Alright, let me tell you about the time I decided to tackle drawing that Braves tomahawk logo. It wasn’t for any big project, really, just felt like messing around and seeing if I could do it. I’ve always kind of liked that design, you know? Simple, but gets the point across.
Getting Started
So, first thing, I just grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. Tried to sketch it out from memory. Ha! That didn’t go too well. I got the basic shape, like the handle and the blade part, but the details were all wrong. The feather thingy at the bottom? Totally messed that up. Looked more like a weird leaf.
Okay, memory failed me. So, I went online and looked up some pictures. Found a few decent ones to get a better idea. Man, seeing it clearly, I realized it had more subtle curves and angles than I remembered. Especially where the blade meets the handle and the way the feather is shaped and detailed.
The Actual Process
Paper sketch was just a warm-up, really. I wanted to make something a bit cleaner. Fired up my computer and opened a basic drawing program I use sometimes. Nothing fancy. Started tracing over the general shapes I saw in the pictures. Getting that main axe head shape smooth was the first hurdle. Took a few tries with the drawing tool to make it look right, not too blocky, not too wobbly.
Then came the handle. That was easier, mostly straight lines but needed to get the proportions right compared to the head. The tricky part again was that feather. It’s got those little cuts in it, and getting them to look natural, like a real feather, was tough using just a mouse. My hand started cramping up a bit, not gonna lie.
Coloring and Details
Once I had the basic outline looking okay, I started adding color. Found the typical red, yellow, and blue they use. Filling the shapes was easy enough. But then, adding those little details, like the black outlines and the lines within the feather, that took some patience. Zooming way in, trying to draw steady lines. Made a few mistakes, had to undo, redo. You know how it goes.
- Got the main red shape first.
- Added the blue handle part.
- Blocked in the yellow for the feather.
- Spent most of the time on the black outlines and feather cuts.
Finishing Up
After fiddling around for maybe an hour or so, I had something that looked pretty close. It wasn’t perfect, mind you. If you put it side-by-side with the official thing, you could probably spot the differences. My lines weren’t as clean, maybe the colors were a tiny bit off. But for just messing around on my computer, I was pretty satisfied.
Didn’t really do anything grand with it. Just saved the file on my desktop. It was more about the process, you know? Seeing if I could actually recreate something recognizable like that. It’s funny how things look simple until you try to draw them yourself. Gave me a bit more appreciation for the folks who design these things for real.
