Schoolism, Week Five: Evolution of a character design

Step 1: I used the Rocky design because I think he’s closer to my original concept. I’m still not happy with the Jekylls and continue to work on them. In Lesson Three I found a different body and face that I really liked a lot, so I mixed them. I think they work great together.

Step 2: I'm having a problem with deciding what kind of neck to use. I try both a beefy kind and a pencil neck but don’t like either. Then I remember how Edward G Robinson would wear a really starchy collar in his gangster films. The cylinder shape in the middle of those sloped shoulders makes for a terrific combo, so I keep it. At this stage I’m not tracing, as Silver says this is the kiss of death. He's right. This is a great opportunity to make further changes. I bring in the lapels, so the collars will look more in line. The suit should look so sharp, so much you could cut yourself on the edges. I also make the feet a little bigger because I’ll add some detail to the shoes later.

Step 3: I try using a Pigma Micron brush to do the inking but I hate the results I’m getting, so I use a .05 pen instead. I start to thicken in lines, but still treat the drawing as a rough. Clean-up will take place in Photoshop and Illustrator, where I can really hone the sharpness I can get on my lines. The brim of the hat is thickened a bit and I curve the lapels some. I add some grey to the sides of his hair.

Step 4: First cleanup. It’s always tempting to copy and mirror image in Photoshop. It’s always easy to tell when an artist has taken that shortcut – personally I think it’s a cop-out. So I don’t copy, except for the buttons on the jacket and the detail on the shoes, which should look similar. Otherwise all the lines are done separately. The hat is given a back to make it look less flat. I take the curves from the lapels and straighten them again. The size of the head is reduced and and the chin is lifted away from the shoulders. A cleft chin and a small gap in the mouth are added. At this point I’m tempted to thicken the outer lines even further. It still seems off a bit.

Step 5: Final cleanup. The thicker lines definitely work. Extra features are added -- cuff buttons, a handkerchief. I move the outer cheek in a bit. I think this is a winner. I added some color but that’s not set in stone – it’s likely to change the more I play with my palette.

That’s it! Easy as pie, no?