It's been a few years, but new Cereal Freaks are on the way., buoyed by the mail call arrivals of the holographic stickers depicting the originals.
I've always intended on adding more characters and flavors to the mix, but I inevitably wait too long to get going, and the moment literally passes by. I've got themed Freaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and at least one other arbitrary holiday, but the calendar moves faster than my hand.
I know I need to get back into drawing and develop some techniques before I begin illustrating my original comic book, so diving back into this world of illustration, color, and layout is a perfect primer.
I drew this in the waiting room of Sloan-Kettering's New York City facility's waiting room one afternoon. It sat in a sketchbook for about a year before I dug it out a few weeks back to photograph and upload.
From there, I revisited a terrific Adobe Illustrator tutorial by artist Brad Colbow that makes the drawing process so much easier. I was probably 75% of the way there on my own, but understanding the Live Paint tool makes all the difference in the world.
Between the tutorial that does a better job of explaining things than me, and your own eyes, you can see the progression of steps in this trio. My first round of colors were close to what I wanted, but too saturated. I also needed to edit some of the lines, both for thickness and position.
I kept some overlaps to suggest this dude is a little tattered and disheveled, and the slightly muted colors are exactly what he needs. There were some unsaved versions between the two examples shown that made him look like a more handsome Super Mario, which is why I ditched the red bicorn for blue. The earring, forearm hair and logo on his hat are also new additions.
TANGENT: A bicorn is a type of pirate hat. Tricorns come to a point in the center, over the brow.
The next round of edits will fix the angle of his spoon-hand. From there, I'll add some shadows and highlights, and then its onto the cereal box.
Contest Time!
I've got a name for the cereal this scalawag will belong to, but to make it interesting, leave a comment with your guess. Just by looking at him, you should be able to put it together pretty easily. One random winner will win a sticker pack consisting of my Pumpkin Spice Jacks and Yetimelon stickers, plus this fella. This impromptu contest ends March 15, 2022.
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