This was done for the R3 Illustration jam on Third Rail Design Lab’s R3 Forum, the subject being Leelu, from The 5th Element.

I actually drew this piece many, many moons ago, where it fell into the ‘finish’ folder in my portfolio and never resurfaced until the other night, when I had the opportunity to ink a bunch of stuff in process. The original sketch doodle for the illustration, on Post-It, was done the day the jam was announced, and the actual pencils probably 6 months later. Not punctual.

Who can forget Leeloo, played by Milla Jovovich? Sure, she pleased many by being basically Milla naked wrapped in white hospital straps. But beyond that obvious affectation, I enjoyed the fact that she had this ultra-simple, super pure outfit which was at once both innocent and vulgar, this shock of violent orange hair, these giant eyes, the youthful enthusiasm and curiosity, and lithe gymnastic mannerisms. It was just a fun departure. Sure, she made a fictitious language which she shared with writer/director Luc Besson and used it on set (I guess that makes it not fictitious…) and sure, her hook up with him made the role seem retroactively a bit… indulgent for Besson, even surrounded by an entire FILM of juvenile indulgence. But the design was rock solid and ingrained in memory.

I did a TRDL Pinup for this one, this time being a propaganda poster.
Please enjoy, hell yes!

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

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Process Notes:

Here’s Milla as Leeloo. Being bendy.

Here’s that original post-it note sketch concept for the piece. This obviously predates my TRDL pinup series so it was just imagined as an illustration, not a propaganda poster.
The decapitated Wrongrobot … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: H.E.R.B.I.E.
2. TRDL Tribute: Cyclops [Ray Harryhausen Jam]
3. TRDL Tribute: Tessa

This was done for the R3 Illustration jam on Third Rail Design Lab’s R3 Forum, the subject being the X-Men, from Marvel Comics, but as a design challenge: Old-Timey!

Oooooh, this is my kind of jam. I love redesign challenges. And I love cryptohistory and the like. But also, beyond that, this was an opportunity to do something I wanted to try ever since I got caught up in the blogs of Jorge Garcia and Beth Shady. See, Jorge, best knows as Hurley on Lost, is a 100% minimum awesome guy. His personal blog, which he’s run since the show’s inception, almost killed it due to producer pressure regarding spoiler risk management, then carried on to not only be Lostian, but a great snapshot of Hawaii and the idiosyncrasies of living there as a guest, has been an addictive read for me. He has always been personal, random, funny and sincere in his posts and subject matter. He’s also from my home town of Westwood, apropos of nothing, other than it’s amusing to think of us roaming similar haunts, slightly time-shunted. He and his girlfriend Beth have struck me, over time, as incredibly rad people. She is a talented writer and creative person the likes of which remind me of my wife and some of our friends here in the Bay Area, and we have joked about how Jorge and Beth have been added to our virtual friend group, which sounds creepier than it is. ANYWAY, as the final season of Lost was wrapping up, I was inspired to send Jorge and Beth some art. He frequents the cons and seems to appreciate fan art and other random stuff people send him, and so I thought what the hell, they struck me in a personal way, so I’ll draw something … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL 2011 Series, No. 14: Black Death [Cryptohistorical]
2. TRDL Tribute: Dr. Strange [TRDL Redesign]
3. TRDL Tribute – Wonder Woman 2010 [TRDL Redesign]

This was done for the R3 Illustration jam on Third Rail Design Lab’s R3 Forum, the subject being Supergirl, from DC Comics.

I haven’t drawn this character much. I wasn’t into Silver Age DC as a kid, so Supergirl registered for me only as a girl in a poofy miniskirt who could fly, which is in and of itself a good thing, but beyond that… nothing. Over the last decade we’ve seen some new approaches to the character, new designs for the mainstream version as well as all the multiverse and other media iterations. And while I do want to do the classic Supergirl again at some point, since my original stab at it suffers from facial profile illness, I saw an opportunity to do a homage piece I’ve had on the back burner for awhile. Tulio posted this cool redesign of her, sort of an amalgamation of Supergirl and Power Girl, his interpretation of a minifig design by artshare list member Barbarossa Rotbart. I loved the ribbing of the torso and the heavy beltline. So, this piece is my take on his design. The only thing I changed, other than the bangs, is the capeline coming up in front to form a collar. I love his original and hope I did it justice…

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You can find a larger version here.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

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Process Notes:

Here is Tulio’s original Supergirl redesign, which inspired me and lay in my queue for a future homage. Until now!

Here’s the original loose pencils. I drew it late at night, shortly after returning from Aids Lifecycle.

The original inks. In color rendering, I made some adjustments, including cleaning up her lips, minor ink corrections, and reducing her head to be in proportion … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. Happy Holidays from Third Rail Design Lab 2010 !
2. TRDL’s Wrongrobot’s Rudiments Pinup No. 2 – Supergirl
3. Happy New Year from Third Rail Design Lab 2010 – 2011