The fantasy element was there because I wanted it, and the berserker was based on the character and ability of the Flash – all of his incarnations have possessed super-speed, which gives him the ability to run extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes and seemingly violate certain laws of physics. Berserkers (or berserks) were Norse warriors of Odin who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury; a characteristic that later gave rise to the English word "berserk”. They were very fast and strong, and fought in light armor. Both concepts combined well and complemented each other.

Before I go on to talk about the process of drawing, I'd like to share some technical advice. When you're working on a piece of art, you need to create a comfortable environment. I'd also recommend listening to music as this helps to create the necessary mood and rhythm. Next, make sure your software is configured properly (here I'm using Photoshop). I'm a hardcore gamer and used the WASD hotkey system in Photoshop too (Fig.04) because it lets you work with the usual part of the keyboard.


Typically when I work, I try to keep to a minimum number of layers (three-four). When the composition is established, I merge all the layers and continue to work with two (the second acts as a temporary buffer). Also I used two-three simple brushes (Fig.05).



So I started drawing the character, and the more I worked on it, the better I began to understand how it would look and what items of clothing it would be wearing. The most important thing at this stage was to keep the character recognizable. If you lose the key design elements of a basic character, what makes it unique, then it quickly becomes meaningless (Fig.06).