Dakota North © Marvel Entertainment
This is the last of James' request. And this is the one that really made it for me personally. I remember buying the first Dakota North mini-series from Marvel Comics when it came out in 1986. I loved the concept, I loved Tony Salmons art (still do), and I loved the title character's name. So that answers the very vague clues I gave for this one: 1986 was the year Dakota North debuted. I thought the name was cool. Nine years later in 1995, when our daughter is born, we name her Dakota. :)
Thanks again for the commissions James. All were a lot of fun.
This was done in ink on an 11" x 17" sheet of bristol board.
UPDATE: Artist extraordinaire Michael Dooney asked a couple of questions in the comment section which I answered with long winded ramblings. But I also said I would post the digital rough I did for this piece. Different colors and tones made up each layer in Photoshop. There were a total of 8 layers to make the final rough that I used for the final art. And there were still changes when I tightened up the transfer. This isn't any different than what I have posted here in the past, but it's still fun to share. Hope you enjoy.
This is Post #1302
10 comments:
Another great pose. I've really been jealous of the variety of natural posing/attitudes of your posts lately. Are you using any ref for inspiration or just winging it with these?
Thanks Michael. Naturally I have tons of references if needed. I had a ref for the stance of her legs from a photo I took of my wife for a Silver Sable commission idea a year or so back, but that still needed a lot of tweeking because I was channeling those old Robert McGinnis book covers for the tone and attitude here. Feet would have been smaller and pointier if I had really gone for the McGinnis look. :) Also looked at several sites with leather pants, to get an idea of the shine. The arms were the real pain. Especially her left arm. Nothing to reference for the waist up, just good old fudging until it looks right. Normally I would have my wife or daughter pose for something I can't figure out, but my wife wasn't home and my daughter was busy. I'm going to add to the post the digital sketch I did for the piece so you can see the progression. Once I nailed that, I printed it out and light tabled it for inking. Thanks for asking about the nuts and bolts of this piece. Some people say I really put more time into these than I should, but it's fun. :)
Very nice Gene. Now the mystery of 1986 is solved and with a red head no less?
Gary
You were right! I would never have guessed this one! Thanks for the detailed explanation of the process.
Thanks Gary! :)
Yeah Royce, this was a tough one for anyone to guess. Not just because of the date of 1986, but also how it would be an impact on me 9 years after the characters debut. But hey, who cares, it's a redhead! :)
I was waaay off and I feel off becuase that was my era and i don't know who Dakota is :( but it's a great piece. Congrats James on all the wonderful pieces you got!
Great character choice and Gene scored with a home run!
AWEsome, really like this one!
great, thanks for the peek behind the curtain ;)
It's funny that you mention the arms being a pain, they were what hit me right away as really well handled!
I have to agree that commission drawings often get more involved than we plan on. It usually goes either way....one, it's not working and you have to struggle through it or two, it's going well and you end up putting in more effort because you're in the zone.
Yeah Charlie, that was a very vague clue.
Thanks Craig!
Thanks Andrew!
Thanks for the questions, Michael. You are absolutely right about commissions. But if they were not fun, I certainly wouldn't do them. Glad you picked up on the arms. I was real happy with the final result but it was a struggle. :)
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