Things that makes a mech looks "cheap" or "industrial"

[False Prophet]

Too bad that I know nothing about design or design language. I've been wondering for the longest time what can makes a mech looks "cheap" or "industrials". Like, I always find mechs if they appear in steampunk works are painted in jet black or a shade of grey that are reminiscing of the steam trains. Or, I remember Kazuhisa Kondo has some non-mecha designs that has that stamped steel looks, you know, flat panels with reinforced ridges.

[MythSearcher]

Too bad that I know nothing about design or design language. I've been wondering for the longest time what can makes a mech looks "cheap" or "industrials". Like, I always find mechs if they appear in steampunk works are painted in jet black or a shade of grey that are reminiscing of the steam trains. Or, I remember Kazuhisa Kondo has some non-mecha designs that has that stamped steel looks, you know, flat panels with reinforced ridges.

My personal experience is that if you have more straight lines and/or more geometrically shaped parts, it looks more industrial and cheap, because they look like the designer(in-universe wise) did not care about how it looks but only what works.
Of cause you will need to adjust for background world settings, like you probably will still want slanted/sloped armour if you want it to look effective if it is set in a more modern or futuristic world, but probably just perpendicular if it is something in the early industrial age(i.e. before WWII)
I did saw a Tweet by a mecha designer saying straight planes make things look cheap thus the trick to make it look better is to make it bulge out a little like it is inflated by air.(Like all tweets, it is impossible to retrieve in your super duper long like list.)

[Seto Kaiba]

Too bad that I know nothing about design or design language. I've been wondering for the longest time what can makes a mech looks "cheap" or "industrials". Like, I always find mechs if they appear in steampunk works are painted in jet black or a shade of grey that are reminiscing of the steam trains. Or, I remember Kazuhisa Kondo has some non-mecha designs that has that stamped steel looks, you know, flat panels with reinforced ridges.

Hrm... IMO, it depends as much on presentation as anything.

Basic industrial aesthetic touches can make even a cosmetically advanced mecha look cheap and industrial. To make a mecha look industrial, all you have to do is make it look like it'd be used in an industrial setting.

Take, as an example, the Destroid Work from Macross Frontier. The Destroid Work is the same basic design as the military Cheyenne II Destroid, but it looks cheaper and more industrial simply because it has basic workplace safety aesthetics like the high-visibility safety orange paintjob, hazard stripes, and warning lights.

Other basic touches that can help with that are exposed, range-of-motion limiting hydraulics at the elbows and knees, claws instead of articulated hands, etc.

[SonicSP]

For me, one aspect I use personally is that the closer it looks to a normal human, the less cheap it looks since presumably in these cases the human look is the ideal visually, and likely requires the use of more advanced technogy and/or costs. This is assuming the category itself is humanoid mechs of course (IE mobile armors doesn't come in) and can only be compared to it's contemporaries from the same universe.

An example that appeals to me personally for this would be the Flag vs Tierens in Gundam 00. The Flag is sleek, cool, more versatile with it's basic equipment set. The Tieren by contrast is um....wider. While the Flag's defense is less than the Tieren due to the latter's sheer volume of armor, its still described as fairly sturdy in sources. It just has that sleek new MacBook Air look compared to the Tieren's big, cheap but sturdy laptop.

The technology used also represent the philosophy as well with Flags using things like a rotating rod, EM field to improve aerodynamics, molecular-level fuel tank, plasma field shield, plasma sword, and railguns while Tierens stick with more tried and through techs like traditional guns, traditional shield and traditional blunt meat cleaver blade. Other in-universe profiles describe these differences as also intentional as well, with the HRL sticking with the Tieren because if it's reliability and short sortie time as opposed to them lacking the technology and knowhow to make advanced designs.

And the Gundams from that series takes it a step further blows these two out of the water presumably because they don't have to make design compromises due to having more access to more advanced tech. Kyrios doesn't have to be as skeletally thin as the Flags for example to beat it in aero combat performance due to its GN Technology. Virtue is a "heavy armor" type but it's mass is less than even the super sleek Flag (let alone the Tieren) for the same reason. And developing those tech costs a lot of money and innovation - in this case a powerful scientific theory, a few decades of on-Jovian R&D plus decades further on material advances for frames to withstand the increases internal strain, and all translating back to their visual design to some level.

The "close to human" isn't the only factor I use of course but it's a big one for me, at least generally speaking. The type of visual material matters as mentioned by others. And of course the standard disclaimer that "cheap" doesnt mean impractical or inferior should be noted too.

It doesn't mean it always translates perfectly to all shows though. In AGE, Vagan designs look less humanoid than the EF ones but I certainly think they look more advanced so they are definitely other factors involved. Although I wonder whether the mystery factor of who they are for most of the show and the "alien" visual is playing a part in how I view their designs.

[Mafty]

True in most cases a less Humanoid and more for lack of a better word "Robotic" design does look cheaper. You can see this in Gundam ZZ within the old MS Catol that has a barely human shape, and even in animation looks beat up and grimy. Also there's the Geze that Gemon made himself; that practically is a steampunk mecha in itself(did they have steampunk in the 80s?), and manages to hold its own pretty well.

Steampunk itself is something of a mixed bag in terms of looking cheap. A example is the Megadeus's in the Big O . Pretty much all of the units manage to look modern and sleek; while at the same time being very mechanical, and fitted with wires. The Big O in particular look like a shiny Black Suit of Knights Armor.

Another factor to consider is the color of the unit itself; as certain colors look more industrial, or military based. I've heard several times that the Gundam was originally supposed to be monochromatic in White or Black, but was changed to sell toys. Indeed the brightly colored MS often look less industrial and cheap , even if they are supposed to represent this(Eg compare the Ez8 Gundam to the Dra-C, both are stopgap fixes, which one seems more obvious?). Often the more drab colors given off a sense of grittiness, and make them look more like what a real mech could look like. For example the desert Zeon units in Gundam ZZ (ie the Zaku Tank,Desert Zaku, Dwadege, etc) are in light tan; that fir in their role as a desert unit, and almost look colored like a jeep or a tank. This can also be seen in the hulking Xamel ; which is colored a drab dark orange, and has numerous mechanical joints exposed.

One of the biggest examples otherwise is in the somewhat forgotten Gasaraki; wherein all of the non mystical mechs are colored in olive or tan, and basically have become walking tanks.