Reflect time!

After reading the article I think I would actually enjoy being a concept artist. I usually work by doing a lot of research, both for visual inspiration and accuracy (oh hey, top hats hadn't been invented yet and Big Ben wasn't around until 1859, good to know for that project set in 1763 London). The variety and sheer amount of work that concept artists do seems like a pretty fun way to bring home the bacon.

I found that once I got the main idea of how I wanted a character, things didn't change too much from drawing to drawing.

A few times I got completely locked in to drawing certain characters from only one side. For whatever reason I always drew Pinfeather from the left. I had to flip a couple of the drawings to get myself to snap out of it.

I had to do a lot of research for Red Lion's clothing, especially to find appropriate color schemes for his costume. With both of the characters I focused on getting things really clear. I wanted the actions and movement to have intensity, and just plain make sense (is he going to throw a punch, or is he putting his wallet away?)

Pinfeather

Red Lion

Reading reflection

Hobbes of "Calvin and Hobbes" is the Mickey Mouse of my childhood. I was a voracious reader of the comics page as a kid, and every Sunday I'd pour over the 4 whole pages of color comics, and in particular "Calvin and Hobbes".

Part of what made "Calvin and Hobbes" so fun was the art was just so much better than anything else in the comics. Bill Watterson's characters were full of life that bounded all over the page, and despite their being cartoons, they were beliveable. Hobbes, when not walking upright, evoked the slinky, strechy gestures of a cat.

As a kid, I'd draw Hobbes all the time: Hobbes sleeping, Hobbes being sneeky, Hobbes mauling Calvin.

visual references

character studies

Character study #1

Last ones

Even more Silhouettes

Some Silhouettes

the 5 sillhouettes

5 bucks to whoever can guess em' all! No, I kid, I don't have 5 bucks.