Tahu.

[FireEmblem]

let's establish that i'm used to drawing humans and that i have had no practice with robots. i also can't draw hands.[WARNING! Full size: 1536x2048!]there is a lot i wanted to incorporate, but also a lot i didn't feel like i did right.1. i wanted to incorporate a slight "human" feel. after all, tahu is emotional, which would make him kind of human in a way. after all, feelings is what makes us.2. i also wanted a constructed feel even though i was aiming for a bit human, he was still built in a foreign land and therefore he wouldn't be natural or a little more organic, like i picture the inhabitants of the matoran universe. he is still a robot of sorts. hence some pistons in some places and the random matoran lettering around him. (model numbers, in a sense.)3. a little more armor. i know that he gets armored later when he becomes a toa nuva, but i still felt the original kind of tahu was weak and flimsy. i slapped some torso armor (that kind of looks like a six pack, nudge to the human) and some overly-exaggerated chest armor. also, instead of having the black joints as his shoulders, i turned them into armor because i can.4. the heartlight. i didn't initially want to put it in, but i did anyway. instead of the black sphere on his chest, i turned it into just a black circle surrounding his heartlight. i'm a little weary on it, though.5. the sword. i originally made it just a blade, but after a bit i just decided to put some flames on it.6. his plug-hand-thing. i made it a claw. a claw that attaches to his forearm and hand, like a shield. because i can.what i don't like:1. the overdone lines on his chest. it looks more like someone took a sledgehammer to his chest instead of the streamline feel i was aiming for. what was i thinking?2. his narrowed torso. i never narrow torsos. why did i narrow his torso?3. proportions. again, i never mess up proportions, so why did i now?4. his hands. they're in a grid pattern. i guess i've been drawing spider-man too much.5. his mask. it has lumps where there shouldn't be lumps and impressions where there shouldn't be.6. the fact i don't have a scanner or a tablet. this drawing would've looked so much better if i did.7. symmetry. some lines that are supposed to be the same size are different, and it makes him non-symmetrical. then again, i guess the "04" already did that.it's granted that the artist will see more flaws than the audience, but these mistakes are obvious.anyways, tl;dr: i drew tahu and it didn't come out the way i liked it to.that's it for now. questions and comments are okay, criticism is okay too.

[Click]

It's not quite as bad as you think. Sure the mask isn't accurate, but I really like the way it looks. It just really shows Tahu and we can all see who it is. I also really like the matoran lettering around the body, it also looks really cool, like some warrior tattoo or ancient shrine kind of thing. The claw idea was different, but did turn out well. All in all, the humanoid look was pulled off really well, but the design and pistons (especially the lower torso, it looks awesome!) brought in the robot look as well. A great drawing!

[Jean Valjean]

I understand your frustrations. As an artist who embarks on ambitious and meticulous projects, I tend to see all the tiny little details that went wrong and, more importantly, the things that could have been.Sorry, I don't have any flattery, since I guess you weren't looking for it. On the other hand, something must have motivated you to make this drawing of Tahu and post it here, so I'm assuming you want advice. In that case, you should first find your own style, because this is pretty standard and static. As Click said, the marks on the side look like Tattoos, whith is perhaps something you can more intentionally play off of in the future.Along with your own style of interpretation, you should also incorporate in your own style of artistic rendition. Do you want to pursue photoshop art? Or something more down-to-earth, like Van Gogh brush strokes? How about water-color? Or, if you looked at the topic Brutakangry, you could discover a form of black and white conteurs. I think you'll discover that this is actually more important than discovering ways of rendering Bionicle anatomy, since I believe that your physical interpretation emerges from the artistic style.Finally, I suggest finding a subject matter to drive your art that gives the figure prominence. What new ideas does it bring up? Tahu's known for many things, so in what new ways can you "know" him?Your Honor,Tyrannosaurus Kraggh

[Voxumo]

wow dude all i have to say is i could never draw something like that so even though you say it is flawed i say it is really good for my standards. but like you said the artist is most likely to see more flaws than the audience. but i just want you to know i think it is pretty good. although i must ask what is the purpose of the 04 on his shoulder that i do not understand.

[FireEmblem]

Tyrannasaurus: thank you. i kind of intended it to look tattoo-ish, but i didn't think i did it. glad to see someone didn't think it was! i have a sort of style, but it's with people and i found this a little difficult. (i draw superheroes all the time, not bionicle. )and i have no experience in photoshop at all, but i am aiming to take graphic arts next year so maybe drawings like these can be a little better.Click: thank you! :DVoxumo: thank you! and the 04 is actually the id order Lego uses to keep groups of sets in order. in the toa, tahu's id made him fourth. i'll explain a little better later.

Edited April 12, 2012 by John Egbert

[Kaleidoscope Tekulo]

This is an interesting style. I don't think I've seen a Tahu drawing quite like this one before (and that sword, man, that design is really cool!)I do agree there are some proportion issues as well as other things that you mentioned, so I don't think I'll go over anything like that. Though, I actually do like his narrowed torso. It gives him a little more of a robotic feel (which I know isn't what you were going for, but I still like it). That claw is also pretty sweet. Great take on a Bionicle character. ^^

[FireEmblem]

This is an interesting style. I don't think I've seen a Tahu drawing quite like this one before (and that sword, man, that design is really cool!)I do agree there are some proportion issues as well as other things that you mentioned, so I don't think I'll go over anything like that. Though, I actually do like his narrowed torso. It gives him a little more of a robotic feel (which I know isn't what you were going for, but I still like it). That claw is also pretty sweet. Great take on a Bionicle character. ^^

thank you kindly! it was hard to do the claw because of it being blocked by the sword. i tried my best.

[Akuna Toa of Sonics]

I like the style you chose for Tahu. For some reason it reminds me of Heatblast from Ben 10.But Tahu seems too flat here, which shows especially in the abdomen. That mask, however, is awesome.