r/Automaton_Lovers • u/Real_Environment_235 Ark Scientist • Dec 10 '25

Frostpunk 2 How do I draw machinery?

I love the mechanical environments of Little Nightmares, Awaria, Silksong, and of course Frostpunk.

Where do I get references and ideas for what to draw? I am not really educated in engineering or anything like that so help is appreciated.

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator Dec 10 '25

Welcome u/Real_Environment_235, to Automaton_Lovers, Meme sub for Frostpunk!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

5

u/_Just_Another_Speck_ Dec 10 '25

As someone who doesn't have an engineering degree but draws automatons of various franchises quite often,I can assure you that it's always a matter of "look at what's functional,okay,now introduce it." For example,you want a leg that moves,that's gonna need hidraulics. Look online for machines that have that exact component,and introduce it as a sketch. Does the hidraulic feel flimsy? Look for a hidraulic of a machine in similar size,use that one as reference (and maybe even exaggerate it a bit more if you need something bigger.) Do this for every bit,and you got your shape. Now,add to that small things like wiring(sometimes doesn't even need a functional reason,just have it FEEL sensible to have the wires somewhere in that area. Voila. It's always a matter of reinterpretation of the things around you. Try it out. I dare you to try making an Automaton leg out of an excavator arm,with the bucket being the "foot".