Speeds Kate and The Superhero Slam

In June of 2012, my league hosted a bout called "Superhero Slam."  While roller derby bouts are always fun, this one was especially so for a couple of reasons.  First of all, as we had newly formed a B-team, this was our first double header.  Double the derby goodness!  Second, we all really got into the superhero spirit.  Lots of us donned masks and capes--Some of us even full-on costumes!  And by someone of us, I mean me :P  I had made a Robin (as in Batman's sidekick) costume years back and brought it out one last time to wear while I wasn't skating.  I'm sorry to say that I don't really have any good photos of me wearing it (at least since getting into better shape), but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't pretty freaking awesome.  Even had a working utility belt :)

The league voted in Speeds Kate as that month's poster girl.  Easily one of the best skaters I've seen, I can only wish that I had half her speed, footwork and tenacity.  And despite her tiny frame, Speeds has this intensity to her that I hoped I'd be able to accurately capture in her drawing.

 

She really does stick out her tongue like that.  Sort of a Speeds Kate trademark :P

From a compositional standpoint I know it looks like an awful lot of colors and patterns, but I based her boutfit on what she had actually worn.  Like those shorts and those tights--I did not make those up.  The rainbow socks I did, but really, those are a staple in most derby girls' wardrobes (I am the rare exception).  And yes, she really does have crazy-purple skates :) 

Because I was dealing with a major time crunch, I unfortunately had to leave Speeds' drawing in flat colors like you see here.  However, it was always my intention to go back in and give it the fully shaded color-treatment.  I don't have it here for you now, but it is almost done!  So until then, here's a look at her bout poster to tide you over.

With the bout being superhero-themed and all, it only made sense to design the poster to look like a comic book cover.  Again, I had to keep the background fairly simple because I just didn't have a lot of time.  If I were to go and re-work this design, one of the things I'd do is incorporate some Roy Lichtenstein-inspired benday dot patterns, in addition to putting more effort into the title design.  I had included a drop shadow behind Speeds' drawing to help her pop off the page more, but I hadn't noticed until it was too late that it had disappeared.  Eh well. 

Anyway, hope you guys liked Speeds' drawing!  And I'll be sure to post her newly re-colored drawing here once it's finished!