"Team Blax - X. Hoodo" 2018
Part 3 - X. Hoodo Hood
In my short novel Street Pedal Black - Episode III: Doppelgangin, the four freedom fighters lead by the titular character assume the name "Team Blax." I have drawn all four in this style using Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop.
The inspiration for creating this series stems from illustrator Stanley "Artgerm" Lau's monochrome "Street Fighter" character profiles. Each of the fighters in my book series can be easily identified by their signature colors, something I believe is important when introducing a group of action characters: the first point of interest in individual fandom and character development. "I like that red one!"
I began the sketch on a simple sketchpad, looking in the mirror for a relaxed but primed pose.
In Corel Painter, the sketch was set to Multiply blending mode, laid upon a dark grey plane, and then flattened into a single layer. Using the Detail Airbrush, Digital Soft Velocity Airbrush, Just Add Water, and Grainy Water tools, I rendered X. Hoodo's face.
His clothing is similarly rendered, being sure to remove the contour lines from the sketch. Areas of higher contrast, such as the turban and the shirt's black sections, had streaks of lighter grays added and then spread with rapid strokes of a small Just Add Water blender.
Due to its smoothing effect and the subtle noise it simultaneously adds, the Grainy Water blender is used for rendering skin and muscles.
Rendering the skateboard began with copying the overall layer first. It was drawn over X. Hoodo's face and figure using the Detail Airbrush and Just Add Water tools. I created his hand back on the original layer, and it was then placed on top of the skateboard layer. Specific parts of the original are erased to reveal the skateboard, and both layers were merged. Once the entire figure is complete, it's cut out from the gray background using a layer mask.
Once the image is finished in Painter, it's transferred to Photoshop for effects rendering. A Curves adjustment layer increases the contrast and brightens specific areas. Then, a separate layer for color is clipped to the character. The red looked best with the Soft Light blending mode, and the Dodge and Sponge tools were used to brighten and add saturation to the color. An inner glow effect to the body against a white background functions as ambient lighting as well as focus.
Steeler's picture and some minor graphic design are added to create the final poster, which will be available in the Life Forever Shop. Street and Latonya will have a similar poster, and then all four will be on a team poster.
Street Pedal Black © DeForrest / Life Forever
