Thought I’d do a two for Tuesday since I can’t remember the last time I updated my blog.
Another in the series I did for “The Rise of Cobra” figure line. The process was the same as the Star and Sand Vipers, so I’ll keep it short. Again painted in 2009 for Hasbro Toys. As with most of my work after ’08, Corel Painter was the software used. The images below are what the client provided as reference. The direction was “Make it look cool.”
Hasbro GI Joe “Rise of Cobra” Outback prototype figure.
I posed, took digital shots, and created this sketch as my base to paint.
Outback Line Drawing.
Once I got approval on the drawing, I blocked in the paints, then started working details. I spent a lot of time online finding military surplus photo reference. It really came in handy when painting things like the flak jacket, and various other pieces of army gear. Now that I’ve completed twenty pieces of figure art for GI Joe, I have a pretty large library of images! Feel free to comment. Peace.
Working Outback Paint.
Outback was really fun to paint since I’ve never painted a Redhead before. I enjoyed adding things like freckles and moles to this piece.
Any job that allows me to exercise my OCD for painting details makes me happy. Is that strange? Anyway, a few more details like the Joe tat on his arm, rim lighting and plasma background and I called it a day.
Final Outback(Click for Larger Version).
Finished Outback Art. G.I. JOE®
©2011 Hasbro, Inc. Used with Permission
"I don't know how to put this, but..." 
I love the artwork! Inspiring as I just got a copy of Painter 12 myself. Was the ‘plasma’ behind each character done in Painter as well? Keep up the great work!
Thank you. Actually the backgrounds were painted with Photoshop CS4. Before Corel released version 12 of Painter, I was more comfortable with the PS airbrush. No longer the case with Painter 12 though.
great job – he looks like 50% rambo and 50% norris 😀
Great stuff. What other characters have you done that you are permitted to reveal?
[…] posted four separate introspectives about package design, including the Star-Viper, the Sand-Viper, Night Force Outback, and Arctic Threat Storm […]
As a G.I. Joe fan, I find your blog fascinating. It’s rewarding to get behind-the-scenes glimpses like this, and your talent is staggering. Please keep sharing!
This is amazingly cool! As a collector, I really appreciate you sharing some behind the scenes info on how the awesome artwork on the packages is produced. I always keep the packaging, because I love the art so much! I am blown away by how much character and realism you managed to give Outback’s face. Can’t wait to see more of your G.I. Joe work!