At first I was tempted to do an original character but then I decided to work with an existing character. I always liked Wheeljack because of his unique design, it gave him a character many of the other
G1 characters simply lacked visually. I know there's a version of him in the games already but I don't own either and I couldn't find a good enough image of him to make sure I didn't copy any elements too much. So if there's any similarities it's either chance or that they're simply iconic elements of his design.
Although working in the live action franchise's style was different and at times difficult this is my end result of two hours work. The two forms are largely set down now, detailing and small elements might change but I'm happy with the general design. I did try working on a facemask-less version, but it didn't feel right and Wheeljack hasn't really had a version where he didn't have his facemask so in the end I didn't bother.
I drew his Cybertronian form, not because I couldn't draw a real car, but simply because I don't really know
anything about cars and I would be unable to choose a real vehicle to base his form off. As a result I used his
G1 Cybertronian form for a lot of inspiration for the vehicle mode.
I had to go back and redo elements three times. First was when I first started the legs, it took me a while to first off balance them to the body as the movies Transformers are more balanced and less blocky or bulky. Secondly was the arms which took me a while to work on and then they were again too blocky. Just when I thought I'd finished I remembered I needed to do a more realistic eye. That's partly what the close up of his face is for.
Comments and critique are welcome. I'll take all on-board, although I'll just reiterate that I'm unlikely to go back and do any
major revamps of the design.
Update 1: Started detailing work! Man it's tedious, but again it's fun layering things up and going to town with the fiddly details. I was working on a larger scale with the legs, the arms and hands will be smaller. This is why the hand and arm so far are more detailed than the legs. The muscle groups are more complex and smaller, and so the fiddly details were as well. Also I wanted to make the hands into convertible guns, so that's an extra reason for detail as well.
Update 2: Finished the detailing work. Tedious is the keyword here but the result feels rewarding for 7 hours!
