Lobo :: A look at my drawing process

Hey guys!

Today I thought it would be fun to share a new piece I worked on last Friday and a look at the steps I took to get to the final piece.

I often get asked to make tutorials on how I work with copics or how to draw. This isn't exactly a tutorial, but it should give you an idea of the steps involved.

So, first of all, here is the finished product. This was a commission for someone who bought a copy of my new art book Ozmosis Chills III.

For this commission I was asked to draw LOBO. I LOVE drawing this character! He is easily one of the coolest characters in the DCU. I like the fact that you can exagerate his proportions and go a little crazy, and I think the more you do this the more it suits the character. I hear the rumour that THE ROCK was going to play Lobo in a film version, and I think that would be really cool! I'm hoping for a great movie, as DC needs to start making some decent flicks! Batman was great of course, but I can't say I was a big fan of Green Lantern. Big let down, that one.

Anyway, To begin with I did a little research on the character. I checked out some past interpreations and read up on him so I had an idea of who he is. Then I started drawing some sketches. I actually got a little hung up on the layout and design of the drawing, when finally I decided to just go for more of a cool looking full body pose. I've done a few bust pieces recently, so I wanted to go for something different.

Once I had decided on the sketch I liked I began with the process of finishing it up and making it all look pretty. The pens I use are actually made by copic (except for the brush pen) and so they all hold up really well when you go over them with marker. No streaks if you are careful. So, in the inking stage I am laying down all the main holding lines to create the forms.

Once I have the bulk of the outlines done, I can move on to laying down the tones. I take a moment to think about which parts will be light, which will be mid tones and which will be dark. You set yourself some restrictions and then let the markers do their thing.

Once that is all done, I go back in and start adding all the extra details, such as hair, highlights, scratches, crinkles etc...

And that's pretty much it!

cheers! Jon.