Choose your materials. The kind of materials you wish to work in will determine what kind of equipment is needed. To create metal art made of steel, you will require a simple shielded metal arc welder or gas metal arc welder. Art made of aluminum, which does not rust and is better for outdoor uses, will require a metal inert gas (MIG) welder or tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder. For making metal art of copper or bronze, a gas metal arc welder or tungsten inert gas welder will do. If you do not own welders or metalworking equipment yourself, consider making an arrangement to use equipment at a local welding business.
Sketch your design. Metal art can take any shape, from representations of the human body to wildly imaginative abstracts, so you must decide what interests and inspires you. You can even make metal art out of found metal objects put together in unique ways. Sit down and make some sketches of what you hope to achieve. This design can be changed as needed during the fabrication of the piece. Consider how the piece can be broken down into parts, and what processes will be needed to shape them. Then, give thought to how these parts must be put together, what will be needed to blend the pieces into a integrated whole, and what kind of finish will be needed.
Assemble all your equipment and materials. You can use many kinds of material in creating metal art. Sheet metal is often used for large panels or abstracts. Rounds or squares can be assembled and "shaped" by putting on layers of weld and then shaping them with a grinder. Cut out individual parts and assemble with tack welds. You can weld them permanently when you are satisfied with the assembled product. Finish the welding, then grind welds smooth. Add additional details as needed.
Determine what kind of finish the piece will need. Often, the artist will prefer the natural metal finish to show and will simply apply a clear coat to protect the metal finish. Other pieces will require painting, plating or specialized types of finishing.
Display your metal art suitably. The piece may need a base, pedestal, wall mounts or some other type of display apparatus which may need to be fabricated separately.