Star Trek’s Captain Picard, This Time in Color
Back in December 2017, before I switched over to color drawings, I sketched a scene with my three favorite characters from Star Trek. It featured Captain Picard, La Forge, and Data in a crazy dream sequence from one of the more bizarre Star Trek the Next Generation episodes. Although I was pretty happy with how it turned out, I’ve wanted to give another nod to the show – this time in color. In fact, I would really like to circle back around for some color drawings on some of my favorite black and white subjects, like the band Faith No More, the Dallas Cowboys, and a few extended family members. Some ideas to keep in mind going forward!
As I mentioned in that original Star Trek post from December, I’m not actually much of a Star Trek fan. Or more accurately; I’m a fan, but only in a narrowly-focused and specific way. I am fairly ambivalent about the original series with Kirk, Spock, and the rest, and I never watched the shows after the Next Generation. I also didn’t really care much about the rebooted movies. But Star Trek the Next Generation? Yes indeed, I’ve enjoyed that one since I was a kid. I’m sure some of my fondness is rooted in nostalgia, but I really do think the Next Generation had a special cast of characters that sets it apart. And Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is probably the best of a great bunch.
So, for this new sketch, I went with a very classic pose from the series. This one features Captain Picard giving the command to get the ship moving; raising his hand, saying, “engage.”
This sketch turned out well I think, similarly to the original black and white I did. I’m not sure, but I guess Patrick Stewart/Captain Picard is just someone I can draw successfully. My only real issue with this one is that I intended for him to have a slight smirk, which he often does in the show. But this version of the Captain ended up looking very stern; that’s in character for him too, but it wasn’t exactly what I set out to do. But, slight smiles are very tricky, and aren’t something I’ve mastered.
Also, I included a couple polls in that previous Star Trek post, so I thought I’d pop those into this one as well. For fans of the show, I was curious who their favorite Captains were, and for fans of the Next Generation specifically, who their favorite characters were. Let’s see if those previous trends hold!
I’m not sure what exactly is next. As I mentioned, I want to return to a few subjects again from the black and white sketches. But, I also just watched Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, which I loved, and I think it would be fun to sketch those characters. We’ll see what happens, because I’ll probably do something later this evening.
Pingback: Portrait of Morrigan from Dragon Age - Amdall Gallery
Pingback: Three-Quarters of the Ghostbusters - Amdall Gallery
Pingback: Subject Counts and Wife Solo Portraits | Amdall Gallery
I drew him on a website called sketchfu. Sadly it closed a few years ago. I think I posted my digital drawing of him on here somewhere. I like your portrait of him.
Thank you Christine. I’d love to see your Captain Picard art, which category on your site is it under?
Probably Digital Art. I will have to have a look…
Its actually http://artbychristinemallabandbrown.com/22/04/2018/digital-portraits
Wow, excellent! Thanks for sharing that – I’ll comment further on your site, but I like it.
Pingback: Messing Up a Guardians of the Galaxy Drawing | Amdall Gallery
I love all these throw-back character portraits. Always preferred Picard, my dad likes Kirk, bu that’s probably because he has the same name XD
The hand, expression, and complexion are all beautifully done. For your rendering style, I’d suggest experimenting with microns or some sort of archival ink pen to texture or shade clothing. The hyper-refined look of the skin is clashing with the bolder reds and blacks in the clothing here. I think the cleaner lines of a small nib (microns specifically are sold in other colors) could contrast really well with your approach to processing the facial and skin textures.
Anyway, keep it up!
Thanks Blu – yeah I definitely like Picard over Kirk. Even back when I was a kid, being the Captain of a spaceship seemed like a stressful job. I just figured the person who did that would have a pretty serious personality, kind of like Picard. Kirk seemed too irresponsible to me, as if he would have a mutiny or the ship would explode on his first week in space.
I think I’m going to have to do some Googling on the micron, nib, and archival pen things. Is Micron a brand of special ink pen? Much like so many art mediums, I don’t think I’ve ever used pen before. Sounds kind of intimidating actually, not being able to erase! High stakes art, right there.
Microns are a specific style of archival pen (a brand, but they have unique pen styles, the brush nib is particularly great for clothing).
Pens are intimidating, you’re right, but they are one of the cleanest mediums. They do exactly what you tell them to, which makes them great for texture or stylized clothing/backgrounds. That said, colored pencils and pastels aren’t always the easiest to erase without ruining the paper.
Anyway, might be fun to experiment with. I think what you’re doing is already really dope but trying new things can really pay off when you find a new effect or style you can incorporate into your other works XD
Actually, that’s a really good point. I was so focused on the permanence of pen/ink, but it’s definitely true that these Prismacolor pencils are not really erasable. They really mess up the paper if you try to erase once a thick layer is down.
Ha – I’m such a creature of habit. I really would like to try some new things, I just have to break myself out of this mold. I’m honestly amazed that I was able to even get myself to try colored pencil!
Whilst living in Japan in the 1990s, with limited access to English speaking TV, Star Trek: The Next Generation was our lifesaver. We tuned in religiously every week and watched every episode ever produced. I watch the reruns on occasion and think back fondly to just how important it was to us at that time. A bit of familiarity in a very different phase of our lives.
That’s awesome! I can see how that would be pretty comforting. I think a lot of my fondness for the show is rooted in a similar feeling; I didn’t move across the globe or anything, but the memories tied to the show are good.
I wonder what sort of experiences or even shows my kids might have similar feelings about? I suppose it could be anything, but wouldn’t that be funny if it was also Star Trek the Next Generation?