So I know I'm always harping on how great the 1950's are as visual inspiration, but now I'm going to to attempt to prove it and dole out some concept art. So I'm playing with mech designs right now/trying to learn how to paint metallic surfaces.
Major revelation: They are impossible to paint in the absence of an environment because as long as something is reflective, it's reflecting its environment. I think it's super beneficial to lay out a really simplistic idea of what the color in your environment is so you can temper the local color of the reflective object (be it steel gray or turquoise) with those other colors in mind, making them warmer or cooler as appropriate.
It seems like something I should already know by now but I consistently try to paint reflective surfaces without establishing in my mind what's around it.
eth.
