Back to ArtRage: Catwoman

Whew what a time consuming illustration this was. In a lot of ways this Catwoman painting was trickier than The Dark Knight. Female anatomy is something I'm good at but there is always room for improvement. In the reference photo she is putting her weight on one side and it creates an "S" shape with the rest of her body. I had to go back to my anatomy books to really nail that first initial sketch. At first her torso was too short and then the hips were out of proportion. It was maddening and I actually wasn't sure about continuing for a little while. Thankfully I ignored that feeling and pressed on.

For the actual painting I applied a lot of the things I learned from painting Christian Bale's Batman. The textures in her costume are similar to his. I defined just enough details to paint over later in a new layer. Using ArtRage always pushes my iPad to it's limits and this time was no exception. I had to restart the iPad numerous times because of low memory. I have a 3rd gen so it's easier than struggling with the old one but it does have it's limits. Making her look like Anne Hathaway presented it's own set of challenges but referring to my reference and my artist's eye helped break that down.

Finally I added a background that was more abstract than the realistic looking figure, added snow and then blended her face. I was going to leave it brushy like Batman but that didn't work for her feminine features. It didn't come across as sexy and powerful. Anne Hathaway for me stole the scenes she was in for The Dark Knight Rises. This painting pays homage to the character and her performance.

 

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