So yeah today I’m just messing around with some cholo drawings. Got this idea yesterday after seeing sick tattoos on an old lowrider magazine at the swap meet. Grabbed my sketchbook and cheapest ballpoint pen from the dollar store cause hey that’s how the OG artists did it back in the day right?
First Try Was Total Garbage
Started drawing some dude with a bandana just winging it. Made the head way too big like a bobblehead. Eyes looked crossed and the hands? Forget about it – ended up drawing creepy sausages for fingers. Scratched out that whole page feeling like a damn clown.
Went Back To Basics
Dug through my junk drawer looking for reference pictures. Found some old family photos with primo’s tattoos. Key things I noticed:
- Script writing always thick and pointy at ends
- All the ladies got super thin eyebrows
- Hands usually holding beer cans or resting on car hoods
Started over by tracing actual letters first. Learned you gotta press HARD with the pen for those chunky lines.
Finally Got Somewhere
Drew this dude leaning on a hydrant using my nephew’s red pen cause the black one died. Steps that actually worked:
- Sketched skeleton lines super light first
- Made the jacket sleeves puffy as hell
- Added prison tear drops under one eye
- Gave him chipped front tooth
Took three tries but finally got the hand right gripping a imaginary 40oz bottle. Hands still suck but at least you can tell they’re hands now.
What I Figured Out
This ain’t about being perfect. Messed up halfway through the name “Smiley” and turned it into “Smilei” so just rolled with it. Realized old cholo artists probably just made shit up as they went too. Whole thing took me like two hours with lots of swearing. Worth it though – taped the final sketch on my fridge next to takeout menus.
