Fanart (Early Access): Paprika's promotional Pinup! (Patreon)

Synopsis/Description:

In celebration of "Sweet Paprika" #1 English Edition dropping soon from Image comics, Mirka Andolfo challenged the internet to #DrawPaprikaInYourStyle.
Whatcha think?
Sweet/Spicy enough for you?

Process Video! 

The Rant:

So, sometimes I see something on Social Media, and I take it as a challenge, even though I know I really shouldn't. 

I have mixed feelings about any variation of "free art," even including contests, and the like, where there's a possibility of a very good payout in the form of increased job opportunities or network connections, or least of all, financial payout. On the one hand, there's a chance you get the above if you "win." On the other hand, if you don't "win," all you have is a piece of art you would have done anyway, but focused on a subject you might not be invested in continuing. And whoever held the contest gets some "free art" out of you, guaranteed, whether they use it or not.

That's why, when I do free art, I make it as much of a win-win as possible for myself, even if that "win" is someone else's admiration, gratitude or respect.

In this case, it was a mix of fun, and testing.

As you all know, I've invested in an iPad as a portable replacment and doing some neat stuff in Procreate. However, while I've found some decent sketching brushes, I haven't found a nice inking brush... until now. The previous brush I used had a nice feel for big drawings, but they didn't feel as solid, and, when inking smaller drawings (to keep the file size down), it made my lineart look "grain-y." So I started playing around, and after doing another doodle I liked, I settled on what you see above.

As for the subject matter, I've been following Mirka Andolfo's work for a while, specifically the sketch series turned comic "Sacre/Profano," about a ditzy, prudish angel and her horny, crass devil boyfriend. As part of that world of devils and angels, there exists a snobbish, driven devil named Paprika, and her story involves a surfer bro angel dude teaching her to lighten up and enjoy life. The sketches and comic work have been great, and I highly recommend checking out their social media (twitter, FB, instagram) for more art!

Anywho, to celebrate the english release of Paprika's comic, "Sweet Paprika," Andolfo put out a challenge to draw Paprika in the artist's own style, with five being picked to be showcased in future issues of the comic!

To be honest? I don't expect to win, nor really get anything out of it even if I do. My style really doesn't skew mainstream, which usually amounts to my work not doing very well or being very popular, unfortunately. And these types of contests tend to be one-offs, in terms of networking opportunities, unless you're very persistent about connecting with people in ways that can be very tiring and intrusive. And I don't really have time for that.

For me, this was more about having fun, and seeing how I could translate the drawing to "my style" without feeling like tracing, or using animation (since this will be in a physical edition; can't print a gif!).

So I leaned on Saunter staples; spot blacks for hard shadows, and a shiny, sexy, dipped-in-vasoline texture for the skin. I really like how the face turned out though, as well as the coloring. I think we've reached a new baseline for SaunterWing illustrations!

Now if only I could apply it to get over the anxiety of working on commissions....

What do you think? 

Let me know in the comments! 

Your feedback lets me know how I'm doing!
Thank you for your continued support and patronage, and I'll catcha over yonder!

-Saunter!