The Art Part: Sketching, Drawing, and Painting the Character

When you are in the sketch phase, your ideas really come to life. There are also a number of other very good reasons to develop your ideas in quick sketches :

• Sketches are quick and inexpensive. Pencils and paper are relatively cheap.

• You can revise and rework your ideas quickly.

• You can quickly progress from very basic ideas to very detailed depictions of your character.

• You can get almost immediate feedback. When you look at sketch designs, it is very easy for the client to say whether things are going in the right direction.

Depending on your mood, sketch directly on the computer or just on paper. Either way is fine.

It is usually a good idea to sketch your character from several angles and possibly with several expressions. This approach may help you catch problems with your look and feel.

Here are some things you must know and remember to do so that the character will be pleasing both to you and the audience:

• You must know what the things you are drawing look like. Therefore, the following is very important:

• You must know anatomy, both human and animal.

• You must know about balance and how to make sure that your character has it.

• You need to be aware of figure composition or how to display the figure in a pleasing arrangement with its surroundings.

• You need to be able to draw with both a simplicity and intensity in your work. You need simplicity so that the viewer can see the idea first; you need intensity so that the viewer can see the emotion and mood in your picture.

• You need to be able to combine your character with props and objects in an intelligent and visually pleasing fashion. The right props make your character designs effective. Bad props make for bad pictures.

• You must be able to express rhythm and motion in your character drawings. Rhythm is not the depiction of excessive action but the implied motion of the figure. Movement refers to actual depiction of motion within your drawing.

• You must be able to place emphasis where you want, and control the center of interest and the focal point of your images.