Okay, so the other day I was just browsing online, kinda zoned out, you know? And then I stumbled across some old footage of Kobe Bryant, like, really young Kobe. Number 8, the afro, that raw energy he had even back then. It just hit me, and I thought, I gotta try and capture that somehow.
Getting the Vibe Right
First thing I did was dive into finding more pictures. I wasn’t looking for just any photo, though. I specifically wanted:
- That early hairstyle, the afro phase.
- Him in the Lakers number 8 jersey, obviously.
- Shots where you could see that intense focus he had, even when he wasn’t scoring. That determination.
- Action shots were cool, but also those moments in between plays.
Spent a good hour just saving images, getting a feel for his posture, the way he moved back then. It felt different from his later years, less polished maybe, but incredibly explosive.
Putting Pencil to Paper
So, I grabbed my basic sketchbook and a pencil. Nothing fancy. I wasn’t aiming for a perfect portrait, more like trying to get the essence, that feeling I got from the videos.
Started sketching lightly. The afro was kinda fun but also tricky to make it look right and not just like a blob. Then focused on the eyes and the set of his jaw. That’s where that intensity really showed. Had to erase quite a bit around the eyes, trying to get that look just right. It’s harder than it looks!
I tried a couple of poses. One was him driving to the basket, trying to show that coiled energy. Another was more of a profile shot, focusing on the expression. The action pose was tough; getting the body dynamics to look believable took a few tries. Lots of erasing, lots of rough lines.
The Outcome, Kinda
Ended up with a couple of sketches. They’re definitely not masterpieces, pretty rough actually. One looks a bit more like him than the other. But looking at them, I feel like I did manage to get a little bit of that young Kobe vibe down. That raw hunger, you know?
It was just a simple practice, something I did for myself. But it felt good to spend time focusing on that image, remembering that stage of his career. It’s crazy how strong that initial impression was, watching him back then. Anyway, that was my little project for the day.
