A Study in Scarlet

Clever name huh?

Sorry to disappoint but this post has nothing to do with Sherlock. Sorry.

But I had some downtime at work today, and I haven't really done much character designing or pin ups lately...

(I have been working on comics and stuff for work, neither of which I can really post publicly, that's why I have been in hiatus so long. Sorry about being AWOL y'all)

I also thought it might be cool to show the process of this image, especially cause I drew this on my cintiq. Having to learn how to work heavily on the computer has been a blessing as well as a hardship. 

A little background, I love G.I. JOE. Anyone who is friends with me knows that this news is no surprise, I have always loved it, and my love for comics has only led me to want to read G.I.Joe comics. The only problem, is I don't think the franchise has ever gotten the artistic talent for the books that it really deserves, and I have always wanted to work on a GI Joe comic.

 So I have been doodling those characters for a long time, and one of my favorites is Scarlet. She is just a really cool character, and I love that when I draw her I can get away from the typical comic girl stereotype where the girls have obscenely large chests and hips and tiny waists that make no physiological sense whatsoever. I get to draw a woman who is a fighter, who is in shape, and could either beat you to a pulp, or sweep you off your feet. That's an awesome character to me. 

So here is the picture!

This is the 'final product' of this couple hour drawing and quick coloring.

So here is the process for you to see how I made this!

 so first I toned the canvas, and drew out my sketch. 

 Once the sketch was done, I lowered the opacity on the sketch and went into the final lines.

 Here is the final lines, with the sketch layer turned off. 'Erased' if you will.

 Here is where I added my local colors, with a pressure opacity brush. (Harder I press, darker color gets for all you non-photoshop people out there.)

 I added a lithe bit of highlighting behind her, just to let there be a little more focused area in the drawing itself.

Thought it needed a bit more in the background, but something more graphic. I actually made a solid rectangle behind her, and didn't like it, so I started erasing and the haphazard streaks behind her looked so cool, I kept it. Added her signature color and her name and the drawing was finished!

Well thanks for reading through that crazy long post. Well long for me. And I promise, I will try to be more blogworty in the future, I do draw a lot, and all the time, so I will be sure to try to update a little more often. 

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day.

-Colin