CREATING A NEW HERO

It all started with a post on Facebook. On April 8th, 2020, one of my FB Friends, Eric Francisco, posted a message saying he was interested in hiring an artist for concept work. I immediately answered “Me!”. Then Eric and I started talking via Messenger and a few weeks later, I made him look like a hero!

I first met Eric three years ago. My good friend Ramon Gil organizes meet up type gatherings with comic book editors and creators in New York. I believe I was the second ever to participate in such an event. The turnaround was pretty good, about 15 people. For a last minute thing taking place on a Wednesday, it was great.

I had been invited to talk about my career. How I broke into comics, and of course, how I stayed in! Among the audience, there was Eric, who’s also a journalist for various sites, including Inverse. We kept in touch.

So when I officially applied for that concept work, he was happy. Eric just launched his own Twitch Channel (for those who want to check out: http://www.twitch.tv/ericthedragon)

The Brief
Just like in any new job, I listened to Eric’s brief: “a new hero based on me, half Red Power Ranger, half Bruce Lee”. I thought about it for a second and I said: “Kamen Rider style?”. Eric seemed to like that direction. I started sketching… 

I’m a huge fan of the Kamen Rider series but even more of the Metal Hero Series, especially Space Sheriff GAVAN.
Initially, I gave the character a slim look and even some kind of shorts, à la Superman. But Eric wanted more of a Power Rangers feel to it. So I went back to the drawing board.

Let’s go digital!
Once the sketch was approved, I moved to Sketchbook Pro and digitally inked and colored the new Eric The Dragon character.

Raw inks in Sketchbook Pro from my pencils
basic coloring
With shadow and effetcs.
Variation with the helmet

Eric was very happy. And I got to cross one more item on my list of things I wanted to achieve in art. I designed my first character for someone else. 🙂

To be continued!

–Fabrice

Eric The Dragon is © Eric Francisco. All Rights Reserved.

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