The A.T.T. - Part 1 - The Sketches

The Automated Torque Telegrapher, or the A.T.T. for short, is a "little" invention that the great Dr. Mortimer J. Torque created circa 1889. The A.T.T. had a unique way of receiving code and translating messages into hand written script via an automated mechanical arm. Considering the technology of the time, such a device was unfathomable.

I've found that trying to formulate ideas for things that do not exist in our world, without making it look too much like something that has already been done before can be quite daunting. Over the course of the next few posts, I would like to share some of the process of how I came about designing the A.T.T.

It all started with this tiny thumbnail. When I scribbled this, I kind of had a lose idea as to things I wanted: a fancy table-like base, an arm, and some cogs & steam for good measure.

Seems pretty easy right? Wrong!

I literally drew dozens and dozens of sketches and scribbles before I found a shape I liked. Below are a few of the "better" ones. At first, I was digitally drawing interesting silhouettes and then chipping away until I found something I liked... no dice.

I even did some traditional sketches in the ol' sketchbook. There was still nothing I liked, but I felt I was getting closer to the essence of what needed to be there.

Next, I tried a really fun method of mashing up photos just to see what would happen. In using this method I didn't find exactly what I was looking for... although I did get just enough information out of the exercise to move back to pencils and continue fine-tuning what I had going with a fresh concept.

Now at this point, I liked what I had, but felt I could do better. I had just bought James Gurney's book, "Imaginative Realism," and after seeing what he does with maquettes, I really wanted to try my hand at building one-especially since I knew I would be drawing this bad boy from multiple angles for more than a few panels, it just seemed to make sense to build one!

On the next post I'll show you in which direction I took all these jumbles of chicken scratch and how the A.T.T. came to be in maquette form.

Until then, Stay Classy.

-b

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- You can view the A.T.T. in action in the

Apparition Abolishers webcomic

- Visit James Gurney's blog - GurneyJourney, for some of the very best

tips and tricks of illustration and great art in general.