This is my first time sharing this commissioned piece of artwork, a parody of popular series, Rick and Morty. Many times I am commissioned to create artwork for the purpose of giving the finished illustration as a gift to someone. In this case, to was a gift for two girls, which I incorporated into the drawing. It was interesting getting each girl's resemblance accurate and keeping to the style of the Rick and Morty cartoon.

The Wire Frame

I begin most of my drawings with the wire frame. These are simple lines, no form or detail. The purpose is to help me with the composition, position of characters, placement, sizing, etc. I also use stick figures for posing. I try to avoid completely straight lines, but my normal style isn't as "flexible and limp" as some of poplar American cartoons.

The Sketch

This specific drawing is a parody of the series promotional artwork when it first aired on television. Anyone who is familiar with Rick and Morty will immediately recognize what this drawing is referencing, which was the goal from the start. I don't concern myself with line overlap or messiness. The more I lay down in the sketch phase, the easier it will be to draw over with the clean black line art.

The Line Art

The line art is always my favorite part of the drawing process. I guess it means I like to trace, but I don't hesitate to break away from my sketch and do something else. I add more detail and subtle shadows where appropriate. I usually really like the line art as is, but in this case I think it definitely benefits from having color.

The Flat Colors

To be honest, it was difficult to draw the inter-dimensional portal remote controller. I don't know if it was because of the angle she is holding it or what, but it's not obvious to me that it resembles the device as seen from the show. That's why I re-drew it in the finished version so that it resembled more of a gun-like shape. All colors were pretty much accurate to the original poster that this references.

The Finished Illustration

This is the closest I have ever come to making Rick and Morty fan art. Most of my artwork references Eastern series such as anime, manga, and video game franchises. The exception to that, I guess, is all of my artwork featuring Marvel and DC Comics but that's very different than most American cartoons, aesthetically speaking.

When I was much younger I played around with developing a personal style that was more "cartoony" in nature, but once I was introduced to anime I immediately gravitated toward that.

This was a nice departure from my usual illustration style and I was quite pleased with the results. I can only hope that the recipients of this gift art were equally pleased with it. I hope you like it, too!