Shipbucket

cvbbdd, as to shading something that can be helpful is to use one of the free 3D modeling programs out there and create a roughly equivalent shape. Most let you place the light source so you can play around with it to understand how lighting falls on curves, overhangs and the like. I use Google Sketchup because its good for building design too, but Wings3D and others works too.

To make it even easier when you get the lighting and shap right use parallel projection and view the item from standard camera angle right or left to get a profile, you can then screen grab this and past it into your drawing program, scale it down to SB standards and basically trace the lighting gradients onto your drawing. You will have to clean it up to SB styling of course, but this will get you basic start. This method also helps with dealing with curves over irregular surfaces where shading itself won't cut it. It can be hard to translate that into profile perspective for a novice artist (like me!).

Now we're cooking, cvbbdd! Thanks for your effort. Now if we could find a side elevation, that'd greatly fascilitate the drawing of the bulges! - Also, while your crane looks quite nice (though you may consider eventually to detail it) the support looks way too weak. My suggestion: use three lines to increase the diameter of the support struts. (two outer lines on either side and the void space inbetween which you fill in with the ship's hull color.)That ought to take care of that problem.

update
shading done

That's way, way, way too many shades

I am looking forward to seeing the finished product but ease off on the shading mate. I have always been interested in large crane ships. Memories of the large crane ship "Titan" that was based at Cockatoo Island Naval Dockyard in Sydney come to mind. What a beautiful beast she was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titan ... y_mast.jpg

shading deleted
should i get rid of the dark red?

Well, cvbbdd, the darker shading may distract you from actually being able to draw the outline of the bulges, so, my recommendation is, yes, get rid of t, and start sketching the outline with lines instead. However, having looked online for suitable line drawings f the Crane Ship no. 1, and come up empty, I am not in a position to give you specific advise about their appearance, only very general ones.

merry christmas
update
this is about as detailed as i can get all pics are to pixlated to see equipment on deck.

Wow. I'm really impressed by your progress.

That's some kind of Christmas joke ?