Drawing "Piltover's Finest"

Pencil drawing

Happy new year!

I spent some time thinking what direction I wanted to take this year with my art. One idea I arrived at was "dramatic character posing". I got this idea while reading Yakuza Fiance manga. The series has striking cover images that elicit strong feelings from me (and a little discomfort). I thought I would like to draw images that elicit emotional reaction. Maybe through dramatic expression and posing. Maybe though eye-catching costumes.

Meanwhile, I watched Arcane season 2 and felt the urge to draw Caitlyn and Vi, my favorite ship characters in the series. With "dramatic character posing" idea in mind, I started sketching thumbnails.

Starter thumbnails

The numbers reflect drawing order. I began with the triangle composition (a trick I learned recently). The triangle is especially obvious in #1 and #2. By the time I drew #3, I was thinking about Caitlyn silhouette as a vampire silhouette. (I learned about "Count Fagula" later on. Good to know I wasn't the only one.) I needed to figure out what to do with Vi.

I liked the framing in #4, so I redrew it in #5. I added as much gay look as I could to their expressions.

Thumbnail redraws

At this point, I locked in to the idea in #5. I added the handcuff in #6 as the discomforting element. Finally, as a first step to scaling up the thumbnail, I drew #7 on an A5 paper. It was not to my liking: Cait's head is too large, I couldn't figure out Vi's arms. But I learned what to look out for and it was time to draw on A4 paper.

Penciling the important elements

I began by placing the major elements and getting their proportions right. I drew elements that I felt was important:

• Poses determined how the elements were placed on the image;
• Hair was important for me to recognize the characters;
• Expression suggested the mood.

Next step was adding details to make this look finished. In addition, fix any element I was not happy about.

Adding in costume details

The biggest deficiency was costumes. I knew Caitlyn's costume; what about Vi's? I decided that she would be in her black jacket. In the show, Vi left her right collar of the jacket up. In this image, it would cover Caitlyn's hand so I folded it. Adding arm bandages and the handcuffs were a natural extension of getting Vi's costumes.

I fixed Caitlyn's hair line as well.

Refining details

It was time for refining the details. I used references heavily in this phase.

• Add definition to Vi's hair.
• Finalize Caitlyn's hand.

As I was drawing Caitlyn' shoulder pads, I second-guessed her face. In the thumbnails, her face was in profile. I drew this change and she looked more masculine.

Final drawing(?)

I have not inked this drawing because I am still second-guessing Caitlyn's face. I guess we will find out soon. Please look forward to it!