How do artists make industrial environments feel believable?
1d
Mohsin Ali
Hey everyone,
I've been collecting reference images lately for environment sketches, and one thing I noticed is how much real world research goes into making industrial scenes look convincing.
I started looking at quarries, drilling sites, and large scale mining projects just for reference, and it kinda changed the way I think about environmental storytelling. Even small details like terrain, machinery placement, and access roads make a scene feel much more believable.
While digging around for references, I ended up on Weco.sa because they work with Saudi mining licensing consulting, and I found myself spending more time looking at project photos than I expected.
Do you ever use references from industries that have nothing to do with art, just because they add more realism to your work? I've found it's a pretty fun way to discover ideas I would've never searched for directly.
You need to know a few things about what you are working with so it's common to research different things. I have been looking into different types of architecture and clothing from different time periods for my comics. Even if I am not trying to be historically accurate, it's still good to know what I am playing on.
Like I looked into Japanese kawara tiles to get the look of Japanese buildings right. And I learned new things like how the tatami mats are never arranged in an even pattern in the room to avoid creating "+" between the mats, something that's associated with death in Japanese culture. Instead mats always follow one of the special arrangements to make "T" junction between them. Currently I am looking into the romanesque and gothic architecture of medieval along with gothic revival of the victorian period for my next project.
