Thread: Making Samurai... tokens

Step 3.
After getting the sketches and reference together I draw the lower legs, torsos and heads separately.

I draw the parts on tracing vellum, over my reference or rough sketches.
I then scan in the pieces and in PS clean up the work. Adjust the levels to get a nice contrasty image, then I select the white and delete it making the background transparent. Using a large red layer stroke I find all the crap that is partially a result of having a dusty scanner. Selecting the background again and then increasing the selection by 1 pxl usually removes most of the crap.

Step 4.
I've put the bodies away for a bit, since the next step there is to head to illustrator. I've taken my head template and made a nice b/w version of it.
Then duplicating it 8 times make a template to create my samuarai heads.

Truly top down tokens would rarely show the face, so here I have taken a bit of an angle so that facial features can be seen so that the tokens have a unique look to them.

Cool stuff Devin!

I could never draw/sketch people worth a darn.

Thanks.
I'll post more as I work on it. I have very little time right now but will see this thread through the completed color tokens and some variants.

Awesome - always did want to see how you did it. Repped naturally...

It's been a while but I need to get these Samurai done in the next week or so.
So using the templates I have made clothing for them, and using the head template sketched up a few kabuto (helmets).
With the kabuto I have several pieces that will overlap with the head. These are traced from my sketches in Illustrator. Most of my stuff is live traced, but with things that require a lot of symmetry I will trace them with the pen tool from half the object and then reflect it.
I will be doing weapons today and will post those later.

Here are the weapon images.
I almost have all the parts ready.
It's taken 18 8.5x11 sheets of sketches and tracings to get this far.
I will start posting some images with color soon.
-D

Good stuff DN. I always like to see character studies.

Great looking tokens so far and I like the methodology. Thanks, DK!

GP