One morning my girlfriend, Rahisha wore a red top with black pants to go to work. She sported a large Afro and it sparked an idea. I would illustrate her as Marvel’s Riri Williams aka Ironheart. I was fascinated by the character when she debuted in Iron Man before taking over his title for a brief stint. Riri is a super genius but she has the of problems growing up in an urban environment as a girl of color. 

I started with a rough sketch to get the proportions right, inked to define the lines and then colored to bring the illustration to life. The background is based on a rooftop view I had while in Tribeca. Art created using Procreate on iPad Pro. Check out the steps and variant illustrations below.

Ironheart version 1

Ironheart version 2

Ironheart version 3

Ink

Pencil