The intent was to do a classic 5 color screen print poster style illustration that captured the stoic aggression of Ali and pair it with his quote "I'm going to show you how great I am." ABG provided a database of photos to pull reference from, which was fun to look through. Illustrator Eddie Kihm picked a handful to use, one for the body, a few for the face, and another specifically for the left arm to create the look and pose he wanted.
Technique for this was inspired by Ken Taylor and Hydro74. Using hatching between colors to create more visual interest and avoid the harsh jumps between colors.
-Eddie Kihm
At the core of my style is a foundation in classical figure drawing I gained in highschool from studying at the Barnstone Studios for a few years. Solid forms, clean and clear anatomy with semi idealized proportions. After that it's almost always a toss up as I'm constantly experimenting with new techniques for color and line but I tend to gravitate towards hatching, cel shading, simple but bold color palettes, and often detail heavy elements. I take inspiration from a wide range of artists, like Jake Wyatt, Guy Davis, Nico Delort, T Wei, Natalie Hall, Sergi Brosa, Marko Djudjervic.
-Eddie Kihm
Use lots of photo reference and even work from other artists. Through college I restricted myself, thinking of it as cheating and that I would be better off learning to not rely on it, but my work suffered for it instead. Without reference or continually pulling inspiration my work was flat, but then there was a very noticeable improvement once I allowed myself to gather and use reference again.
-Eddie Kihm
About Eddie Kihm
Eddie Kihm is a 24-year-old Illustrator and Designer from Pennsylvania. He graduated from SCAD with a degree in Sequential Art, living in Baltimore and working at Under Armour on the Apparel Graphics team. Freelancing in his free time for fun. See more of his works on Behance.