In December 2015, I was asked again by the safety equipment manufacturer to develop a character to represent their intents and commercial insights. This time it was for a product representation. The basic premise was he had to be a hero. Initial thoughts were to do another super hero type, but discussion formed to show the muscle man in an activity that suited the apparel. Several reference images were gathered of men at work, and the drawings then took on a more muscular appearance to show strength in using the product.
To compleiment the other previous hero character, the style and techniqe were matched exactly. So that these two figures could be, if desired, used together in some form. It was even a case of using the same colour palette for the skin tones so they matched in look and feel. Everything went well on this rendering, with only a slight head size change and some additional aspects added at the clients request. The piece was rendered using 8 different reference images to get lighting and muscle form working well.
A background image will be developed and used, to allow the character to be feature on the 2016 catalog cover.
File size: 365.5Mbs/674Mbs (open)
Layers: 28 uncompressed
Dimensions: 7013px x 11424px
Hours (Pencil): 3hrs
Digital rendering: 29hrs
Layers: 28 uncompressed
Dimensions: 7013px x 11424px
Hours (Pencil): 3hrs
Digital rendering: 29hrs
I have suggested to the client to have the builder in three versions (to allow for different usage). Below are the other two versions, which have literally been masked and the masks created using a brush that gave a painted feel.
The initial sketch with the side turning head. This was altered later to the front face. Which turned out better.
This section shows in good detail the painting style and the roughness created by the photoshop brush, which emulates a real brush rather well.
Example of how the illustration will be used in the front cover aspect of the new catalog.
