this was a commission drawing (yes- i’m taking commissions now) for jean grey. i decided to draw her as phoenix because i think that has to be one of the best superhero costume designs ever.
i saved a bunch of the stages of this as i was working on it. you can see some of my process behind the cut.
this is going to be more of a simple visual process of this drawing, rather than a more extensive tutorial like i did for my songbird drawing. please take a look at that if you want to see more about the tools and methods i use to color.
i start off with just an initial line drawing in my usual blue pencil.
then i give jean some some shading.
after scanning, i choose a background color to pick my colors out from. in this case the usual cream tone i use for most of my superheroine drawings lately. i then colorize my linework to blend in better with my bg and multiply the layer.
then i simply color on a layer underneath my linework, blocking in my shapes…
…so i have something that looks like the image above underneath my linework.
then i go into shading and and adding the details by selecting each of my blocking colors…
…so i have something that looks like the image above underneath my linework.
for the phoenix force behind her, i tried a few things that weren’t working before deciding on just making it more of an essence of her rather then a physical form. so i needed to color in the shape on a new layer, erase that part of the linework, and go back and smooth out the edges.
then i added some shading and gradients to it to keep the focus on jean and give the phoenix force more of that “essence” i mentioned.
i added some shading around the canvas edge with burn tool to frame the image and i’m done!
-
*gasp* it’s beautiful!
I’ve never been a huge Jean Gray fan but I’d totally dig having this hanging on my wall – whatever he might have paid, your commissionee got a good deal :)
Thanks for posting the images from the various stages – it’s very useful for us less Photoshop savvy users!
-
Very very cool. And seeing the process makes it all that sweeter…
-
I like the line drawing with no tone the best and the flat graphic shape without any tone the best. Maybe because they look the most like tattoos. Anyway, it’s a kick-ass piece!
frank
-
I think it is excellent. And thank you again for showing us how you do it. One of these days I’m gonna get around to practicing one of your tutorials.
-
keath- phew- good! i’m glad these are useful. as you can see, there’s not really too much to what i’m doing…
josh- thanks, dude!
frank- ha! that flat toned one is part of the reasons i put all those up. i liked how that looked too and just needed a reason to show everyone. maybe one day i’ll try to do something reminiscent of that. and yeah- this would make a neat tattoo (for a hardcore jean grey fan). thanks!
aintshakes- great! can’t wait to see what you create when that day comes around. :)
-
WOW!!!
I love this one
even more with the process here :D
kss -
I am the lucky recipient of this phoenix piece and I can honestly say out of all the Phoenix illustrations I currently own (don’t ask), this is one of my favorites. It was one hundred percent worth the cost and I can’t recommend Mike enough if you want to have him commission a illustration. He was responsive, quick, pleasurable and very professional. Thanks again!
-
Sooo veryy reallllyyyy prettyyyyyy! X)
b. -
Hi Mike,
I´ll join the chorus: Beautifull Illustration!!! I love the way you draw women, they´re all so cute.
-
Really great Mike, and I love the tutorial too. This is one of my favorite super hero designs of yours. Fabooness abounds.
-
sabrina- thanks so much!
shell- aw, shucks. you’re very welcome. expect the original in the mail soon! :)
bruna- :D
marcelo- thanks, dude! but i really should start drawing more men. men just aren’t as cute…
bryan- FABOO!!
-
Hey Mike!
This is really fantastic. Thanks for posting your process too, it’s always so interesting to see how you work.
Oh and I think I didn’t let you know, but I’d be very happy to get you a signed Flight. I can’t believe it’s almost Comic-Con time already!
-Sarah :)
-
awesome, sarah! thanks so much! i hope you have a great time and say hi to everyone for me. i really wish i could be there. :(
-
wow. wooooow. jean is my favorite x-men & phoenix, however consuming, is my all time favorite power! if i was able to pick, that’s what i’d be [do i sound like a power crazy lunatic or what??? hahahahahaha ~ oops, sorry! ;)] ~ this illo is spectacular! i looooooooove it! :)
-
Why do people insist on sketching in blue pencil? There’s no need unless you are an animator. Dear lord.
