Process page

I'm going to teach a character design class this thursday and wanted to have a small assignment to give during it.  I decided on having the students design a lucha libre wrestler and then having a critique at the end.  I wanted to talk to them about all the principles I follow and use and generally my thought process as I go.  I figured a good way to do it would be to put it up here so I could easily reference it so you all get to enjoy it as well.  I start with a really rough sketch, mostly just finding the shapes that I want.  This is where the drawing happens for me.  I usually do these rough sketches in just a few seconds, maybe a minute.  If the drawing is working at this early stage, then it should work no matter what details I throw onto it later.  After that I usually find some reference to help me refine my initial idea.  Sometimes this can be reveresed.  Sometimes a great piece of reference inspires a new sketch out of me.  After I find the reference I refine the sketch down even more to a more finished state.  After that I throw some color on it.  The details in the final sketch and the details in the color can vary depending on the project or the effect I'm going for.  This color is pretty quick, but it does the job well enough.  Enjoy.