Character Sketch: Galen Griffon

Here is a first look at the hero of my story. You can click on each image to see a much larger version. 

Galen Griffon is a twenty-five year old serving as a soldier in King Geoffrey's army. His father died when he was nine years old, leaving Galen and his younger brother to be raised on the family farm by their widowed mother.

Galen repeatedly earns praise for his heroic service but he's plagued by self-doubt. He feels unworthy of the attention and knows he is no true hero.

I have been doodling on character designs for Galen for a while and I think I have finally found a look that works. I have included both the black and white scan of my artwork along with the colored version that I finished in Photoshop. I did this by coloring everything in flat tones then using the Dodge and Burn tools to create gradients, highlights and shadows. The red piping around the shoulders was added in the computer, I didn't have them in my original drawing. But I liked the way the red popped out around the hem so I added it to the shoulders, as well.