Okay, let’s talk about this ‘badvillain kelly’ thing I’ve been messing around with lately.
It kinda started outta nowhere. I was just scrolling online, you know, jumping between sites, and I kept seeing this particular art style pop up. Some people were calling it the ‘badvillain kelly’ look, or something close to that. Dunno if that’s the official name, probably not, but it stuck in my head. It looked pretty cool, kinda sharp and stylized, a bit dark maybe, but really eye-catching. So I thought, hey, I wanna try doing that myself.
Getting Started
First thing I did was just gather pictures. Lots of ’em. Saved anything that felt like it had that vibe. Filled up a whole folder on my computer. I spent maybe an evening just looking through everything, trying to figure out what made it tick. Was it the way they drew faces? The colors? The clothes? It was hard to pin down at first.
Then I actually started trying to draw something. Fired up my tablet and the art program I usually use. My first few tries were, well, not great. Really not great. They didn’t look anything like the stuff I saved. Mine just looked kinda flat and boring. It was obvious I was missing something.
Breaking It Down
So, I decided to get methodical. Instead of trying to do a whole picture, I focused on bits and pieces.
- Linework: I looked really close at the lines in the reference pics. They seemed bold, sometimes a bit rough, but always confident, you know? I spent a whole afternoon just practicing lines. Tried different digital brushes, messed with the stabilizer settings. Just trying to get that specific feel down.
- Colors: Next up was color. The ‘badvillain kelly’ stuff often used dark backgrounds or outfits, but then BAM, some really bright, almost neon color would pop out. Like a bright pink or electric blue. So I started making little color palettes, trying to find combinations that felt right.
- Shading: This part tripped me up a bit. Sometimes it looked like simple cell shading, other times there were subtle gradients. I tried both. Made a mess. Got frustrated. Walked away for a bit. You know how it is.
Having Another Go
After grabbing a coffee and clearing my head, I looked at my reference folder again. And I realized something. Maybe it wasn’t just how things were drawn, but what was drawn. The characters often had these really specific poses, kinda defiant or aloof. Lots of attitude.
So, I changed tactics. I picked a simple character pose from one reference. Didn’t worry too much about the style at first, just getting the pose and the feeling right. Then, slowly, I started applying the things I practiced – the bold lines, the color palette I’d chosen. And it started to look… well, better! Closer, anyway.
It started clicking. It felt like I was finally getting somewhere. It wasn’t perfect, still isn’t, but it felt like I understood the core idea a bit more. It’s less about a strict set of rules and more about capturing that specific edgy energy.
So yeah, that’s where I’m at with the ‘badvillain kelly’ style. Still practicing, still trying things out. It’s a process. Sometimes you hit a wall, sometimes things just work. But it’s been a fun little project to chip away at. Maybe I’ll post some sketches later if I get something I’m really happy with. We’ll see.
