Veiovis

yea sure!!! i dont kno if this helps but here’s…. basically my process i guess ? below the cut

Thanks for asking!

I was asked something like this once before, and I didn’t have a very good answer then, so hopefully I can be a bit more helpful this time.

First off, even as robots, the exo are still very “human”, and except for some headgear (antenna, horns, etc…), they generally have human proportions and silhouettes. So, a lot of their design are very heavily influenced by normal human anatomy/function. That being said, the second thing to keep in mind is that they are distinctly not human, they’re robots. Which means they’re mechanical and generally have a mixture of metallic armor and other inorganic materials in place of skin. 

To get started, I’d suggest treating the exo’s armor more or less like an exoskeleton rather than skin. Meaning, it won’t squish or stretch like normal skin and muscle, but it does need the same general shape and flexibility. 

Each metal piece is inflexible in and of itself, so where flexibility and mobility are required we need joints and/or another material which can provide that necessity.  So, there are some common areas on every Exo that will need joints/rubber skin/mesh/etc for movement- places like the shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingers, waist, hips, jaw, knee, etc…  to allow for a full range of movement, but the shapes of the armor itself tends to mimic human musculature and/or skeletal structure.

Now, unless you like drawing your Exo in pajamas and workout clothes like I do, you don’t have to worry too much about the details of most of those joints. As long as you remember that all those individual metal plates won’t bend, squish, or stretch on their own (if they do get squished, it’s probably bad- since there are probably important wires and mechanisms underneath). If you are interested in all these little joints though, there are a hand full of references that can be found. The original Exo concept art which can be seen online or in the Destiny artbook is really nice for the overall feel of the Exo and there are a number of basic models that can be seen on artstation like those by  Mike Jenson. For in-game references, your own character model can be seen in some of the cutscenes, which is always fantastic. 

And, there’s a really nice (if a bit hard to see) references for the hand/arm in particular, which I just found recently, if you stop to chat with a couple of the Osiris cult members who hang around the lighthouse on Mercury. ( I take a ton of reference shots in-game, which probably drives my clan-mates nuts.)

Now, like any other individuals, Exo have a lot of variation in their appearances- this can be seen in the color of their lights and paint, the shape of their armor, and any extra headgear. So, while there is still a lot of similarity in the shapes overall there is also a lot of flexibility in the details. If there is a specific face/style you’re trying to mimic, then running through some cutscenes or taking some screen shots of your own are probably the most reliable references. 

Since their faces aren’t as flexible, I’ve also found that Exo expressions are easiest to display through the eyes and through body language. If you’re doing something a little more cartoony like I do, then you can bend the rules of their flexibility a bit. I find this useful in the mouth and eye area of the face, but if you overdo it, you loose the rigidity that really sells the ROBOT feel, so I’d suggest keeping that to a minimum. Little tweaks to position and angle of the character from your own viewpoint can also do wonders for expression and attitude. 

Anyways, I hope this helps a bit. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to answer. Best of luck!

Hey, anon! Tbh I don't think I'm the right person to give advices on drawing Exos, since I mostly struggle with them myself OTL But I'm happy to share some things I've noticed while drawing them and watching references.

First off, here are some nice tips from other artists I saw: [1] [2]

I think Exos aren't that bad to draw once you manage to break them down to simple shapes. Kinda like this:

4 pointy blobs don't seem that scary already; once you get them right, you can just add as much details as you want. But to get them right, you need to get their proportions right and, luckily for us, Exos aren't that different from humans. Basic rules of halves and thirds apply to Exos' faces as well, but with some notable differences.

Let's take my fav Hunter ship duo and see how many 'classic' human proportions can be applied to an Exo.

The Exos are a race that was created by the Clovis Bray corporation during the Golden Age for a long forgotten conflict, perhaps against the Vex. During the Golden Age, they were led in part by the Warmind Rasputin, but after the Collapse and Exos went through more and more reboots, they eventually forgot their original purpose and joined alongside humanity and the awoken in the rebuilding of society, with some even being reforged in the Traveler’s Light.

They possess all the humanly functions typical humans have, they can eat and drink, although they do not need to, they have unique personalities and consciousness, and were even created with the ability to have sexual intercourse with each other and other human beings if they so desired. Exos even go through a sort of “death” process called “rebooting,” where most of their memories are wiped and they are sort of reset. The number attached to the end of an Exo’s name indicated how many times they have gone through this rebooting process, so Cayde-6 has been rebooted 6 times and Banshee-44 44 times. (Even though new documents and transcripts recovered from the Hellas Basin indicate they should only be rebooted about 20 times)

There is one thing that does set them apart, however, and that is the Deepstone Crypt. The Deepstone Crypt is the subroutine that first seeded the Exo’s consciousness, and is described by many as the birthplace of the Exos. On occasion, the Exos visit the Deepstone Crypt in their dreams, and their experiences at this mysterious location vary greatly. In their dreams, a tower rests on black planes, and the Exos must somehow reach and climb the tower for whatever reason. Some Exos reach the tower in peace, but others have to fight an army of every person they have ever seen in their current life and their lives from their past reboots. It is unknown what the Exos see when they reach the tower, however, as if they even remember it at all after waking they seldom wish to speak about it.

I realized that there weren’t really any super detailed Destiny OC sheets, so I spent a good few hours making this one. It’s completely free to use, and feel free to take notes based on it if you don’t want to use the actual sheet. I tried to make it as straightforward as possible, but in case I didn’t make something clear enough, I made an example one using my main guardian, Atlas the Titan Boi. If you want to repost it, I left instructions on the final page of the document about reposting and what my boundaries are.

If you do end up using any part of it, or just want me to see your guardian, TAG ME!! I want to see your guardians, and it makes me so happy to know that I maybe helped someone out.

Happy Worldbuilding!!

-Ez

Easter Sunday with Charlie and Veiovis

Art Trade with @veioviswilliams 🐰💙

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Well, this is an old pic I drew for @vicaides but I fixed her hair a little bit 🤣

Without creative minds like Ravenclaw, the world would be in grey