Pencil Watercolour

Illustrator UKO SMITH breaks down the key details as he builds an action-packed scene featuring two classic X-Men characters

This piece started its life as a commission, but when that didn’t materialise, I pretty much made it my own. My process begins with a series of preliminary sketches, and I pick the best from the batch to progress with. Next I’ll do a greyscale comp to give me a roadmap for the visual interest.

After that, I work on the final pencils. As I love spontaneity, I don’t have to fully pencil every detail out. Since the greyscale comp, I made some changes to the action for Storm to make her more dynamic. I wanted a more sweeping design from top-left to bottom-right. Extending Storm’s leg made sense here, as did pointing Magik’s toe to further add to the flow. I also made a focal point by using lightning and other elements of the characters’ designs. Once these decisions are in place, I move to the early colour stages and final touches.