Character Sketch

So for this assignment, we were to find ourselves a rough sketch and using illustrator we had to turn it into something magnificent.  This was my journey:

This is the original drawing i found from Vyrhelle on DeviantArt.

I started off by tracing the helmet, face, and beard.  I chose to start off here because is was a layer that would be on top so the tracing of the body, arms, and shield would be easier to draw because I wouldn't have to follow any structure behind the head or around the body.

I then proceeded to the bandana around his neck and the armor on his chest along with the axe.  Again, i tried to work with layers that would be on the outer part of the picture to make it simpler for myself.

Just a screenshot with the background image hidden.

Next up was the body and the arms.  The hands took me some time to do.  I tried a few different methods but I was unhappy with the results.  I must have done them about 4 or 5 different times.  I'm still not all that pleased with the outcome.  Also, I started putting in some lighting and shadows as I moved along with it just to get an idea of how it would look.

Next up were the feet.  Again, some problems came up on the character's right foot but I conquered those problems and it was smooth sailing from here.  The left foot was super easy to plant in there because most of it is hidden.

I quickly moved along and did the legs.  I noticed that once you start getting in the groove of illustrator, it's actually not all that difficult and I found I learned a few quick tricks along the way.

Again, just a screenshot with the background image hidden.  Coming along nicely I'd say

Save the easiest part for last.  The shield.  Took no time at all and had this all completed well before the deadline which was a good thing because I was able to get some feedback from fellow students and friends.  Originally, my character had line strokes of only 0.5 stroke and I did not know the difference a slightly thicker line stroke can make.  Also using the width tool on the arms and neck bandana touched it up really nicely.  Thanks Joe for suggesting that for me.

And here is the final product...

I am extremely satisfied with the turn out and I really enjoyed doing this project.