# Vehicles and machines Vehicles fail on proportion before they fail on rendering: wheels too small, a body as tall as it is long, a jet that is a triangle with a dot. Shading cannot fix a wrong ratio. Decide the type, place wheels (or the main masses) first, then wrap the body, then spend your few remaining pixels on three to five details. Forms: `rules://72-3d-forms`; rotation sets: `rules://75-rotation-and-turnarounds`. ## Rules 1. **Silhouette first, in three views.** Sketch side, front and top thumbnails before rendering; the readable big shape sells the design more than detail. Give every machine one strong silhouette element (tank treads, a flat head, a long nose). 2. **Collect 3–4 reference silhouettes** and compare ratios before pixel work; invention comes after you know real proportions. Relative sizes between units follow their real specs. 3. **Wheels (or the main masses) go down first.** Package order: footprint → wheels → body box → wrap the skin → details. A wheel is a circle from `rules://72-3d-forms`, not a drawn ring. 4. **Car proportions in wheel diameters D** (measured from sketches, approximate): wheelbase 3.5–4 D; body height 1.8–2.5 D; overall length 6–7 D for a sports car, ≈ 7 D for a pickup; ground clearance ¼–⅓ D; off-road buggy 4–5 D long with oversized wheels. At 32 px wide: two wheels of D 5–7, wheelbase about 20 px. 5. **Wheels cut into the body.** Draw the body, then a ring one pixel larger than the tyre in the outline colour, then the tyre: that ring is the wheel arch. Near wheel full size; far wheel 1–2 px narrower, slightly offset along the receding direction, its lower arc hidden by the body. Long lens: far/near ≥ 0.75; wide lens ≈ 0.5. 6. **Hub detail:** tyre ring, rim ring, hub pixel; D=5 gets a hub pixel only, D=7 a plus-shaped rim, D=9 a round 5 px rim. Several wheels in a row: widest at the margins, flattest near view centre. 7. **Side-view car in three blocks** (32×16): lower body about ⅔ of the height, cabin a shorter trapezoid at ⅓ (offset to the rear for sedans, centred for vans), two wheels that bite into the lower body. Greenhouse narrower than the body by 1–2 px per side, A-pillar at 1:1. 8. **Only 3–5 details survive at 16–32 px:** wheels, windows, head/tail light, one trim or grille line, one roof feature. Choose by vehicle type. 9. **Sheen and value:** one 1 px highlight line along the shoulder and a short one on the hood; one dark band below the shoulder ("reflection split"); windows darker than the body with a 1 px lighter diagonal; headlights pale yellow, indicators amber, brake lights red. 10. **Iso car** (63×45): length ≈ 2× width and wider than two characters; build from body block, cabin trapezoid (A-pillar 1:1, windscreen taper 1:2, roof 2:1), spoiler slab, wheels each on a layer; tyre about 7 px with one extra ring of rubber; bevel edges with 1 px bands, add rhythmic dots on angled edges; stripes and glass sheen last (`rules://71-isometric`). 11. **Top-down units:** nose up for vertical shmups; the sprite sets the resolution for the game (jets up to 25×36, helicopter ≈ 29×31 with blades, tanks smaller). Draw the half hull and mirror around its centre line for symmetric craft. Do not flip a 3/4 top-down craft vertically for "enemy facing down": redraw (`rules://70-perspective`). 12. **Planes:** fuselage = long tapering cylinder; wings are flat planes with taper ≈ 0.5, dihedral 3–7° (1 px per 8–12 px of span), tailplane span 0.4–0.5 of the wing. Top-down 32 px wingspan: fuselage 3–4 px wide, 22 long, wing chord 6 px at the root and 3 at the tip, sweep 1 px per 3–4 px of span. Side-view plane: the wing is a short slanted parallelogram ⅓–½ of the fuselage length. 