Jim Romer’s blog: character designs, writing picture books, and random thoughts!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Slugg!!!
Another character design from very long ago.
Originally this was a design for my cousin, but the look was too comical and wasn't what he was looking for.
This is original pencil digitally colored.
Originally this was a design for my cousin, but the look was too comical and wasn't what he was looking for.
This is original pencil digitally colored.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Elph
Another kid's book character named Elph, the Tiniest Elephant.
I feel there's not enough personality or something lacking with Elph's look. Its important that Elph look uniquely different, to stand out from other elephants in the story. Yet, I want to keep him very simple. His body shape may be what's bothering me, because he is very limited in ranges of motion with this type of body shape. So I will put him aside for a later time -- hopefully something I see or do will inspire a new idea.
Monday, June 25, 2012
B-Day Bee
This was a little character I made for my wife's Birthday Card last year.
It's always interesting how slight corrections and subtle adjustments are subconsciously made when re-doing an image a second (or third) time.
You can easily see the shoulders/arms have been adjusted - compared to the bee's right arm in the sketch (which seems to be too short and stiff.)
The flattening of the feet to show more body weight on a flat surface. The slightly longer balloon which gives more of a feeling of it pulling away.
Pencil details are lost when converting any image to ink. Pencil sketches keep all the scribbles and marks of the hand shaping and creating the image. For this reason, I often find I enjoy looking at an artist's pencil sketches - since it gives me an idea of the artist's thinking/creative process.
Side-by-Side: Pencil vs Ink
I've recently had several people ask me to show my pencils, wanting to compare to difference between the inking lines and the pencil lines. Below is a simple side-by-side, showing the sketch and then the finalized image of the right.You can easily see the shoulders/arms have been adjusted - compared to the bee's right arm in the sketch (which seems to be too short and stiff.)
The flattening of the feet to show more body weight on a flat surface. The slightly longer balloon which gives more of a feeling of it pulling away.
Pencil details are lost when converting any image to ink. Pencil sketches keep all the scribbles and marks of the hand shaping and creating the image. For this reason, I often find I enjoy looking at an artist's pencil sketches - since it gives me an idea of the artist's thinking/creative process.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Balancing Bobby
Color Pencils on Dura-lar.
Dura-lar is a treated film that really picks up and holds a pencil line. The very smooth surface allows the pencil to glide. I find I have an easier time keeping the surface clean of pencil smudges too . . . don't know if it's because I'm more subconscious about not smudging or if it's the material itself.
Dura-lar is a treated film that really picks up and holds a pencil line. The very smooth surface allows the pencil to glide. I find I have an easier time keeping the surface clean of pencil smudges too . . . don't know if it's because I'm more subconscious about not smudging or if it's the material itself.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)