hiding in the bathroom and pretending to be sick while the wife takes care of tiny E.
Anyways, I broke away from doing the normal three themes. I’ve been wanting to work on a friends project/story so did this sketch of the castle I call Beacon. The initial concept was a fortress that not only had the outer walls to keep invaders out but, it’s also sectioned off on the inside to keep the four factions living inside from killing each other. You can see how the fortress is broken up in the top view image. That’s the basic concept so I ran with it.
I added multiple levels onto the fortress to also break up the different levels of the feudal system. The higher up you live the better off you are, the lower well I guess it sucks to be you. At the very top of Beacon is Beacon tower where the Marshal resides. He’s far from being the king, more like the watcher of Beacon. Or maybe the babysitter would be more accurate. I thought it would be cool if his office were suspended over the city while he keeps watch through his glass floor. Some what voyeuristic but hey. And above that is where the fortress gets its name, a lighthouse for incoming travelers.
It’s a little hard to tell in the final sketch but there is an ocean port on the backside of the fortress. You can see it more clearly in the side sketch. The sweet part of this is that the flying buttresses would make an awesome rigging for the loading and unloading of cargo vessels. Not to mention I can see a bad ass fight scene/ escape taking place here.
That’s it for now. I’m a little tired and every time i write Beacon i have to double check so I didn’t write bacon. Probably a little hungry too. I’m already working on my hiding place to get next weeks sketch going.
A
Sketch Of The Week July 1/09
Its Wednesday again so once more I have to get off my lazy butt and do the Sketch of the Week! FYI this weeks concept art will be a 2 parter. I’ll repost the sketch with color on Friday afternoon. So that being said this week’s themes are dinosaur (courtesy of wendog), scary (jiggy) and insectoid.
I’m not sure if scary is 100% accurate but for sure creepy comes to mind. It’s concepts like this that make me question my sanity. Everything screams disturbing from the spider/crab like legs to the tiny little shrimp legs on the underbelly. This is the kind of thing you imagine in your head when you feel that bug crawling up your leg. Then you get that shiver, you know what I am talking about.
Then there is the odd hellish twist of the raptor like head with the needle teeth up top. I’m fairly happy with how things came out on this one, which is why I am pumped to add color to it soon.
The addition of color will really push the scare factor on this sketch. The addition of some more plates to the exoskeleton and some of the spines down the back will really push this up another notch. Slime on the teeth and tongue. The full nine yards. I haven’t decided the color pallet yet but I will probably start with a crimson red. We’ll see.
A
Sketch Of The Week June 24/09
Back with the Sketch of the Week. This weeks themes were monster (courtesy of Jiggybean) arctic, and tusk. Still managed to throw in some of what the European nation call “colour”.
I’m overall happy with how this one came out. As always I see pros and cons to this kitty. I’ll start with the likes. I like the concept and the look of the tusk. I can’t recall seeing a feline type animal with some sort of tusk. When brainstorming on making a artic monster, I referenced the Woolly Mammoth. The tusk on the woolly look freaking sweet in spite of what the rest of that dopey creature looks like. But I am not sure about 3rd/ back tusk. The jury is still out on that one. Wasn’t Mr. Snuffleupagus a Mammoth? He haunts my dreams…..
Anyway, the other pros are the face and that powerful forearm. Those really add some character to the beast.
Now the dislikes. While the background is not bad I think it could have been better. The value of the far back mountains is too similar. The far left should be lighter, the right more darker to help the composition. I knew this at the time but since it’s the background I didn’t want to spend too much time on it. Also, I think his back leg is broken. I don’t know what messed up with it but it just doesn’t look natural. One last complaint is that I think he could use some more markings in his fur.
That’s it for this week. Remember to give me more suggestions for next week. Jiggybean wanted something scary last week. But I want to go hellish scary next week. Maybe something like Hellish, insectoid, ???
