I wanted to serve my country by going into the Army, but because of my medical history, I can’t. I still want to be involved in any way I can and to research war topics, so now my primary focus is depicting soldiers.
I recently chatted with a veteran who actually served in the Gulf War in 1991 as well as a chaplain who was a soldier in the Singapore Operations Task Force (Special Forces of Singapore). Talking with veterans about their experiences helps me to gather data and coordinate my research. From there, I learn more from other available resources. I also take some inspiration from Marc Lee, a Singaporean artist who also draws military units. He was in the Elite Guards unit there. The paratrooper pictured above is actually based on an artwork of his. Another person I take inspiration from would be the techniques of Dick Kramer.
I typically draw American units such as the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and Green Berets, but I often go into other units like the Polish GROM, British S.A.S., and Malaysian PASKAL. The soldier pictured above is a British paratrooper from the Special Air Service known as the S.A.S. They are considered a Tier 1 unit in terms of military ranking as their operations are elite and highly classified. The only known operation that they embarked on was a siege on the Iranian Embassy in the 1980s.
To start my drawings, I usually lightbox transfer the reference. Then, I start picking out basic shapes of the tools like harnesses, belts, magazine clippings, and med packs. I would then sketch the helmet and face. For eyes, I cover the eyes with night-vision googles or shade over them in order to conceal the identity of the soldier. I then outline the rest of the details, before placing down some strong black lines. This is so that I loosely know where the light would hit the figure. Finally, I shade in those black areas to provide light and dark values, crosshatch any blank areas, and then clean up with an eraser.
Meet the Creator:
My name is Emmanuel Koh, I am currently 18 years old and living in Singapore. I take Biology with Dr. Dean, and Starting Points with Mr. Monfreda. I want to glorify God through military art and love my neighbors with art.