I posted the Lucha Libre USA poster from 2013 which showed a good bit of interest, so I'm posting the previous year's poster too. It was a very fun project with lots of components. Unlike the 2014 poster this one was done all in one piece. The only additions were some small heads of alternate wrestlers, shown below.
This was the approved rough sketch which was adapted slightly before going to finish. The larger background wrestlers were originally carrying a US and Mexican flag which were nixed.
This rough sketch put more even emphasis to the wrestlers. It was decided that the headliners should be more prominent.
This version features a single wrestler with all the other subordinate.
When working with multiple characters and elements, I like to sketch out a "style sketch" of each so I can focus in more quickly on their core personalities, costumes and how they might tie together with the composition. I also become more intimate with each as I draw them.
I combed though videos of wrestlers in action and drew some poses that I thought were dynamic, capturing the essence of the sport. Some of these were adapted to the final poster design.
This is the tight pencil sketch done to scale, right before going to color.
Painting in progress. It's all done in watercolor with airbrush enhancement at the end.
Some additional wresters portraits that were worked into the banner. Blue Demon on the right was featured the following year.
