I have been working a lot on my blog and other personal projects, and it has been a time since the last time I published some new art in the portfolio. So, when I had some time for drawing, I wanted something happy. I started thinking about how a smile that comes truthfully from anyone always makes me smile… I just needed a person who looked genuinely happy; it didn’t matter how they looked like!
And that is how I started to sketch Mike (because for me, he looks like a Mike), a very happy classic heavy music lover. It was a rapid sketch in Photoshop, with little consideration to proportions -I preferred something more cartoon this time- and almost no polishing. I decided to draw a happy pet too. And since pets are said to look like their owners, I created Mr. Ticks with a little bit of Mike (they have similar brows and sideburns!). Making the tee, I thought that better than choosing a single band for it, I would have the fun thrice if I created three versions! Making several versions is very common when I am working in character design, and I loved the idea of the slightly different Mikes.
The first version has influences from Classic Rock and Roll and Heavy metal; the second one mixes the Hard rock and the hippy influence, and the last one is based on Punk Rock. I also chose fictional names for the bands: Rotorhead, Ted Zeppelin, and Rex Pistols. One funny detail is that each version holds a different kind of beer from an authentic brand I like!
It was a ton of fun, and it really made me smile! I hope you like it!
Beaconpancakes 