Digital Art - "Rocket Girl"

Initial digital sketch

This is another of my entries for the Imagine FX magazine forum weekly competition. I did this quite a few weeks ago, but have neglected to upload here to my blog, so I thought it was about time I did. And for those interested, this will be my 100th blog post!

Title: "Rocketgirl Rita - a 50s' Sci-fi  pinup"

Description: "Rocketgirl Rita is a 50's pin up - she is renowned for being THE ultimate Sci-fi pin up"

Brief: "Depict Rita in all her 50's sci-fi glory - include as many cliche's as you wish!"

Refined line drawing

This painting was done completely in Photoshop, with no scanned pencil sketches or similar. I started off with the idea of having four separate mini paintings of the character in various action poses, one in each corner, but unfortunately I realised I didn't have time.

The painting was completed over two evenings, firstly on the initial sketch and refining that to a sharp line drawing, and then adding colour and shading. When it came to painting the character, I used soft round brushes for speed, as they blend easily. Normally I avoid using them, because they tend to give digital paintings a cheap 'artificial' look, but I decided to risk it for the speed advantage.

With flat colour

To mitigate this, I used textures to break up the artificial 'smoothness' of the character's skin and clothing. In order to really push the old poster feel, I also utilised a folded paper texture I had created some time ago for another painting (The WWII Power Suits, for those interested).

With initial shading

This final version is slightly modified from the final I did for the competition, as afterwards I decided to modify a few elements. Namely, instead of keeping a texture on the 'moon', I left it with flat colour, to help the character stand out. Other than that, I merely touched up a few colours and minor details.

I was fairly satisfied with the final painting, considering how quickly it was done, and I hope you enjoy it too!

Final Painting

All work is the © copyright of W.D.Lee and/or the respective companies, individuals or organisations to which the work is related. No infringement is intentional. No reproduction or copying is permitted without express permission.