#erikaskerzz

[onelonelytraveler]

Look at this! This holiday themed Transformers art piece was done by the lovely @erikaskerzz. Their art is great, THEY are just fabulous. This is the second commission(sort of)that I've gotten from them and it's definitely worth every bit~ Thanks so much Skerzz!

[vigistry]

Mistress of Flame Challenge

Here we go: IDW’s Mistress of Flame! @cavalierconvoy suggested the subject matter, I suggested the two week deadline, and @erikaskerzz suggested showing off our progress steps. There’s certainly a contrast of styles among the three of us! I’ll start with with Cav first because she’s been live streaming this. She went with watercolors, and the end result is a very bold and vibrant masterpiece that’s getting framed very soon. The best part is the metallic gold accents she put on last. The hi-res scan actually doesn’t do it justice, but her photo of the finished piece caught the sheen very well. Below are the sketch, inks, ambient color, and final.

Up next is Erika’s work. I have no idea how she’s able to achieve such clean lines; I need to learn more about this myself! Her final coloring shows great depth, dynamics, and mood as she contrasts the cool glow of the moth to the warmth of the mistress, and the composition with the cape and the cropping is very powerful, too! Below are inks, base color, and final.

And finally my take on the Mistress. No, it’s not one of my Inktober doodles. I went with my Heavy Metal style for this. The triple circle composition with the swords, portal, and cape frame her in, and the crisscross of the hammer, cape, and far right sword draw you toward the flame. Trust me, holding a flame in her hand and circles in the background weren’t criteria for this piece; it just so happens that my wife and I think a lot alike. I used to do all my coloring in Photoshop with airbrushes, masks, and way too many layers, but now I do it by hand with colored pencils for one-step blending. Below are the rough, graphite, colored pencil overlay, and final.

I can honestly say this challenge worked for me. I’ve been in a rut and needed to get something done. I was a bit nervous about giving myself a tight deadline, but I actually finished with five days to spare. Never considered drawing Mistress of Flame, but I really like how we all did. Like Ironhide and Trailbreaker in an Indy 500, with a run-in by Skywarp, the winners are us!