13. **Side-scrolling aircraft move by roll, not pitch:** rotating pixel clusters distorts them. Five orientations (level, two roll-up, two roll-down); tap shows the first roll level briefly, hold shows full bank. Spend extra frames only on units that move a lot; ground units get tread or wheel shimmer and a 1 px bob. 14. **Propellers and rotors:** 4 frames at 50 ms with steps of 22.5° (template in `rules://75-rotation-and-turnarounds`); squash vertically for a 3/4 view; reuse the animation for palette-swapped enemies. Thrust: 2 frames at 50 ms; rocket trail: bright frame, stretched flame, wider/shorter/darker, smaller. 15. **Turrets are their own layer** with ≥ 8 directions; a destroyed turret leaves a husk. 16. **Mech or walker:** build from separate parts on layers (head, torso, arms, legs, weapons) and keep an exploded-view sheet. At 32 px: torso like a tank front, shoulders higher than the head, head low with 1–2 bright pixels, upper legs mostly unseen, leg+foot one unit (skis, talons), 2-px hands. Legs of 2 equal segments (8+8), leg span ≥ 1.5× body height for walkers, middle joint pointing outward or up, feet 4–5 px, 3 values only. A tiny human next to it gives scale. 17. **Function drives form** for spaceships and machines (no aerodynamics in space, but each universe has rules); evolve the silhouette alongside the detail pass. Submarine: hull oval in 3 bands → conning tower → rudders → propeller → rivets. 18. **Panel detail is rhythm:** secure silhouette and structure first, then repeat panels, screws, stripes like a tune; random greebles become noise. 19. **Paint last:** stripes that wrap around forms enhance depth; one neutral base, 1–2 accent colours; 5–7 colours per sprite. 20. **Shadow and ground:** drop shadow = flat dark copy offset down-right; wheeled units sit on a contact shadow ellipse (`rules://70-perspective`). ## By size | Size | Car (side) | Aircraft (top) | Mech | |------|-----------|-----------------|------| | 8 | 8×4 block, 2 px wheels, 1 window px | 7×8 arrow with 1 px canopy | 8×8 blob, 1 eye px | | 16 | 16×8, wheels D=3–5, window band, light px | 13×16, symmetric half | 16×16, torso + leg unit | | 32 | 28–32×16, D=7 wheels, 3–5 details | 17×20 jet below, 3 shades | 32×32, exploded parts | | 64 | 63×45 iso car, lights, reflection split | 25×36 jets, canopy highlight, shadow copy | + weapons, accent stripes | The 8 and 16 px cells are derived from rule 4 and rule 8; 32 and 64 px follow the measured sprites cited below. ## Templates **veh-car-side-32** — side-view car: lowered hood and trunk, glass with glints, door line, head/tail light, wheel arches cut by an outline ring, body shade band. Recolour roles for vans or trucks by raising the cabin. ```grid veh-car-side-32 K = outline #1c1824 B = body-mid #c8392f L = body-light #e8645a D = body-shade #8f2540 M = handle #f5d0c8 G = glass #6f9fc4 W = glass-glint #d7ecf7 Y = headlight #ffe58a R = taillight #ff4a3d T = tyre #3b3947 r = rim #aab4c8 H = hub #e6ebf5 --- ................................ ...........KKKKKKKKKK........... ..........KGGGGKKGGGGK.......... .........KGGWGGKKGWGGGK......... ........KGGWGGGKKWGGGGGK........ ...KKKKKLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLKKKKK... ..KLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLK.. .KBBBKKKKKBBBMBKBBBBBBKKKKKBBBK. .YBBKKTTTKKBBBBKBBBBBKKTTTKKBBR. .YBKKTTTTTKKBBBKBBBBKKTTTTTKKBR. .KBKTTTrTTTKBBBKBBBBKTTTrTTTKBK. .KDKTTrHrTTKDDDDDDDDKTTrHrTTKDK. ..KKTTTrTTTKKKKKKKKKKTTTrTTTKK.. ...KKTTTTTKK........KKTTTTTKK... ....KKTTTKK..........KKTTTKK.... .....KKKKK............KKKKK..... ``` **veh-car-top-10x13** — top-down car: hood, windscreen, roof, rear window, trunk, side tyres, light pairs. Symmetric except for glints. ```grid veh-car-top-10x13 K = outline #1c1824 B = body #2f7fc4 L = body-light #6fb4ea D = body-shade #1f5388 G = glass #27466a W = glass-glint #8fc4dd T = tyre #3b3947 Y = headlight #ffe58a R = taillight #ff4a3d --- ...KKKK... ..KYLLYK.. .KLLBBLLK. TKBBBBBBKT TKGGGGGGKT TKGWGGGGKT .KLLLLLLK. .KLLLLLLK. .KGGGGGGK. TKBBBBBBKT TKBBBBBBKT TKRDDDDRKT ..KKKKKK.. ``` **veh-jet-top-17x20** — top-down fighter: nose, canopy, swept wings, tail fins, engine notch; light from the left on the hull. ```grid veh-jet-top-17x20 K = outline #1c1824 B = hull #9aa7bd L = hull-light #d4dcea D = hull-shade #5f6b86 G = canopy #4fb4d8 --- ........K........ ........K........ .......KLK....... .......KLK....... ......KLBBK...... ......KGBGK...... ......KGBGK...... ......KLBDK...... .....KLBBBDK..... ....KLBBBBBDK.... ...KLBBBBBBBDK... ..KLBBBBBBBBBDK.. .KLBBBBBBBBBBBDK. KLBBBBBBBBBBBBBDK KKKBBBBBBBBBBBKKK ...KKBBBBBBBKK... .....KBBBBBK..... ....KBBBBBBBK.... ...KBBBKKKBBBK... ...KKKK...KKKK... ``` **veh-wheels-5-7-9** — tyre/rim/hub wheels at D = 5, 7, 9 (K ring is the arch outline when overlapping a body). ```grid veh-wheels-5-7-9 K = outline #1c1824 T = tyre #3b3947 R = rim #aab4c8 H = hub #e6ebf5 --- ................KKKKK.. ........KKK....KTTTTTK. .KKK...KTTTK..KTTRRRTTK KTTTK.KTTRTTK.KTRRRRRTK KTHTK.KTRHRTK.KTRRHRRTK KTTTK.KTTRTTK.KTRRRRRTK .KKK...KTTTK..KTTRRRTTK ........KKK....KTTTTTK. ................KKKKK.. ``` ## Procedure 1. Choose the type, projection and size; note the wheel diameter D and compute the proportions from rule 4. 2. `draw` op `grid` the wheel stamps at their centres; box the body above them with `rect`. 3. Cut the silhouette (hood, cabin, nose) with row spans; check `look` op `preview` for the three-block read. 4. Add arches by painting the one-pixel-larger ring, then the tyre. 5. Fill value roles (body light/mid/shade, glass, lights) from one ramp; add the shoulder line. 6. Details from the 3–5 list; outline last; `look` op `ascii` for orphans; `validate`. ## Mistakes | Symptom | Cause | Fix | |---------|-------|-----| | Car looks like a brick | Body ≥ 3 D tall or wheels < 4 px | Wheel diameter first, body ≈ 2 D tall | | Wheels glued to the body edge | No arch | Outline ring around the tyre | | Plane is a plain triangle | One mass, no wing/tail | Fuselage + wing taper + tailplane | | Mirrored enemy looks wrong | 3/4 sprite flipped vertically | Redraw the other facing | | Detail noise | Greebles before silhouette | Delete; keep 3–5 named details | | Mech reads as a blob | One value, humanoid feet | 3 values, skis/talons, torso like a tank | | Flat vehicle | No shoulder line or shade band | 1 px highlight + one dark band | ## Review - Silhouette alone says "car", "jet", "tank" or "mech". - Wheel diameter and wheelbase match the proportion ratios; arches present. - Far wheel or wing narrower than near; no identical stamped copies. - 3–5 details; highlights follow the longest surface sweep. - One light, one shadow, 5–7 colours; thrust/rotor/turret layers separable. ## Sources - Robertson & Bertling, *How to Draw* (vehicle packaging, wheels and ellipses, aircraft). - Slynyrd, Pixelblog 12, 18, 19, 27, 31, 32, 34, 46, 48, 54, 59, 61, 63 (ships, aircraft, mechs, shmups, cars). - Tuts+ isometric vehicle tutorial; Megavoxels pixel-car guide. - Saint11, Spaceships, Tech, RocketTrail tutorials; Pixelblog 61 (isometric mecha).