Saturday, September 14, 2013

Storybook Practice Drawings

My assignment was to draw/sketch five different characters.  I'm not really proud of any of  these, but I had a choice.  Draw what came to mind or sit around waiting for something brilliant (a.k.a. not drawing at all).   Perhaps a detail from one of these will push me in the direction to something better.
Bee Alligator:
What's good:  I like the flowers.
What's bad:  I don't like anything else.
Butterfly with Mangled Wings:
What's good:  I like his expression.
What's bad:  Too depressing for a children's book.
Cat and Dog:
What's good:  I like their personalities- you can tell they're up to something.
What's bad:  Cat and dog?  Like that hasn't been done a zillion times before...  Also I don't like how the background is washed out.  I would have made it more colorful, but feared it would be distracting.  I wish there was a book called "How to make engaging cartoon backgrounds that don't 'fight' with what's in the foreground."
Dragon in Dungeon Nailed to the Wall.
What's good:  I like the frowny face window.  Also the character seems sympathetic.
What's bad:  Too warped and depressing for a children's book.
Weasel and Basilisk
What's good:  I "painted" them with a texture of a pear my friend posted on facebook.  I think it makes the sketch more interesting.
What's bad:  Background is too sparse!  I wanted to add more detail, but didn't know how to do so without  interfering with the foreground.  I also should have left out upper joint on Basilisk leg.  And why doesn't he have eyebrows?

8 comments:

CodeFarmer said...

Hey... maybe an observation?

It seems like the ones of yours you like are also the ones you discard as "too depressing for a children's book". I agree, those are the ones I think are your best.

But don't be so sure they're not appropriate for kids. The illustrated books I remember best from my childhood all had a dark, sad or scary element. The relentless happy-happy diet is not emotionally satisfying, for children just as much as for adults.

Keep up your good work, I think you're on to something.

(Also one day, come back to skydiving.)

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Hi CodeFarmer,
Thanks for the observation. I think you have a point about the dark and scary stuff having their role in children's books. I need to remember that.
Thanks again!

Linda Davick said...

I love what you did with this assignment!

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks, Linda,
Your timing couldn't be better- I was getting discouraged with my art/writing as of late. Nice to hear some encouragement from a pro. :)

GhostBuild said...

That's shaping up really nicely.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks, Ghostbuild! Nice to hear from you. What're you up to these days?

Anonymous said...

Hey! Can these people be friends with Crack Camel? Just asking.

TOM said...

Whimsical.