Buck Rogers in the 25th Century!

 

I was watching a Sci-Fi documentary on YouTube recently and they did a section on Buck Rogers. The only version of which I have ever drawn was the Gil Gerard version and suddenly thought it would be fun to do a new one but really mixing the old and new on him and play on the fish out of water concept more but with a retro vibe, so a leather jacket and jodhpurs and a zap gun were the first thoughts.

Here you can see my initial doodle

... and then working over the top of it adding some refinements.

When I started painting Buck Rogers, I initially went with a heavier approach but then quickly realized that it was too much for my liking.

I repainted with the simpler style I have been using of late. And then I decided that I didn't like the flight helmet and the parachute looking straps (that were meant to hold a rocket pack) and decided to rework these sections.

I modified the helmet and added the rocket pack and "dial" element that I got from on old comic book reference. His zap gun in based on an actual Buck Rogers toy from the 1930's. I also modified his scarf while I was at it.

Found an old logo and recreated it in vector form. I find this fun and relaxing compared to drawing a figure. I am getting weird in my old age!