Tsuujou Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 I was talking to an art friend of mine after having drawn a picture of one of my characters. I expressed to him while I think he looks good in that particular depiction, I was struggling to get the cuteness I got for him the very first time I drew it. This has happened before with a depiction of a girl I drew too. I got her facial structure as perfect as I wanted, but I could never emulate it at different angles in future attempts. And my friend's solution was so backwards and counter intuitive that was sensible. He literally told me that at different angles to draw them...wrong. Now obviously there's rules to follow and fundamentals to adhere to but the basic premise is that when you draw characters, it's important to balance believability (that's not a word), how something is "supposed" to be drawn VS. what works for your character; What needs to retain it's shape, placement, and angles as often as possible for your character to keep it's charm. And after thinking about it, it makes perfect sense. Have a look at Mickey Mouse. His iconic shape is his near perfectly round head, and two big dinner plates for ears. He needs to look like that constantly to be instantly recognizable in all scenarios he's in. This must always be visible for Mickey. It makes sense from the front, but watch what happens when he turns to the side. I'm sure you've noticed this... Even his 3D appearances (which I'm actually curious how that's done)... Even with his facial features, any official depiction of Mickey ensures his head retains that iconic shape as it's critical to his design and marketing. This also partly boils down to what's called silhouettes. Removing all features of a character, and making them a solid color, you should be able to tell immediately what or who they are based on their outline alone (that's not the complete purpose of this, but more on that another day). You can even see it in more "serious" cartoon characters. Like Goku. Goku's hair is instantly recognizable and if you were to see it alone, you will immediately know who it belongs to. This is his most important visual trait when it comes down his silhouette. If nothing else on him were available, you will still know this is Goku so long as his hair retains it's shape at all angles. So if you're ever stuck wondering why a character of yours might actually be drawn really good at a different angle, but something still seems off, look at it again and try to draw their more key features "incorrectly". "Realistic" doesn't necessarily equate to appealing. It takes some experimenting and skill to get a good balance as it doesn't work for everything particularly more serious characters (Goku is an exception), but it's good advice to be aware of. Be on the lookout for those examples like Mickey and Goku when watching cartoons or playing a video game and see how the designers might go about this. You can pick up on when and where this can be applied! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vae Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Eh, I'm not even immune to it myself, as much as a stickler as I am for consistency and realism. Gotta keep those shapes intact. His hair would look fucking ridiculous if I drew it the way it was "supposed" to look from the sides, pointed at such a forward angle. But it maintains the sloping "dragon horns" look and theme I associate with the character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Interesting read. This never even crossed my mind when drawing a character; having a specific feature pop to make them more recognizable from all sorts of angles. I mean, drawing big ears & tail (for example) is one thing, but having the same facing of those at a different view seems to be a simple/easier way of keeping consistency. Though I guess it might be more difficult to do than I think it is (simple doesn't mean it's any less tricky) - time to silhouette some characters up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuujou Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 9 hours ago, Moogle said: Interesting read. This never even crossed my mind when drawing a character; having a specific feature pop to make them more recognizable from all sorts of angles. I mean, drawing big ears & tail (for example) is one thing, but having the same facing of those at a different view seems to be a simple/easier way of keeping consistency. Though I guess it might be more difficult to do than I think it is (simple doesn't mean it's any less tricky) - time to silhouette some characters up! Honestly, this thread really should have just been "Ditch the realism if the realism ditches appeal". It's something I've always sort of lived by at the expense of some folks patience. This rule sort of applies beyond just different angles. For instance, on anthros, most people put the tail much higher than it actually should be. But I guarantee you this is a conscious choice, because the actual "proper" placement of the tail makes things convoluted and less interesting to a ton of people. Especially if you're like me and like drawing big butts in full view but also like drawing furries. Lemme tell you, the tail being in it's proper placement is the last thing I'm worried about because I don't need it obscuring what's actually important. But it still gets the point across. This is literally all that matters. It doesn't matter if it's realistic. It doesn't matter if it truly makes sense. If it's appealing and convincing enough through mid level scrutiny, that is all that matters. The trick is being knowledgeable enough to balance it for whatever styles you employ. I'm considering writing up a post on this for my followers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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