This is an original character that I created for “Wind Jazz”, which is a personal graphic novel that I’m currently developing. His name is Wax and he has a pacifier on his head. Awesome guy. Note that this is not a tutorial, but a showcase of my creation process.

Step 1

On this step the strokes are very rough and I’m just trying to create a pose that I like along with anatomy and proportions. I use a 12x12 Wacom Intuos3 and Photoshop CS3. Once I have it and I like the composition I move on to step 2.

Step 2

I create a new layer on top and trace it with the brush tool. I use the pen tool to stroke paths for more precise lines, like the tubes on his mask and the pillar he’s standing on. The brush settings are set to 100% and I keep the size of the brush between 3 and 5.

Step 3

Flat colors. Everyone hates this step. All I do is create a layer underneath the lineart and lasso tool every individual part followed by the paint bucket. I work from dark to light so the flats are usually a bit dark and unsaturated. Step 3 can suck it.

Step 4

Ah.. now we’re talking. On this step I create a light source (as the top layer) and drop some shadows and highlights. I use the magic wand to select a part I want to highlight, and create a layer (set to overlay) between the lineart and flats. I also create another layer set to multiply for shading. I also went back to the lineart layer and set the layer to linear burn after lightening it a bit + added an outer glow effect set to multiply with a dark grayish color to get that soft look around the whole thing.

Step 5

More details added like glow on the tubes (added a layer set to screen along with an outer glow effect on top of the lineart) and markings on his suit (added a layer set to screen at about 40% on top of the highlights). I also created a blurry background just to keep the focus on the character. Changed the color on the pillar get more contrast from the background color.

Step 6

The icing on the cake. Added a few more details on the pillar as well as a pattern. For the back pack, I made a new layer on top of the lineart set to multiply at about 70% (with an outer glow layer effect) and used the brush and pen tool. It was straight to lineart, as I didn’t make a rough for it, I just did as I went along with what I had in mind. For the glove and belt, I did the same thing but set to screen with white.

So there you have it. It’s a long process but the final image speaks for itself. Use photoshop as a tool and take advantage of layer effects. Just don’t make your image reek of photoshop by adding filters all over the place.

There are more characters from Wind Jazz in my DeviantART gallery if you want to check them out. Also, have you got any work process images of your own? We'd love to see it! ;)