Mega Man Tribute - "Water Tango"

See finished image here:
http://perfectdork.deviantart.com/art/Water-Tango-196176897

This is a video showing the entire illustration process from sketch to completion for my submission to the Udon Mega Man Tribute Art Book. It is called "Water Tango" and focuses on a scene from the first Mega Man X game on SNES, which is one of my absolute favorites in the series.

1) I start either with a pencil sketch or I will do a digital sketch right in the computer. For certain layouts like this one I will do an additional detail and shading pass on the sketch just so I know it is balanced
2) Once the sketch is done I use it as a guide and begin redrawing the lines in Adobe Illustrator focusing on the primitives and using very basic colors and shapes. I continue to trace and refine, making little adjustments as I go. I will then apply a basic color fill so I can start getting a sense of my color balance.
3) I then apply a full shadow overlay and cut out the midtones.
4) Hot spots and highlights are applied as well as some color shifting for better color balance
5) I go back and forth constantly adding gradients to the flat base tones and adjust the minor details
6) One of the final steps is applying special effects like the typhoon and water bubbles. For this piece I added extra glow effects to enhance the mechanical nature of the characters.

I love the Mega Man series and I hope this submission makes the cut. I put a lot of love into it:)

Mega Man is a trademark of CAPCOM CO. LTD. All rights reserved.
For more information on the tribute art book visit: www.megamantribute.com

See my other illustrations at: perfectdork.deviantart.com

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• mega man
• capcom
• udon
• tribute
• vector
• art
• illustration
• mega man x
• process
• how to
• adode illustrator
• billy garretsen
• perfect dork
• fan art classic video game

[Glitcher2000]

I really like the art style you used for this! At 5:03 how did you make the gradient suddenly appear on the characters?

[billygarretsen]

@Glitcher2000

Thanks for the compliment. In response to your gradient question, I can quickly apply alternate swatches or gradients by selecting any shape and choosing to select all shapes with the same type of fill. This will select all of a certain type of blue on Mega Man for instance and then I can click on a new swatch, or gradient in this case, and they will all swap out simultaneously. The video is sped up more than 1000% so it is easy to miss.

[thesitarist]

Ryan Davis brought me here...

[00IndianaJenkins00]

A ton of work for a great illustration. Also, GiantBomb wut up.

[demigodFUDO]

GAH! i can't click the subscribe button! WHYYYYYYYY!

[KatanaTopple]

Brings back memories! Epic work dude!

[Nixon072]

@SleepyDoughnut my friend says there's a weird thing about opposing forces in portal

[JonathanMoore2001]

Christ I wish I could draw like this.

[shwowzers]

I actually learned a lot about the creative process for this style of art in this video. Great stuff duder!

[Marconi88]

Ryan Davis sent me here and I'm glad he did. Great video and great art.

[VitoRaliffe]

I can't believe I just watched this whole thing. Amazing job! Also, Giant Bomb and Dexter wooooooo!

[SleepyDoughnut]

@Nixon072 It's a website. About videogames!

[Beastdotcom]

Watching this video again makes me wonder just how patient people that create art must be, seeing as this took a LONG time and dedication, but amazes me at the end product, good work sir!