"Team Blax - Steeler" 2018
Part 4 - Steeler
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 green one!"
I began the sketch on a simple sketchpad, looking in the mirror for a primed pose. The difference here is that I need to take X. Hoodo's pose into account and consider a placement for the poster and a stance that fits Steeler's stoic and focused personality. 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, Just Add Water, and Grainy Water tools, I rendered the fist and shirt, stroking the blender tools in the direction of the folds and wrinkles.
His pants are similarly rendered, adding blobs of digital paint and then spread with rapid strokes of the Just Add Water blender, being sure to remove the contour lines from the sketch.
His stare is corrected and both sets of shuriken are rendered with high contrasting tones. Due to its smoothing effect and the subtle noise it simultaneously adds, the Grainy Water blender is used for rendering skin and his cap. Hair is smoothly applied with the Detail Airbrush tool.
A layer mask cuts the character out of the gray layer and it's transferred to Photoshop for effects rendering. The first Curves adjustment layer darkens the shirt for accuracy, and a second increases the contrast and brightens specific areas. Then, a separate layer for color is clipped to the character. The green 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.
X. Hoodo'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
