You can rest easy if your guardian angel was like this angelic warrior. With armor and sword in hand, he's ready for spiritual warfare! In the timeless battle of good versus evil, he's got God on his side and that will leave any agent of darkness quivering in fear.
I'll talk about the process I took to draw this piece, one stage at a time.
ILLUSTRATION DETAILS
• Hardware: Apple iPad 12 Pro
• Software: Clip Studio Paint EX
• Illustrated in 2019
The Wire Frame
I honestly can't imagine drawing figures any more without first drawing a wire frame. Location, location, location! Everything from the symmetry, proportions, angles, and position of the limbs are so important and if I draw the detail first, it makes it so difficult to adjust after the fact. I really want to make sure my wire frame posed in such a way that is dynamic and pleasing all by itself. If it looks good like it is this way, it will definitely look good when finished!
The Sketch
I used several references found on Pinterest that I used to come up with his attire. I wanted it to be detailed and fitting for a warrior, but on the light side. He's not a tank or wielding a war hammer or anything. I've always favorited the swordsman who is nimble yet strikes with considerable power. When I draw wings they've always been solid colors, so I went the extra mile and put in some accent coloring on the feathers.
The Line Art
Because his armor and garb were so detailed in my sketch, it did take a lot of time to go back and re-draw all those scribbles into coherent lines. Sure, it's tedious but in the end the results are worth the effort. Making slick line art has always been my favorite stage of the drawing process. Either that, or I just really like tracing.
The Flat Colors
It didn't occur to me until just now, but this angelic warrior is sporting the same color scheme as my OC, Starglider. I must have an affinity for blue, grays, and yellow. I put some purple accent color on his weapons to shake things up, I guess. Since most of the wings I ever draw are white, I purposefully made his grey, which will look even more fitting once the feather accents are brought in.
The Finished Illustration
I technically applied cel-style shading like I normally do for my illustrations, but I used the blend tool a little too liberally and it made almost all the shading soft edged. Oh well, it's not too bad. I went with a minimalist background this time, utilizing a texture image that I had acquired a license from Adobe stock photo library. But I think it was the floating glowing feathers that finish the image.
I do offer this one as a poster print for purchase. They are $18.99 each. The 12" x 18" print is made on thick and durable matte paper. It is a museum-quality poster with rich colors and is made to last. It will spruce up any room in your home or office. Makes for a great gift!