-
Nicely drawn. May many kudos be unto you.
BTW, I came across your site through stumbleupon.com.
-
ali- but the power would consume you! haha! thanks. long time!
mark- well, since you asked so nicely, i’ll tell you:
first off, at least in my case, the blue lead i use is much softer than regular lead. it’s more like a crayon really- and the softer consistency allows me to be lighter with my strokes, make for some easier shading, and less prone to erase something i don’t really need to be erasing. which brings me to the other reason i love blue lead.
i don’t need to erase! a lot of the times i ink my work, and by inking over blue i can “blow out” those blue lines after scanning. the result is a richer black line with no sketch marks and less need to destroy my paper with a piece of plastic.
also, i studied animation and don’t understand why the need to use it for that is any different than outside animation.
slocum- cool! thanks, dude. :)
-
hey. Beautiful, clean and alluring! Love your work. I am new to drawing digitally and looking forward to getting to your standard. Well done!!!
-
thanks, carl. cool site you have!
-
Wow, this is amazing. I am trying to practice my drawing, because I like to draw, and I like to be good… I just wanted to say I really, Really like it.Thank you.
-
you’re welcome. :)
-
I always love your stuff on project rooftop… Jean Grey has always been one of my faves, and I have to say this is the CUTEST Pheonix ever!
Awesome.
-
Hi, Mike.
I LOVE phoenix, and this is a great drawing. I’d like to see less cute and more beautiful/terrible, if you know what I mean…maybe in homage to John Byrne’s style?
I’m 20 and draw, but I am nowhere near this good..yet…heh heh
I agree; you shoudl start drawing men. Hmm…how about Johnny Storm or Northstar for starters?
Matt
-
vanessa- thank you so much! :)
matt- she’s fun to draw so hopefuly i’ll get a chance to draw her that way someday. and yes- the men… i know….
i drew monsters recently. does that count?
-
Hi, Mike.
Yah, she’s one of my favorites to draw, too. I think because she can be al pwerful, but still be the girl next door. who knows. I know.she’s a fictional character..LOL…the phoenix force is awesome to draw, too.
I’ve tried drawing men and am having a really hard time. Their bodies don’t have the curves that seem to naturally flow with my pencil, and I don’t want them to end up looking like squares or rectangles with legs.
Hmmm…. -
Hiya, just wondering if you could help me out with something. Im in the process of setting up a dance agency called Phoenix dancers and well I am looking for a really good logo.
I really like your art work, it is really very good and I was wondering if you could design something for me?
Something similar to your Phoenix drawing except with a dancer, needs to look hot, sexy and fun :)
Dont know if you could, but would be very grateful if you could, even willing to pay for a good logo as I need something that will look good on my business cards, website etc :)
Let me know, many thanksNaomi x
-
this is so cool i wish i could draw that good but that is one good picture great work :)
-
Right
-
So you don’t know me (my name is Tara) but I have to say: for some very obvious and yet personal reasons I am getting a tattoo of Phoenix. I have been searching for one that I like and your drawing- Jean Gray and all is amazing. I keep coming back to it b/c their is such life and strength in her face. I think I want to use your design. How do you feel about that?
Of course, I am hesitant to include Jean Gray b/c, well… that seems a little real. I mean the movies were cool and her story is super symbolic to me- however… not a rabid fan or anything.
You are extremely talented. Do you think you would be interested in drawing something a little different on top of the pheonix shadow? Well enough questions for now. I appreciate you getting back to me.
-
hey, gadings. send me an email of what you’re kind of looking for (mike (at) cowshell (dot) com) and we’ll see what we can do.
-
naomi- sorry, just saw your comment. see above. :)
stuff for sale!
i’ll be at
-
tampa comic book & toy convention
august 8, 2010
largo, fl
-
baltimore comic-con
august 28th – 29th, 2010
baltimore, md
-
emerald city comicon
march 4th – 6th, 2011
seattle, wa
-
megacon
march 25th – 27th, 2011
orlando, fl
31 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link: http://cowshell.com/buffalog/2007/07/09/phoenix/trackback/