Since I was at Comic Con and missed my weekly post last week, I’ve added a few extra picts. The figure this week is the “Pursuit of Cobra – City Strike Scarlett.” This one was officially not released although I have talked to a couple of luck guys who somehow managed to get her.

Before I get into the process, a quick shout out to the fellas at the What’s on Joe Mind and Flag Points podcasts. Thanks for the support guys! Ok, now to business…

This figure was originally slated to be part of the “Rise of Cobra” movie line released by Hasbro. Since it needed to feel like it could exist in the film, I was asked to paint the likeness of actress Rachel Nicols. Hasbro provided some fantastic set photos of her, in addition to a style sheet, and prototype toy picts.

Hasbro Reference.

Urban (City Strike) Scarlett style sheet.

I decided to render a black and white color study in addition to my normal pose sketch on this illustration. Since she was primarily a grayscale painting, I would later paint over my b & w comp. This ended up saving me a lot of time in the long run since most of my lighting decisions were already made.

City Strike Line Drawing.

Black and White Study.

Early Color Blocking.

Next I scoured the internet for pictures of “Military-type” gear. Buckles, bags, pads. I got the idea for these particular knee pads by looking at my kids bike pads. I want her uniform to have a distinct feel, and decided on something between a wet suit and motocross leather. She is armed to the teeth with a Katana and two arm blades which need to look like tempered steel.

Ref Picts and More blocking.

Sword reference / Detail.

Working Face Paint.

Now I start adding all the little details that will push the piece off the page. I needed to sell the fact that this is an actual person wearing a suit. Quilting on the jacket panels, stitching, seams, and the zippers really helped.

Gear Detailing.

Finally I paint the high altitude mask she needs to wear. I’ve decide to put the mask on it’s own layer in case Hasbro decides to show Rachel’s face. This particular piece of gear was one of the instances where I needed to improvise a bit.

I couldn’t really make out the detailing in the toy picts I was given and the style sheet was a little vague, so I winged it. The feel I was going for was an actual H.A.L.O. jumper’s helmet with a little George Lucas for good measure.

Like the other figures I painted in this line, the uniform needed “dull playing against shine.” I wanted a clear distinction of Matte hoses against a metallic mask. The “techie” pattern on the aqua plexiglass is a call back to my Star Viper detailing.

Helmet Paint.

Here is my finished painting along with a pict of the toy that would have been available at retail. Hope you like it. Joe fans please feel free to post any interesting tid bits about this piece I missed. If you want see more please Comment, Subscribe, and Share. Also thanks to the Joe Community, I appreciate the support… More to come next week!

Approved City Strike Scarlett Art.

Hasbro POC City Strike Scarlett figure.

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