Superman is © DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
[And] when I draw the character [Superman], I put the ‘S’ on last, because that’s the thing that defines him and empowers him. Without it, he’s just another superhero with a cape. But when you put the ‘S’ symbol on, it raises him to an iconic level.
— Jim Lee, on drawing Superman for DC’s “For Tomorrow” story arch
He is absolutely right.
This drawing really just started off nothing more than an exercise on anatomy, as I am rarely asked to draw male characters, so I draw various male figures so that I don’t get rusty. Along the way I drew a chiseled jaw, broad shoulders. Then somehow the spit curl came, then the cape. Before the ‘S’, he’s nothing more than another superhero, then I put on the ‘S’. Jim Lee is absolutely correct. The symbol brings the character into his iconic level. He is Superman.
I wanted to keep the pencil intact, so this was never meant to be inked or colored. It was all done using Painter 12 and a WACOM Intuos3. I wanted to draw his new look, making a few tweaks here and there for personal touch.
As a small treat, here’s the intro to the animation that officially introduced me to the Man of Steel