Anti-gravity Character Study

I'm reading "Hip Hop Files- Photographs 1979-1984," a fantastic photo documentary book by Marty Cooper. Among other things, she worked with Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver in making the landmark 1983 chronicle of the birth of hip hop- Style Wars. The book covers a variety of topics, including breakdancing, graffiti and more.

With so many amazing images capturing the energy of human acrobatics, I got inspired and chose to do a little figure study on some of the photos. Photos of breakers like Crazy Legs and Ken Swift make for a more dynamic project than your standard sketch model. I tried to keep it simple at first but everything got a little out of hand.



First we have the basic three shapes. I cut up the scan a little, trying to visualize what layout would create the pleasing composition:



Next we do a clean and simple ink job over our characters. I separated and named each dancer according to their brand or particular footwear. At this point I'm still rotating the image, trying to find the correct balance.



After getting a good digital ink version to work with, I bring the image into Illustrator and livetrace, cleaning it up further and speeding up the coloring process. Flat colors are added, and I bring it back to Photoshop for some detail work. I add another layer of detail before proceeding to the dodge and burn the image.



Close to finish, but it still doesn't quite capture the energy that I wanted to portray. And that is why we use technology to supplement our work

Using a variety of filters and effects, I can subtly, and not so subtly, twist and distort the figures so they convey a more cartoony, dynamic presence.



And all I have to do in finishing up is to create a simple background that helps unify all the imagery.