I’ve been playing the stellar Resident Evil 4 Remake lately (I played the original to death too) and was inspired to create some fan art that captures that feeling of dread that comes with facing down a horde of villagers infected with Las Plagas. What came to mind was riffing off of the illustration “This is Fine” created by KC Green. This illustration is also a popular and enduring meme.

 “This is Fine is a two-pane image of an anthropomorphic dog trying to assure himself that everything is fine, despite sitting in a room that is engulfed in flames.”-knowyourmeme.com

It struck me because this feeling of self assurance despite dealing with overwhelming odds is not just what draws me to Resident Evil but games in general. Defeating the boss and reaching the next stage is gratifying. This is especially true if your character is low on health and ammunition which can be very common in Resident Evil. I created the linework for the illustration and colored it in using four different styles in Procreate. The piece features one of the series’ protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy who is most likely my favorite character.

I’m the artistic style was inspired by a series of ads that Capcom created to promote the game.

Flat Brush: Flat colors. This is the first variant I created. It’s simply dragging and dropping colors into the linework.

Oil Brush: My aesthetic as an artist is pretty much cartooning meets fine art so this variant represents that. Same linework but with brushy oil based paint.

Watercolor: I’ve been practicing digital watercolors for the past few months so I wanted to continue experimenting here too. I have barely used watercolors traditionally so I don’t really have too much of a point of reference. Still, I like the idea of learning a medium completely in the digital space.

Wet Flat Brush: This is one of my favorite brushes from the set, Sargent’s Oils. The complete set can be downloaded on Gumroad. I like how streaky and wet the brushstrokes are. Again, mixing cartooning and oils together is fun.

I really enjoyed this series and taking one ink illustration and coloring it in four different styles. If you’re a gamer I definitely recommend Resident Evil 4 Remake. It’s incredible.