Ok..so here's my first tutorial I'm doing under protest. I'm not really a great mecha artist so I feel a bit uncomfortable showing others how to draw one. I'll try to explain some of my philosophy on designing one which may spark an idea or two for you. Hopefully this will be worth the effort.

Mecha : Step 1-the structure

Like everything. I start with a stick figure. With Mechs you can be more creative with the proportions. You don't even have to make them humanoid. I'm sticking to the basics here so I'm going to draw a humanoid mech.

I make sure I leave the shoulders wide and the legs set apart for balance.

Mecha : Step 2- roughing in

Now here's where I do mechs different than humans. I dont really do the Ball & Cone setup. If I do I always end up with a Transformer type mech and those are too blocky and old school.

Instead I think bulky and powerful. Large bulges that house machinery, Armored joints, sensor arrays...ect.

I try and make sure the joints, though armored, can move freely. What good is a mech if it can't make it's hands meet in front of it.

Think about the function of the mech...is it for urban use? Space? Does it doe heavy lifting? Does it need to be fast? Does it need to withstand harsh environments?

Mech : Step 3-detailing

After I get to a shape I'm happy with I start erasing unecessary lines and and darkening the ones I want to keep. I add seam lines and tiny access panels all over the meI made the chest cavity large cuz because that's where the engine would have to be.

This mechs about 9 ft tall and unmanned

Mech : Step 4- inking

I've added a few more details and got the the inking stage. I use a realatively thin line for the details. Machines look better with a heavy outline and fine lines on interior details.

If you'd like to see a large version of this drawing..click here.

Big Mech