Judge Dredd sketch

[Dave Hedmark]

Hello guys, here's a concept sketch I did of Judge Dredd. I thought I would share it with you and hopefully get some critiques.

[Emperor]

Welcome - lovely job.

I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to law down the law on number of links in the chain and other minutiae, so I'll go with the general things:

• The shoulder pads look massive and this is making Dredd's head look rather narrow (although it might be too narrow too with or without the shoulder pads, it does look a little too high and thin).
• The cross on the helmet is a little high - it'd tend to fall into the lighter coloured area of the visor (sometimes just the lower two points of the X) - it'd tend to fall across the bridge of the nose, sometimes with the lower quadrant of the X framing the tip of his nose. This might be a consequence of the high helmet and adjusting it slightly makes everything fall into place.

So overall I'd say: Let's see some more. Whatcha got to show us??

[Dave Hedmark]

Thank you Emperor! That helped immensely. I will adjust the x. now I'm working on some sample pages for a submission to 2000 AD.

[kossori]

Nice! 

[Pete Wells]

Some lovely design work going on there, those boots are just like the Frank Quitely ones of yesteryear. My quibble, and it's purely a personal thing, is the rounding of the eye bits on the visor (like the early Dredds.) I like 'em to come to a point, makes the mask look a bit more severe looking.

'Tis a beautiful sketch though...

[locustsofdeath!]

Your inking appeals to me, especially the heavy black on the midsection and forearms. I'll go with Emperor about the shoulder pads being a bit too massive - I know Dredd has always had a strong back, but he's getting on in years.

I also like that you've taken elements from our favorite Dredd artists and assimilated it into your own style, and I like what I see. Do put up some more of your work!

[SmallBlueThing]

I really like that. Thy heavy blacks give it a weight that sets it apart. The shadows designating the layers between shoulder pad, badge and chest are especially clever, as are little details like the way the light falls on his right hand.

Like our esteemed cover-star Mr Pete Wells, I'd dither over the rounded eye pieces, but they don't strike me as immediately being "wrong" and are a legitimate stylistic choice, with a precedent, so would say if you particularly love 'em, keep 'em.

And I actually like the chunkiness of the pads in comparison to the head- if the shadow work wasn't so good, I'd agree that it would look unbalanced, but as it goes, I think the character looks weighty enough to pull it off.

But you forgot the boot knife!

I'm no art expert though, I just respond to what I like!

SBT

[Dave Hedmark]

Thank you guys,

kossori- Thanks!

Pete Wells- Thank you! hmmm... yes meaner and maybe a bit older.

locustsofdeath!- Thanks! yeah I've been into studying shadows lately. I haven't inked much but I just finished a project for an Indy company pencils and inks and it really opened worlds for me as far as what I'm doing now what I need to study and how far I can take it.

SmallBlueThing - Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you like it. ok definitely sharpen the eyes. oops. the bootknife!!!

Thank you guys  for the feedback I appreciate it. I'm working on some Dredd sequentials now I'll post those in the near future.

[radiator]

A lot of this is purely down to personal preference, and with Dredd you get a lot more freedom to interpret the character how you want so there's no real 'wrong' or 'right' way to do things, but the things that stick out for me are:

Your version of the eagle shoulder pad doesn't really work for me, and the two shoulder pads tend to work better visually when they are balanced - the eagle on your version sits too high, and is too big.

As others have said, the visor almost always looks better with sharp edges on the 'eyes' - I can't think of many artists that deviate from this unless they are specifically going for a retro look.

The gloves/gauntlets 'flare' too much at the cuff for my liking and this makes them look a bit flowery and impractical.

I'm all for new interpretations of the lawgiver, but I think your one strays too far from what we've seen before - I didn't even recognise it as a lawgiver at first. Bear in mind that it is supposed to be a handgun.

The elbow pads have no straps to keep them attached - this can work with more stylised art styles, but with your style it looks slightly odd to my eyes.

I'm not keen on the boots - they don't seem to work with the rest of the uniform and also look a little rushed from a drawing point of view - the creases and folds of the fabric don't look very convincing and overall the lower legs make the whole pose look a little unnatural.

There is a slight issue with the way that the right shoulder pad obscures Dredd's badge. Perhaps reshape the shoulder pad or have the badge sit in front of the shoulder pad?

The belt seems to be sitting a little high.

Overall though, really cool - nice inking and most of the elements look spot on.

[Dave Hedmark]

Thank you radiator. Those are things I'll keep in mind.

[Darren Stephens]

Radiator and the guys have said it all, really. It's a good drawing, but the inking, for me, is the best bit. Very tidy indeed. Digital or pen/ink? Look forward to seeing more stuff from you, Dave!

[Pauul]

I really like your drawing, and the others are right, the inking is really good too.

This does look like a younger Dredd, but I don't really think that's a problem.

Do you have a link to any of your other art?

[Peter Wolf]

I like it but the scan could have been a bit bigger to show up the detailing and inking a little more.I like your style and i would like to see more of your work.

JD has a different build thasn usual as he is taller and leaner and longer in the leg.

I have 4 minor niggles though....

The first is the Eagle which looks oversized.The other 3 are to do with the figure itself and they would be very easy to correct.

The calf muscles on the left leg need to be a bit bigger and more defined.another is the thigh immediately above the kneepad.It needs to curve inwards more towards the kneepad which is the natural shape rather than how it is at present.Last of all JD looks just a little bit too narrow around the waist and also needs to be a bit wider across the lower back.

[Woolly]

Now that is aces!

One thing - chunkier boots. Im loving the design of the eagle-pad 

[SmallBlueThing]

Re eagle pad, yeah me too. I know others have expressed dissatisfaction, but for me it's one of the few times that the eagle has looked functional. I 'get' how it works, whereas even with the likes of (bow down before) Carlos, it still looks like (utterly fantastic) decoration.
SBT