doin' it like hughes - part 2

encouraged by last night’s sketch of supergirl, i thought i might try something a little more ambitious today. i remember the first time i saw a drawing by adam hughes – it was a colour illustration of lara croft, the tomb raider, big boots and all, for playstation magazine – i think this was in 1997 or 1998.  it was spectacular.  since then, he’s done a lot of the covers for the tomb raider comic book, and the popularity of this drawing was a big part of his return to mainstream comic work.

so for my next rip-off/technical exercise, i spent a couple of hours drawing lara in her underwater gear.  i used the toothy bristol board that i bought yesterday, rather than my crappy sketch pad paper, just so that i could feel like it was something special.  the thicker paper was very responsive and the extra density of the paper was great to work with.  i went back to a harder pencil to lay out the rough work, still using the eraser a lot more than i would have if left to my own devices, and the smooshy soft pencil to build drama.

i think that i’m getting the hang of how he constructs his proportions and perspective, and shortly, i think i’ll be ready to venture on to my own compositions.  in the meantime, i’m just having a great time just indulging in this adolescent material. 

this sketch took a couple of hours and turned out rather well, and left me wishing that i had a wacom tablet so that i could work up the sketch in photoshop and give it some colour.  i have a lot of fear and dread of working up a piece with my traditional colouring tools (even though they cost me hundreds of dollars and are top of the line and should let me do anything i need).  i worry that my out of shape technique and sensitivity will totally ruin a decent piece that could stand alone as a sketch.  working digitally, you are far less fettered  due to being able to UNDO mistakes, work in layers, and save versions to which you can roll back.  but on the other hand, $500 for a tablet is a bitter pill to swallow when really it’s just a luxurious convenience.

maybe if i get a tax-refund this year – i’ll treat myself to the tablet.  in the meantime, i’ll just try and learn to walk before i try and run – illustration-wise that is.

- g

song of the day for continuing to climb on the shoulders of others:  elevation: u2