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.
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| 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!
