Thunderbird Archives

Lionsoul – Character Design for The REPLICANTS Project

The Character Design idea of Lionsoul came from a challenge to create a superhero team based on an existing team. The REPLICANTS Project was created by Dean Rivet. Lionsoul is inspired by Thunderbird of the X-Men. Mikhail Selimovict aka Lionsoul is a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide during the 1990s. During the Srebrenica massacre, Mikhail’s family was separated. Mikhail with his father and younger brother Jacob were taken to be executed. It was at this moment that his powers manifested. He found that he had accelerated senses, speed, and strength. He was able to save himself and his brother by fighting off the Bosnian Serb forces. Although they were able to survive, Mikhail and Jacob were now alone in the world. They have spent their time looking for their mother and sisters. Mikhail has taken the name Lionsoul and helps people when they are in need with his powers.

Here are the different steps I used when drawing the character design for Lionsoul. I first did the pencils. I didn’t want his look to be too superhero. He’s more of a guy who fights when he needs to, he doesn’t want to stand out in a crowd. Next, I scanned my pencils and tuned them into blue lines in photoshop. I then printed them out and inked them. I do this so I can keep my original pencils. I then color those inks in photoshop. I’m pleased with his look. I had fun designing his lion tattoo too.

This blog post was originally published on my other website Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Ralph’s Art Blog.

I’ve been participating in a fun collaboration with some great comic artists in The REPLICANTS Project.

What we are doing is creating our own characters based on existing characters. Similar to how Marvel Comics Squadron Supreme was based on DC Comics Justice League, and how the Watchmen characters were based on the Charlton characters. We’ve mashed up half the 70s X-men and half the Justice League into a Heroes and Villains team.

The idea came from Dean Rivet who set up a blog on Posterous. The blog’s name is The REPLICANTS Project. We create the character inspired by that week’s chosen character. We design original costumes, character names, and back story. We then email the post to a Posterous email and PazoOoW it appears on the blog.

I’ll be posting the process I’m using to create my characters; from pencil drawing and inking to the final coloring in upcoming blog posts. Here’s a list of the characters that we are using as inspirations for The REPLICANTS Project.