Some of you may already know I've been drawing since I was a kid, and while most of my subject matter came from imagination or observed still-lifes, some of what I sketched back then had its roots in popular culture (such as comics or television shows). And since character design has surged as an industry over the past decade or so, I figured I'd go ahead a devote a separate page to a limited selection of my corresponding artwork. A few of these are remixes of pre-existing characters, some of them are attempts at cosplay translations of a well-known figure, and others are original characters I developed. It'll take a little time to fill out this new section completely, so I appreciate your patience until then!
ORIGINAL CHARACTER:
2024
TAURIEL v2.0
February 21, 2023
If you're familiar with the Character Design Challenge on social media, you already know the organizers hold monthly competitions to award the best art centered around a specific concept. Every once in a while, I see a challenge theme that piques my interest, and I sketch out a few related ideas. While I never set out to win the prizes since most of my finished art stays here on my website, it can be a good, fun exercise in furthering your character development skills. One recent theme that caught my attention was the "Fairy Tale Fight Arena" for which I selected beautiful Tauriel of "Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit" fame. Here's my own character brief for this illustration:
With a fierceness borne out of a love lost, a re-imagined Tauriel prepares to join the forces of good against the darkness that now threatens the land. Gone are extraneous accessories such as ancient jewelry and her sprawling overcoat. Instead, she employs a pared-down look with lighter, yet stronger body armor, and even her tights & base layers are interwoven with Mithril for maximum protection. No haunts of evil will be safe for those who seek to extinguish the peace & safety of the innocents, for Tauriel's renewed fire for battle will surely win the day.
ORIGINAL CHARACTER:
2023
For those of you wondering, yes, I do illustrate other character types besides just the female figure. 😆 The sketch below is one in a series I happened to develop while doodling one day. I'm still pondering his backstory, but I can tell you this guy is prone to catching colds, leaving him with an all-too-frequent runny nose. And as such, he was quite overjoyed when he got his hands on the last box of Kleenex!
CHARACTER DESIGN
July 2017
PHARAH COSPLAY
May 31, 2017
Before starting this illustration, I hadn't even heard of the video game Overwatch, or of Pharah, one of its characters. 😱😱 But someone was looking for ways to design an outfit from one of Pharah's mech suits, so taking my inspiration from some of the Victoria's Secret fashion show designs, I came up with a few sketches & developed a visual translation of the armored suit for a female cosplayer. (…Although I'm sorely tempted to redo the design sketches below, on second thought, perhaps it's best to show how I've progressed over the years. However, for those of you unfamiliar with the game, I've recently added a quick rendition of one version & angle of Pharah's mech suit in the first image below, so you can see how I eventually translated it for the cosplay design.)
SELINA KYLE (CATWOMAN)
2016
Fan Art: In celebration of Catwoman's 75th anniversary, I came up with the concept below of the infamous villainess in one of her 1990s outfits. And of course, Selina Kyle being Selina Kyle, she had to help herself to a shiny object within her reach. Even at her own party!
PRO CHEER FIGURETTES
2014
If you hit a creative block, draw a set of pro cheerleaders!
DAPHNE BLAKE
July 2014
So one day out of the blue, I decided to draw my childhood crush (…well, at least one of them), and here I re-envisioned her as a more refined young lady now in her late 20s. She has long since outgrown the purple dress of her TV series days, and instead, she's elegantly dressed in a late 60s mod dress. But of course, Daphne Blake of Scooby-Doo fame wouldn't be Daphne Blake without the pink tights, purple neck scarf, and classic headband, so I had to include those!
(Although I drew the starting point for this some time ago, I recently went back and corrected a few anatomical errors & finalized the art further. Just enough to make the accuracy of the figure more presentable as a portfolio piece.)