Here is fellow blogger Seth McGinnis, as his alter-ego, Doctor Tectonic. I made this illustration for him, in return for my using his tattoo ideas on my own alter-ego character, Blockade Boy.
Doctor Tectonic is a steampunk "mad scientist" with an Earthquake Cannon. I've depicted him posing for a daguerreotype at some fancy mad scientists' symposium. He's wearing the control harness for his egg-shaped robot mecha. The pose is borrowed from a public domain 19th-century engraving, although the original figure was not nearly as robust, and he was wearing a fur coat which obscured his arms and most of his chest and trousers. Seth really does have the same magnificent whiskers as Doctor Tectonic. He even owns a similar pair of goggles! The background is based on the type found in a lot of Matthew Brady portraits.
I did the ink drawing in fine-point Sharpie, and scanned it into Illustrator. I then added the color. This was my first time using the gradient mesh tool. I like it! It definitely makes the colors more lush.
