Character ideas 1

I have started drawing up some character ideas for my book. The feedback from 504 came through at a good time as it reinforced some ideas for changes to my practice. I like shape based characters but need to expand the shapes I use and the variety of characters. The characters I have been drawing recently have had very similar poses and postures which has limited the compositions I have made and the movements and emotions they can communicate. I have found it difficult to create more dynamic characters in the style I have been using at the moment, their is a clash between more realistic poses and the simplified characters I have been drawing with mo arms and simple shaped bodies. I think there is definitely a way I could make it work by finding a balance between the two. I found a few illustrators that use make shape based images and manage to show movement, posture and interactions between characters.

This first image is an umbrella by Parra. I picked out this image because of the simplicity and the choice of colour. The colour palette is very nicely balanced considering how strong most of the colours in it are. The character has no detail at all but gives a sense of character and motion. I am going to experiment more with shapes, especially when illustrating hair. I thing this is an example of a very simple natural shape that manages to capture hairs movement. I have tried to I have tried to use a similar technique without any luck until I realised I was adding in more curves and shapes. I always feel the need to try and make an interesting shape. What makes this interesting is that it is understated. I need to go back to basics and look at shapes from life drawing to inform my practice and not rely on my own pre determined visual signifiers.

 These characters movements and interactions are fairly simple but communicate the scene and the emotion really well. There is a difference between each characters posture and emotion. The girl at the back is running, smiling and laughing while clearly being led, not paying any attention to where she is going. She trusts the boy leading her and is very happy. The boy is also happy but is fixed on chat he is doing, his posture makes it look like he is stepping over something, being very carful where he stands. I want my characters in the book to convey movement, emotion and intention as clearly as this.  

I picked out this illustration for two reasons, the textures add so much to this illustration, especially on the darker areas such as the end of the saxophone. Strangely in this image the feet become a focal point for me. The dark colour on the bottom of them adds depth to the image and makes the character look real. I am not sure whether they were meant to be a focal point but it is something might use in my work.