This Zorro fan art illustration is a recent creation of mine showing the masked avenger in a retro pulp comic style.
After creating a series of Batman fan art illustrations, I thought I’d try something different and old school so I draw a character that goes back to the 1900s. The character of Zorro actually appears in versions of the Batman’s origin stories as the inspiration for Bruce Wayne’s creation of Batman. So why not draw the original masked avenger in a style inspired by pulp magazines and comics of the early 1900s.
I was trying to get an old school vibe and charm of pulp comics with the style and colours of the illustration. I also thought Zorro’s gesture should show his charm and confidence so I drew him giving a friendly tip of the hat. And being a master swordsman I had to include the trusty sword in the design as well.
The History of Zorro
Zorro (Spanish for “Fox”) is the alter-ego of Don Diego de la Vega, a classic heroic literary character created by Johnston McCulley in 1919. Zorro has since appeared in many movies, television shows and comic books and inspired countless variations of Zorro fan art illustrations.
Known for his iconic black costume and mask he is armed with his sword and whip which he utilises in his fight to protect the people of California and bring justice to their oppressors.
Zorro was one of the earlier fictional masked heroes that inspired the making of similar comic book and pulp characters that were to soon follow.
Later, he was made even more famous by appearing in TV shows and movies. One of the more well known of these was the 1950s Zorro TV series starring Guy Williams.
Movies like The Mask of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins also added to his popularity and introduced the character to a newer generation providing one of the more recent and popular interpretations of the character, along with its sequel The Legend of Zorro.
Designing the Zorro Fan Art Illustration
For the design of my Zorro fan art illustration, I was going for a more classic feel, a pose and gesture showing a gentlemanly and charming demeanor but at the same time strong and confident. I wanted the overall style to convey a retro pulp comic vibe.
Here’s one of the initial pencil sketches designs from my sketch book, the aim was to establish the right pose, facial expression and gesture to capture Zorro’s personality. It was then scanned to add the digital inks and colours in photoshop using an Artisul drawing tablet.
This fan art illustration is now available on T-shirts, stickers and more on my Redbubble store.
Cartoon artist creating original illustrations and fan art from comics to movies
