Monday, November 3, 2008

Track Excavator

I’m attracted to sketching unlovely subjects, not to make pretty pictures, but just to understand how things are made. As I did this watercolor study of a track excavator, I was thinking how much the mechanical arm is like the anatomy of a human arm.

The main difference, I guess, is that the hydraulic “muscles” work more by pushing, while human muscles work by pulling.

10 comments:

Axel said...

First !!!! Holalalalalala ! This is the fist time i comment one of your picture because this is very very very great !
Really nice !
Thanks to dag to link at me your blog ;)

~ Rebecca Harbison said...

I'm reminded that whenever I go to a talk on the Mars Rovers, one of the facts emphasized is that their robotic arms have the same dimensions and points of articulation as a human arm, and that their navigational cameras are set the same distance apart as human eyes. So, even something like a six-wheeled rover exploring an alien planet becomes easier to operate if the operators can think of the data relative to their own body.

Allison Dollar said...

Well, human muscles work in pairs both expanding and contracting.

I love this piece. All the little how it's made parts. And plus I like how cool machinery looks when it's painted!

Heidi said...

^^^ "Well, human muscles work in pairs both expanding and contracting. "

Not exactly... Muscles do work in pairs, but they are ONLY able to contract; muscle fibers are not able to expland. One muscle is contracting (biceps, for example) while its pair is relaxing (the triceps).

These are agonist/antagonist pairs.

Jeff Mahorney said...

fantastic. so well drawn. :)

Allison Dollar said...

*head slap* Sad thing is I knew that. I've been typing the wrong words for some reason... contracting.. relaxing... Gah. Completely different concepts.

Dorian said...

"not to make pretty pictures" - this one is very pretty nevertheless :D Rock on!

Axel said...

I did a drawing like this today ! But your trac excavator is better !

Jen Z said...

Unlovely things are very lovely, and this is no exception. I like particularly the rust of the bucket and the tonal gredation of the yellow just above it, to be able to mimic reality with the flick of a paintbrush is a hard earned ability. I also like drawing machinery and things to understand how they work. Just like I believe skeletal structure and muscles are a must to draw living creatures. Thanks for sharing. :}

creativeexcavatingcom said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.