RKTBlog

Here’s a first pass at a character I’m naming “Trent” for the time being.  I’m obsessed with everything Batman right now, since I went to the midnight screening of The Dark Knight last night (loved it!)  So, of course I had to do some sort of superhero character.

Of course, Trent’s not Batman, he’s just inspired by the character.  These characters that I’m currently working on aren’t for any particular story.  I’m simply trying to come up with some interesting designs based on cultural archetypes, the superhero being one.  

There’s no story behind them. I’m thinking of them almost in terms of a drawn fashion spread. I’m more interested in creating “looks”.  I’m more interested in creating “attitudes”.  I’m even aiming for “sexy”.  Being a first pass, the only attitude he’s displaying right now is a headache…  

…Not what I was going for, but sometimes it takes a day or two for me to understand what I’ve drawn.  I drew Trent yesterday, and I was very happy with the outcome.  Today, not so much. So, he’s bound for another revision or two, but part of this blog is about sharing the process, so I thought I’d post him anyway.

Here’s an update to Twinkie P.  I made him a bit longer and skinnier, and emphasized his lack of physique with oversized 80’s accessories!  

Here’s another character sketch, born from 80’s nostalgia.  So uncool he’s hip… at least I hope.  

At this point, I’m just designing as many characters as I can.  Once I think I have enough, I pare them down to the best ones, and refine them a bit, and unify their designs so that they all match stylistically.  I’ll also experiment a bit more with shaping at that time. 

Here’s an update of Priscilla.  I exaggerated her most prominent features and pushed her shaping.  Even though I’m not terribly worried about color at this point, I think the coloring is pretty successful.  Nothing but a delicious, sexy cherry red.  

With each character, my technique is evolving, and I’m very happy with the results.  They’re still sketches, they still have a lot of energy, but they’re beginning to stand on their own.

This guy’s tentatively named “Dmetri”.  I got inspired watching Wimbledon over the weekend.  I have a bit of a crush on Roger Federer, so I decided to model a character after him.

Dmetri’s not supposed to resemble Federer outright, hence the Russian name, which may or may not change.  Still, I want to go back and do some studies of Federer’s face.  He’s got some unusual features, and I’m interested in exploring them further… maybe not for Dmetri, after all, I don’t want them to resemble each other too much, but perhaps for future characters down the road.

Here’s a second character I’m working on for the portfolio.  I’m still experimenting with style and technique, as you can see by the sketchy pen and marker treatment.  

This is already the second revision I’ve made to this character, although the first version wasn’t worth showing off (dull as dishwater!)   I’m  planning on another pass to further exaggerate his shapes.

Here’s the beginnings of a piece that I’m working on called “11th”.  It’s named for 11th Avenue here in Portland, where these fantastic condos can be found.  (Click the thumbnail below to see a larger image.)

The final piece is going to be a digital painting, but I thought I’d share the original drawing.  Forgive the quality… I wasn’t planning on using it in the blog when I scanned it in, but I thought it might still be worth a post.