You know what's cooler than a pirate? How about a LEGO pirate! Earlier this year I was commissioned to illustrate a new logo for my local toy store, Rebel Bricks. They specialize in all things LEGO and the owner of the store specifically requested that her logo be modeled after a pirate mini-figure. It was the first time I ever illustrated a LEGO mini-figure.

The Finished Illustration

Despite the fact that my subject for this piece didn't require the use of drawing traditional figure anatomy, my usual methods of creating the wireframe, sketch, inks, etc remained the same. I'm no stranger to LEGOs, having amassed a respectable collection myself when I was a kid. Now a days, it's my children who are the ones playing with these toys on a daily basis. Suffice to say, I had plenty of inspiration and available mini-figures to use as reference.

The Wire Frame

Real LEGO mini-figures are fairly stiff and straightforward. Their arms and legs can only turn in one direction. You're suppose to let your imagination do the more creative stuff. In my drawing, I didn't allow the physical constraints of the real world mini-figure restrict my pirate pose. As you can see, her arms are bending in such a way that shows personality, particularly the hand on the hip.

The Sketch

This pirate mini-figure was modeled after the owner of the company, at her request. For the look I referenced female LEGO pirate mini-figures to get an idea of what kind of design would be appropriate. I am a fan of belts and buckles, as well as lacing so of course that had to o into her design. I thought a bandana would look better than a captains hat. The peg-leg and the parrot were added by request as well.

The Line Art

For this specific illustration, I drew the lines by hand using my Wacom Mobilestudio Pro 16 and the G-Pen in Clip Studio Paint EX. However, for the logo as it would be used for Rebel Bricks, I re-created the artwork in Adobe Illustrator using vector tools. However, when comparing the two I must say I enjoy drawing my line art in freehand much better. And since my canvas size is so large, I'm never concerned about losing quality even if my work is rasterized.

The Flat Colors

I thought the red shirt was pretty standard for a pirate look. And of course her hook has to be gold because that's what pirates are all about, right? The silver hair is a direct reference to the owner of Rebel Bricks. When working on the background I didn't bother drawing any line art. I just went straight for shapes, shadows, and other details. I thought this helped give focus to the pirate lady, as well as provide a kid-friendly appeal as if it came straight out of a cartoon or comic book.

That's pretty much all I have to say about this piece. I hope you found this post entertaining, educational, or encouraging. I want to inspire all amateur artists to keep drawing and never give up. If you have any requests for future posts, please let me know with a comment below!