A friend of mine wanted a retro-inspired caricature for her office and asked me to contribute. I set out to illustrate her 1950's counterpart and the mock-up that would bring the retro-version to life.
You always start with the pencil to paper.
Once I did some research on the look I was going for with the character of "Jules" and did a few preliminary sketches it was time to really have some fun and add some personality. Strangely enough, this didn't happen until I wrote a blurb about her - complete with a background story.
Once the sketch was completed, I ran the finished illustration through my Adobe Illustrator program and did some redrawing and inking to Jules.
Up next.. a period item proper for her locale and a setting to mesh with her 1950's underdog story.
With a bit of Photoshop magic, a matchbook placed in a smoke-filled upper New York dive bar helped make my young 2017 friend 1950's legendary.