A
Sketch Of The Week June 16/09
We’re still in color this week. The Sketch of the Week’s themes are Japanese, Utopia and Serow (an Japanese goat type animal). The concept came from doing some research on utopia and an image for Bioshock came up. Which if you haven’t heard of it’s a video game that takes place in a underwater 1940s utopia that’s gone to hell. This got me thinking; I haven’t really seen a Japanese utopian society done in a futuristic style. I threw in the Serow aspect in for good measure.
So, nothing says high tec in concept art like glowy things. Which is why I threw in the hologram device in his hand and the flag on his back. Of course in a utopian society why would you have an old school flag when you can have one made out of energy? I can’t pin it but it has a Blade Runner feel. I did some quick research to get some tips on glowing photoshop techniques, which you can find some here. I feel the flag could of came out better but I didn’t want to spend too much time on it.
One of my favorite things in this sketch is the bearer bot. Usually this is an intern for a samurai that does his crap work like carry swords and other misc gear. The style of it is like a walking umbrella rack. I threw in the round access points to act like eyes and give it a somewhat timid personality as it peers from out behind the swords. Honestly this guy probably already had enough swords but just like ninjas you never can have too many swords.
That’s it for this week. If you have any suggestions for next week’s themes put let me know in the comments section.
Thanks,
A
Sketch Of The Week May 27/09
The weeks just keep flying by. This weeks Sketch of the Week themes are master, servant and heavy-metal. As an added bonus this sketch is brought to you in Technicolor! Already this sketch feels more complete so I hope to bring more color sketches in the future.
I like the color scheme of this one but looking at it a day later it could use some more highlights to make it really pop out. Some pros to this one is I like how the armor looks. It really pulls off the hulking feel I was going for. I can really see him lumbering around under the tremendous burden to the armor. Picture the walk of a big daddy (bioshock). That leads to one of my cons of this image. I think the pose of the master could have indicated just how heavy that armor is. That could easily be fixed by giving him a wider stance and a wee bit of bad posture.
All right that’s it for now. Let me know what you think and I am open to suggestions on what to design next week.
Thanks,
A
Sketch Of The Week May 20/09
It seems like just yesterday I finished last weeks sketch. Man how time flies! This week’s sketch of the week is a fish operated, robot, out of the water.
When I was sketching this I tried to twist the look of a deep-sea sub and warp it to look as if a creature from the ocean designed it. You can see the influence from a crab and an octopus. I wanted this thing to walk out of the ocean so the crab and octopus seemed like the obvious choice for influence. I know and octopus doesn’t technically walk but it does kind of pull itself along coral reliefs at times.
I do like the how the pilot is in essence in a fish bowl. He really couldn’t pilot the robot with any limbs so I hooked him up to the mech matrix style. Note the little army he is already started to form below him. The streets shall flow with the blood of the air breather!
At one point I had scanned it and posted this sketch only to take it down and add the little tentacles you see hanging from the bottom and a few extra robot claws. I really think it helped. Once I saw it on the monitor it was kind of like looking at the image with a different set of eyes. I could pick out flaws that that I had just gotten use to after starring at the image for too long. I have one friend that will hold a piece he is working on in front of a mirror to get that fresh look.
See ya next week
A
Sketch of the Week! May 06/09
Sketch of the week is back and this week the three themes are animal, sport, and old skool. Which translated into hippo, and 1940’s football. Originally I was going to go with a gorilla instead of the hippo but it seemed to easy/obvious. The hippo just seemed funnier with the fat body and the tiny legs. Google one some time they have freakishly small legs.
When you think about it the hippo is the perfect character for a 1940’s football player, tough and mean. I never realized that hippos were mean S.O.B’s. Apparently they kill more people a year more people than lions, elephants, leopards, and rhinos! So that helped play out the theme. On a side note if you come a cross a hippo don’t pet it….
