This fan illustration features Kankuro, a character from Naruto. In such a large cast of unique ninjas, his special power stood out to me; he controls deadly wooden puppets with lines of energy! The creative decision of using classic Japanese puppet theatre as a long-distance fighting skill is fantastic.
In this image, I really wanted to feature the uncanny nature of his deadly art, and I think this upside-down pose captured that the best. But I almost went with something less... weird! Finding the sketch that best communicates what’s important about a character is crucial to a successful illustration. You may want one of the best drawing tablets or the best laptops for drawing.
01. Sketch freely at first
When I first started thumbnailing ideas for this piece, I focused on the basic composition and character posing, even if the perspective or proportions were a tad off. In this step, quickly putting ideas down is really important to get some flow; we can always tidy things up later.
02. Lines, flats and shadows
After considering the geometric structure of the characters and redrawing everything, I nailed down the final line art using references for hands and other details. My goal is to avoid repainting or wandering in the rendering phase. This is the time to structure and define.
03. Transitions and textures
Using a textured brush, I’ll work on all the light-shadow transitions, making them softer. With this strong base, adding small highlights completes the 3D illusion. I balance the values to push some parts of the painting back, bringing the darkest parts forward, like the characters’ heads.
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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. You can order back issues.
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