So, here I am just a month out of college and in what I consider to be my first professional art job. True, I've had other jobs in the past but this one is unique to me for reasons that are vague and mysterious. As I've been adjusting to my new life, I thought to myself that the way I do things might be worth some interest on my blog. It also serves to keep readers abreast of what I am doing as well as gives me an excuse to post artwork that isn't pony related.
That said, I am going to run a small series of posts (when I have the time to update) about my process for this project.
But what is the project? Anyone who is familiar with my work history knows that I have spent a lot of time working on various comics; Newscast, Nightheart, and a project for Packrell Studios which I am very excited about, and that too is what this is, a motion comic. The project itself is unfinished, but as soon as it's done, I'll of course give you an official link to it.
So in this post, we're going to look briefly at my character design for the main character 'Sammy'. Unlike
the majority of the work I have done in the past, I was not involved with the conception and original scripting for the project. This one has also had a much tighter deadline than I usually work in. That meant that the character design for my version of 'Sammy' had to be based off what I knew of the story, a vague description and it had to be done fast.The included images are just a few of the dozen or so pages that went into Sammy's development. Since I was the only artist working on this section, I had free reign to design Sammy how I liked, as long as he met a few specifications.
This process is usually quick, with just a few seconds per drawing, sometimes a little more when I get closer to a design I like. I play with expressions, shapes, and facial features. This -I know- is a little different than what most artists do, but it is a method that has worked well for me so far.
This is the character sheet I designed for Sammy. This one is more of a color guide, and basic reference picture. Again, since the deadline was so tight, I didn't spend as much time working on a full character turnaround sheet for everyone. As a matter of fact, in this case, only Sammy and Tony (covered later) got full character sheets with color swatches.
In this case, it wasn't too much of an issue, because I am the only artist working on this section, and the way I prepare the pages for inking (again, covered later) means that I can usually stay on model without too much deviation.
For future pages though, I'll be sticking with the full 360 rotation model, just for it's simplicity.
Well, thats all for now folks. My next post will cover Tony's design as well as my process for working on a page from sketching to completion. I know this is all something thats been discussed before by artists far more capable than myself but of course, I myself am still learning. And cataloging one's approach to work is an important step in reviewing what we do and grow from it.
Also, I needed to post. Deal.
"They didn't even know why he was called T-Bone!"
>"Why was he called T-Bone, Coach?"
"I don't know, I was hoping they could tell me!"
-Coach and Dianne
