Process – Page 2 – Mythical Type

Wayne Manor

April 12, 2023 / Drawing, Process, Superheroes / Posca

Here’s an illustration of Bruce Wayne’s mansion (Wayne Manor).

A colored illustration of Bruce Wayne's mansion (Wayne Manor). The building is painted back with blue highlights. Windows are illuminated in white on the left and right sides of the building. To the right of the building, there's a bat symbol in the sky. The sky is painted a cool gray color with blue clouds, and black lines. In front of the building, in the foreground, there are small trees painted in black with blue highlights.

I really like how the blue highlights contrast against the black on the building and the trees.

Here’s the pencil sketch I started with.

A pencil sketch of Bruce Wayne's mansion. To the right of the building, there's a bat symbol in the sky.

You can see my other Posca pen illustrations under the “Posca” tag.

Bluth’s Frozen Banana Stand

April 10, 2023 / Drawing, Process, TV shows / Posca

Here’s an illustration of Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand from Arrested Development.

A color illustration of the banana stand in Arrested Development. The banana stand is on the left, in the foreground. George Michael and Maeby are standing behind the counter. To the right of the banana stand, there's a brown building. A white and blue lighthouse is in the background.

I started with a pencil sketch to draw the outline of each building.

A pencil sketch of the banana stand in Arrested Development

You can see my other Posca pen illustrations under the “Posca” tag.

Metropolis at night

February 19, 2023 / Drawing, Process, Superheroes / Posca, Superman

Here’s an illustration of the Metropolis skyline at night.

Illustration of Metropolis skyline at night

I started with a pencil sketch to outline each building.

I started painting by covering the large areas first: slate gray for the sky, black for some buildings, and gray for some buildings.

Paint progress on the Metropolis illustration. This image shows the block colors: slate gray for the sky; black and light gray for the buildings.

Then I added in all the details.

You can see my other Posca pen illustrations under the “Posca” tag.

Walking into Hill Valley

February 5, 2023 / Drawing, Process / Posca

Here’s an illustration inspired by a scene in Back to the Future: Marty walking into Hill Valley.

A painted illustration of Marty McFly walking into Hill Valley. The road is painted light green. The grassy fields on either side of the road are dark green and light green.A sign posted in the grass says "Hill Valley, 2 miles."

I made this as part of a course on illustrating with Posca pens. The assignment was to use two shades of the same color as the main colors in the piece. Since a lot of this image is grassy fields, I chose two shades of green. I kept Marty’s outfit realistic (orange vest and blue jeans) to signify that he’s out of place…or, more accurately, out of time.

Here are some thumbnail sketches I did prior to painting the scene. I wanted to test out colors–what looked good for the grass and Marty’s outfit.

Thumbnail sketches to test colors for the grass and Marty's outfit.

And here’s the simple pencil sketch I started with.

Simple pencil sketch of a man walking on a road.

You can see my other Posca pen illustrations under the “Posca” tag.

The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron

January 28, 2023 / Drawing, Process / Posca

I took an online course on illustrating with Posca pens taught by James Chapman. He has posted lots of his sketchbook pages to his Instagram.

I had a couple Posca pens for a few years, but I hadn’t done much with them. I saw this course and thought it would be a great way to practice with Posca pens.

The course covers how to create a pencil sketch to get the composition down. Then it explores various color schemes to determine how to color the illustration. I especially like the challenge of limiting the number of colors used.

I like the process I learned in this course. It takes me several hours to finish an illustration, but I really enjoy the time I’m spending learning and practicing. I’ll share my illustrations here as I finish them.

The course encourages choosing a theme that will motivate you to keep working on sketches. I chose places in movies, TV shows, and books. First up is The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron.

Here’s the pencil sketch:

A pencil sketch of The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron. The Candy Bar is positioned to the right of the page's center. Behind the Candy Bar are buildings on the right and left.

I chose to go with realistic colors, so I used Posca pen colors that are close to what this location looks like in the show.

Here’s a progress photo, with the larger areas of color done:

Progress on the illustration of The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron. The sky, buildings, and street are colored in. What needs to be done includes window panes on the buildings, details on The Candy Bar building, and details in the street (like lane lines and shadows).

And here’s the finished illustration:

An illustration of The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron. The Candy Bar is positioned to the right of the center of the page. Behind The Candy Bar are buildings on the left and right sides.

I really enjoyed making this as my first attempt at a Posca pen illustration!