Posts Tagged ‘Warrior Nkiru’

Five years ago this week, we released the first SlickforceGirl teaser art ever. Since then, we've witnessed twelve original heroes come to life, each one unique in her ability to bring good to the world. To commemorate our 5-year mark, we're releasing the first team-up poster featuring all 12 of our heroes.

This beautiful artwork was a team effort in itself: drawn by the incredible Chris Williams, inked by the talented Jake Isenberg, and colored by the triple-threat of Ula Mos, Splash! and Blond. It's also been uploaded to our IMDB page, which chronicles every SlickforceGirl video released since the original "Vanessa Veasley Learns to Fly" in 2012.

Click on the image above to see the full HD poster, and here's to another five years!

Pencils by CHRIS WILLIAMS
Inks by JAKE ISENBERG
Colors by ULA MOS, SPLASH! and BLOND
Effects by SLICKFORCE STUDIO

The SlickforceGirl Tournament is under way, and you choose which hero will take the top prize! It's entirely decided by user votes and a double-elimination tournament, which means each hero has to be defeated twice to be knocked out. Vote the winner of each match-up in the comments on Instagram and Facebook.

Here are the results so far (winners in bold):

ROUND 1: Naval Cdr. Brittany VS. Arctic Spy Nazanin
ROUND 2: Desert Mechanic Jessica VS. Sgt. 1st Class Amber
ROUND 3: Warrior Nkiru VS. Adventurer Sandy
ROUND 4: Deep Diver Penny VS. Princess Ayanna
ROUND 5: Naval Cdr. Brittany VS. Firefighter Kaitlynn
ROUND 6: Warrior Nkiru VS. Air Force Airman Erika
ROUND 7: Marine Melanie VS. Desert Mechanic Jessica
ROUND 8: Astronaut Vanessa VS. Princess Ayanna
ROUND 9: Warrior Nkiru VS. Deep Diver Penny
ROUND 10: Marine Melanie VS. Arctic Spy Nazanin
ROUND 11: Sgt. 1st Class Amber VS. Firefighter Kaitlynn
ROUND 12: Princess Ayanna VS. Adventurer Sandy

Yesterday we revealed our newest hero, Nkiru, and we were flooded with positive comments cheering for the arrival of our African warrior.

In celebration, for the first time ever, we are printing the Warrior Nkiru pin-up as a Super Scroll 13"x27" wall poster—more than 50% larger than our previous SlickforceGirl 11x17 posters. Pre-order yours now!

And because so many of you asked to see more making-of images, here is a gallery below from the shoot starring model Kersti Pitre. We thank her for losing herself in this character, and applaud Kersti's bravery at sharing her personal experience with others.

If you missed the video, see it below. (And stay tuned after the credits for outtakes!)

Model: KERSTI PITRE
Photographer: NICK SAGLIMBENI
Makeup: THERESE WILLIAMS
Hair: GANOHON ALINE ANSANSAME
Wardrobe: DIANA CHAN
Jewelry made by THE MAASAI WOMEN OF ENKOLILI VILLAGE in Kenya
BTS Stills: JOYCE PARK

And then there were 12.

When the danger gets too wild for our polished, city-dwelling heroes, it's time to call in the heavy artillery—meet Warrior Nkiru. Little is known about Nkiru's mysterious past, but the SlickforceGirls are more than happy to have her join their fight.

Longtime Slickforce fans will recognize model Kersti Pitre playing our newest hero. Kersti's first shoot ever was at SlickforceStudio when she was 18, and she's returned several times since, including our Mastering Retouching series. This time, she returns to play her toughest role yet—and all for a good cause. A portion of profits from sales of Warrior Nkiru artwork are donated to help the fight against breast cancer.

This tribal warrior concept required more planning than any other character besides Astronaut Vanessa, predominantly due to detailed costume demands. Each piece of Nkiru's jewelry was handmade in Kenya by the Maasai women of Enkolili village specifically for this shoot. Kersti patiently sat with Ivory Coast braid-artist Aline Ansansame for hours to create the authentic African braiding, while makeup artist Therese Williams carefully painted her face with tribal marks. Special weapons—and even trees—were all brought in to complete Nkiru's warrior motif.

Go backstage with Kersti as she suits up for the shoot of a lifetime by clicking on the video above. And welcome Warrior Nkiru to the SlickforceGirl team!

Model: KERSTI PITRE
Photographer: NICK SAGLIMBENI
Makeup: THERESE WILLIAMS
Hair: GANOHON ALINE ANSANSAME
Wardrobe: DIANA CHAN
Jewelry made by THE MAASAI WOMEN OF ENKOLILI VILLAGE in Kenya
BTS Stills: JOYCE PARK

[caption id="attachment_1999" align="aligncenter" width="760"] This might sting a bit.[/caption]

From NickSaglimbeni.com:

Certain journeys change you forever. For me, among those journeys are my travels to Kenya. So many of the people I met there possessed a warmth and strength in spirit that I have rarely seen, and I ended up making friends I'm certain I will keep for life.

When I set out to create the SlickforceGirl team, I knew that one of the characters must be Kenya-inspired. It would take someone with an equally strong heart to play the role, and I found just what I needed with model Kersti Pitre. South Africa-born and Southern California-raised, Kersti experienced her very first shoot right here at Slickforce only a few years ago. Now, get ready for her to impress viewers with her range as she tackles one of the toughest heroes of the bunch.

A very special thanks goes out to the women of the Mama Saruni Masai in Amboseli, Kenya, for hand-crafting Kersti's jewelry, and to my very good friend Ali Khan of Vumbi Jeep Safaris for coordinating our trans-Atlantic operation.

See more of Kersti and our other heroes at SlickforceGirl.com!

Photo by Joyce Park for SlickforceStudio
Hair by Ganohon Aline Ansansame
Make-up by Therese Williams
Styled by Diana Chan
Jewelry hand-crafted in Amboseli, Kenya by the Mama Saruni Masai Women's Group