This character was a bit of an accident, but a happy one.
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I started to give him eyelids, but they weren’t looking right, so I drew him some ancient, exotic Egyptian eyes!
…I’m running with it!
Here are a few more pencil sketches of Dmetri’s face.
I’m feeling better about his design now. He’s got a sleeker look but it’s important to have as much structure as style. The shapes and lines that make him up are finally getting to be more elegant, yet his face has a good solid (abstracted) sense of anatomy to it.
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Style may make the character memorable, but the structure’s what makes the drawing believable.
Now I need to practice drawing him more, so that I can get his look consistent, then I will work on his expressions.
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This guy’s a bit of a happy accident. I was aiming for something else, but I liked the way this drawing was turning out enough to pursue it further.
I’ve been working on a bunch of head sketches tonight. Here’s one of them, a test of Dmetri’s head.
Here are a few head sketches I’ve done. It’s always amazing to me how delicate these drawings can be. Our eyes are especially sensitive when reading faces, so proportion is key. If your line is slightly off a centimeter here or there, your character can look like a completely different person or change their expression entirely.
Sometimes, after struggling for a few hours, trying my hardest to capture a particular look or feeling, I might finally come up with a drawing I’m pleased with, but have no idea how to it. On the other hand, once it’s down on paper, it’s easier to recreate, but it still can take some work. Once I settle on a design for a face, I will often sit down and draw it over and over until drawing that face is second nature.
This is Venus. She’s a sexxxy sexxxy dancer.
She was inspired by Mike’s fondness for Gil Elvgren pin up girls.
Strangely enough, I’m happiest with my girl character designs so far, despite the fact that it’s generally easier for me to draw guys. Perhaps it’s that drawing girls is a bigger challenge for me. It keeps me on my toes.
Roller derbies are a big thing here in Portland, and I was inspired by the local team, the Rose City Rollers for this character. I really like how she came out. She’s one of the best yet I might even try to make a few roller girls.
Here’s a first pass at a character I’m naming “Trent” for the time being. I’m obsessed with everything Batman right now, since I went to the midnight screening of The Dark Knight last night (loved it!) So, of course I had to do some sort of superhero character.
Of course, Trent’s not Batman, he’s just inspired by the character. These characters that I’m currently working on aren’t for any particular story. I’m simply trying to come up with some interesting designs based on cultural archetypes, the superhero being one.
There’s no story behind them. I’m thinking of them almost in terms of a drawn fashion spread. I’m more interested in creating “looks”. I’m more interested in creating “attitudes”. I’m even aiming for “sexy”. Being a first pass, the only attitude he’s displaying right now is a headache…
…Not what I was going for, but sometimes it takes a day or two for me to understand what I’ve drawn. I drew Trent yesterday, and I was very happy with the outcome. Today, not so much. So, he’s bound for another revision or two, but part of this blog is about sharing the process, so I thought I’d post him anyway.
Here’s an update to Twinkie P. I made him a bit longer and skinnier, and emphasized his lack of physique with oversized 80’s accessories!
Here’s another character sketch, born from 80’s nostalgia. So uncool he’s hip… at least I hope.
At this point, I’m just designing as many characters as I can. Once I think I have enough, I pare them down to the best ones, and refine them a bit, and unify their designs so that they all match stylistically. I’ll also experiment a bit more with shaping at that time.