I’m pretty happy with how this one came out. I like the dynamic of the background and the perspective. The uniform came out pretty good too. My knocks on it would be the claw arm in the foreground and I could of pushed the contrast more. Maybe even add a few silhouettes of other animal players. But it’s a sketch and not a full-blown illustration so I wont beat myself too much.
All right that’s it for now. Next week get ready for a five-wheeled motorcycle, pharaohs, and a bomb.
See ya
A
Sketch of the Week! April 29/09
So I’ll go ahead and admit I cheated a little bit this week by using only two themes (Ninja + Oversized Gun). But I just wanted to draw a ninja with a gatlin gun. It’s always been a fav of mine since Arnold used it in T2 and Vulcan Raven used one in Metal Gear. Both those dudes are bad ass but could be compensating for something.
The gatlin is a little bit of a contrast since ninjas almost never carry guns and when you do see one it’s never big. We’ll just say for the sake of plot this ninja just killed the mini guns previous owner.
When doing the sketch I wanted to have the gun show a little weight. You can see how the posture of the ninja is thrown to the arm holding the gun. I also like how the sword is being elevated up to eye level. Makes you wonder if he is bring it up to block a bullet or if he is going to swing it around after he unloads the gun. It also helped with the composition of the sketch.
I felt that I had to compensate for having the ninja holding a huge gun so I made sure to throw in a lot of pointy things. Hence the full sword, short sword and the two knives on his leg. Like any good ninja he probably has more that you cant see.
That’s it for now, see you next wed.
A
Sketch of the Week! April 22/09
This week’s sketch of the week is a pilgrim, astronaut, with a ship. Be sure to note that this pilgrim is so tough that he needs no oxygen in space!
I had several sketches that lead up to this one. Several using a lot more belt buckles but it felt like an overkill. So I tried to make the astro/pilgrim relate more with the gloves and what ever you call that large white collar on a pilgrim. You’d be really surprised by some of the similarities between Cosmonauts and old school pilgrims. Eventually I will work in a color version of this, the color and texture will really drive home the theme.
Next week Ninjas with over sized guns!
Thanks,
A
Sketch Of The Week! April 15/09
All right, this week’s sketch of the week is a cyber, magician, with a monkey. This one kind of looks a little like but with a little more hair… and a few more arms. Ok maybe it looks nothing like me.
I’ll post next weeks 3 random items before the weekend. I’m open to suggestions.
Thanks,
A
My newest design
For those of you who don’t know, my wife is pregnant. Better yet with a boy, an heir to my throne! We shelled out some big money for the video (10 bucks) but only because the “included” photo they give you with the sonogram is a 1”x 1” low res print on copy paper. With print lines going through it….But who’s complaining? You can check out the video here and here.
I know this isn’t really design related but if you think about it, it is. What better way to learn about toy design than with an actual lil man of my own? I can only see it helping me grow as a designer. Despite the eventual lack of sleep. Regardless, it’s one of the most exciting and terrifying experiences in my life. Time will tell and I am sure you’ll hear more about it in the future.
Maybe I can use him as business expense? Yea….
Sketch of the Week! Apr 7/09
The idea of the sketch of the week is simple in theory. Take three random items and combine them into one sketch. For example this week is steampunk, 4 legged, lava walker. Mash those together and this is what you get.
For now, I’m going to generate the themes but hopefully as this website picks up some steam, I want everyone to pick the themes and also submit their own concepts.
Thanks,
A
Welcome to AndrewTober.com. This site will be under a constant state of change over the next year as I decide how to make it more than your typical portfolio. Ultimately, this site will be your one stop shop for tips, inspiration and entertainment. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions on my sketch of the week. If one thing has always been proven true in my life, it’s that I will always learn more from my friends than I can possibly learn on my own.
Currently I work in Orlando Florida where I specialize in designing Toys, Product Development, Graphic Design, Concept art and much, much more. Feel free to contact me for all of your design needs.
Thanks,
Andrew Tober