Concept Art to Custom Tee - my design process

Hello Steemit Community, Marten Go here with a long overdue self re-introduction photo verification and art post. I didn't realize it was necessary to do so but now with so many new steemit accounts opening and plagiarism running rampant, I understand why it's needed.

As you can see, I'm holding a very large t-shirt which was custom made for a client of mine on Facebook. The size is XXL. I make tees from S size to XXXL in Mens, Womens and Unisex. White is my favorite color to work on but I also enjoy working on black and some other colors too.

If you've been following my work in progress from initial sketch to coloring and mock tee design, I hope the short journey was worth it and always a big thank you for watching and reading my art posts. It's such a privilege to do what I do and in sharing my art, I hope that it inspires others to pursue their own artistic dreams and desires.

TAKEN JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT SEPT. 5th, 2017

HOT OFF THE PRESS
(Heat transferred images + Vinyl lettering)
(Made on a Stahl's MAXX 15 Heat Press & Silhouette Cameo Vinyl Cutter)

Below is just a recap of my last five posts. The Chinese character, kanji on the sleeve is 戦 'ikusa' which means war, battle or fight. Initially, the sleeve character was 忍 'nin' as in one half of ninja meaning patience, endurance and stamina, but my wife, who is Japanese took one took and suggested 戦 'ikusa' instead.


MOCK TEE DESIGN
(Arranged in Adobe Photoshop)

The detail work on the samurai was killer. I used to work as a computer animator / modeler for KOEI TECMO, a video game giant specializing in Ancient Chinese and Japanese action platformers, so working on these characters was right up my alley :)

The reason I altered the bottom leg of the ninja was after applying the color and realizing it just doesn't look good. It appeared comical, like a pose a ninja turtle would do. By having the leg extended, there becomes a sense of weight and power in the liftoff that carries through to the arm drawing out the bokken.

CHARACTER ARTPIECES COMPLETED
(Drawn and colored in Adobe Photoshop via Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet)



The characters were inspired from THE LAST SAMURAI, Katsumoto played by Ken Watanabe and REVENGE OF THE NINJA, Cho Osaki played by Sho Kosugi. The client wanted the ninja carrying many of the traditional weapons and fitting them all in was quite a challenge because that ninja outline, that unmistakable black silhouette is at risk of being lost due to over cluttering of the body. Does that make sense? I've seen designs of ninjas carrying explosives, a multitude of blades, chains and accessories looking like a Christmas tree lol. It looks ridiculous, seriously... A ninja ought to look like a streamline, agile shadow with many concealable weaponry and a single sword as its merchant of death.
FINAL TEE CONCEPT



The job was draw a ninja looking like his bad-ass self... immediately, the image of Sho Kosugi popped in my head. Is there anyone else who fits the prototypical look of a ninja?... crickets... Didn't think so.
NINJA CONCEPT



Many greats to reference from in screen legends, Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai, however, from a modern standpoint, there is only one that stands out. Hint: he stole every scene he was in with Tom.
SAMURAI WARLORD CONCEPT



I hope you all enjoyed this post. It was a blast of a project and honestly, working on these characters and playing THE LAST SAMURAI soundtrack on infinite repeat really made it special and definitely, the movie is due for a repeat viewing very soon. My recollection of the film experience at the cinema almost fifteen years ago in Japan was incredible. I cried in many scenes and the final speech delivered by the Emperor, poignant and nationalistic really topped it off. I would have given my life for the Emperor just as Tom had offered... hehe. Anyhow, I better get going. Thank you for dropping by and always a pleasure, my friends.


Please Upvote, resteem and follow if you're interested to see more art posts like this one.
Bye for now.