Howdy! Here's where I'll be showing off my sprite projects illustrating side-views of railway locomotives. I usually model either British or American prototypes, or realistic interpretations of the famous engines from the Rev. W. Awdry's famous "Railway Series" books, and the subsequent television series featuring a certain blue tank engine!
My sprites are made to 1.*86 pixel-per-inch scale, which is approximately 10 pixels per foot. The process I use to create the sprites is by taking a side-drawing of an engine I want to model, taking the total dimensions in inches, and multiplying the value by 0.86, then rounding it off to the nearest decimal.
As an example, if I wanted to make a 12' x 12' block in 0.86 scale, 12 x 12 = 144 inches, which multiplied by 0.86 is a value of 123.84. As the number to the right of the decimal is higher than 5, I cut off all numbers east of the decimal and add the value to the last number a 1. That makes 124 pixels, which equates to 12 ft./144 in. in my sprite scale. I take 10 pixels, two sets in blue and red, and make a measuring stick, which I get the total dimensions of the locomotive in pixels, crop the drawing, and scale it down to the size of the dimension square in Photoshop. Once the lineart has been properly scaled, I trace out the drawing and fill in the detail based on the photographs in Microsoft Paint.
As of recent, my latest project is to try and figure out the Peel Godred Branch engines. Awdry wrote in his notes the engines were electric Bo-Bo configuration engines built around 1923. The branch itself was built to light railway specifications, and is very steep. What me and a friend had in mind was that the PGB engines were built by Metropolitan Vickers to similar designs built for the Metropolitan Railway. The plan involves using the frame of the Bo-Bo's, with perhaps the body of a SAR 1E mounted on top.
I'll try and keep this thread updated with progress as it goes along. In the meantime, I'll also show off other recent examples of my sprites for you guys to see!
I'm also open to commissions if someone would like to see me model a certain railway locomotive or piece of rolling stock of their choice! DM me for prices!
LNWR Large Claughton 4-6-0 No. 5915, painted in LMS Period 1 maroon.
LMS Stanier "Black 5" 4-6-0 locomotive in different liveries
USRA Heavy Pacific 4-6-2 Locomotive, as Indian Valley Railroad #714. Commission by a client.
BR Class 08 0-6-0DH locomotive with varying liveries
My sprites are made to 1.*86 pixel-per-inch scale, which is approximately 10 pixels per foot. The process I use to create the sprites is by taking a side-drawing of an engine I want to model, taking the total dimensions in inches, and multiplying the value by 0.86, then rounding it off to the nearest decimal.
As an example, if I wanted to make a 12' x 12' block in 0.86 scale, 12 x 12 = 144 inches, which multiplied by 0.86 is a value of 123.84. As the number to the right of the decimal is higher than 5, I cut off all numbers east of the decimal and add the value to the last number a 1. That makes 124 pixels, which equates to 12 ft./144 in. in my sprite scale. I take 10 pixels, two sets in blue and red, and make a measuring stick, which I get the total dimensions of the locomotive in pixels, crop the drawing, and scale it down to the size of the dimension square in Photoshop. Once the lineart has been properly scaled, I trace out the drawing and fill in the detail based on the photographs in Microsoft Paint.
As of recent, my latest project is to try and figure out the Peel Godred Branch engines. Awdry wrote in his notes the engines were electric Bo-Bo configuration engines built around 1923. The branch itself was built to light railway specifications, and is very steep. What me and a friend had in mind was that the PGB engines were built by Metropolitan Vickers to similar designs built for the Metropolitan Railway. The plan involves using the frame of the Bo-Bo's, with perhaps the body of a SAR 1E mounted on top.
I'll try and keep this thread updated with progress as it goes along. In the meantime, I'll also show off other recent examples of my sprites for you guys to see!
I'm also open to commissions if someone would like to see me model a certain railway locomotive or piece of rolling stock of their choice! DM me for prices!
LNWR Large Claughton 4-6-0 No. 5915, painted in LMS Period 1 maroon.
LMS Stanier "Black 5" 4-6-0 locomotive in different liveries
USRA Heavy Pacific 4-6-2 Locomotive, as Indian Valley Railroad #714. Commission by a client.
BR Class 08 0-6-0DH locomotive with varying liveries
