Expand on the cyberpunk genre

Valentina Remenar reveals her process for concepting and illustrating a cyberpunk-themed character who’s both familiar, yet original

Valentina Remenar creates a familiar but original figure.

Designing a genre-based original character is fun and rewarding, but challenging. As artists, we strive for originality, but this can be difficult in an industry where everything seems to have already been done. Your character needs to be familiar enough that they are relatable, but authentic enough to stand out. Striking the perfect balance can be tough, especially when you need to catch the viewer’s eye with a single image. The most important part of any image is the composition and it’s where I spend the most time. Trying to meet tight deadlines is stressful, but taking my time is where I don’t compromise, because the composition dictates the rest of the artistic process. Unless you’re happy with your composition, you’ll have a difficult time moving smoothly through subsequent steps.

Here I’ll show you how I create an original character illustration after I’ve decided on the composition. I’ll show you my stages on sketching, detailing, using colour, layers and filters, creating the right atmosphere and texturing the piece to fit its intended genre.

Where cyberpunk is concerned, there are specific elements that make the genre identifiable to its fans. The high-tech/ low-life aspect of cyberpunk culture is key, so in creating this character illustration I have to be sure to convey this integral piece of the subject.