Progression

My cousin has a little boy that's been drawing superheroes for a couple years now (particularly Superman).  On my last visit, I noticed a leap in improvement.  Where he'd first drawn sticks for arms and legs, he was now building out shapes and posing.  His characters had expressions: their mouths sneered with anger and their eyebrows arched.  He even started putting in lines for muscles.  I'm not sure any of them were in the right place, but he was clearly thinking about the importance of having them.  

It got me to thinking about gauging your own personal growth as an artist.  I could tell he was getting better because his Superman from a year ago was drastically different from his Superman now.  Last winter I was asked to participate in a winter art show.  Itching to draw something with a Science Fiction twist, I revisited a drawing from almost 6 years earlier.  

Looking back at the 2 pieces, I can see my own personal growth.  I'm much more aware of light and form,  my staging is stronger, and (when necessary) I can work purely digital.  Now, the drawing to the right is over 6 months old now.  So already I can see things that I would do different.  Maybe I'll revisit it in another 5 years.

Included are Work In Progress pics with a short description.

Visit my personal blog for a Full Resolution version of the final work: NeedYourDisease

I started by diligently taking notes and figuring out my stage.  At this point, I have a rough idea what pose I want for the characters.

I modeled a simple version of the set in Cinema 4D for drawing my perspective.

I placed my modeled set as a background layer in Sketchbook Pro and began sketching the characters.  I probably drew the girl's pose a dozen times before settling on this.  There never seems to be any reference of women sitting down.  Weird