Character design

Following on from the Inktober marathon, time to get back to personal drawing projects, sketchbook sketches, etc.!

The "crooked man"/Professor character I did for my Day 8 Inktober image is sort of a design I had in mind anyway for one of the main characters in my book idea.

This is the pencilled character design image for my Professor character. Notice that I've gone with a more friendly, curly hairstyle rather than the manic hairstyle depicted in the Inktober images.



The next step is colouring and rendering the design. I'm doing this in Krita using my Intuos Pro tablet.

Sketchbook page #4 and #5

Actually a couple of older sketchbook entries that I did last year, but forgot to upload them. (Partly plans for an idea I have involving robots!)

Sketchbook page #2

Time for some more sketchbook drawings. I decided I need more practise drawing females!





(Click on the images to view full-size versions on Flickr.)

Sketchbook page #1

I've decided to try and do more sketchbook art to keep up a regular artistic flow. Characters, scenery, whatever....!

During our recent stay in a cottage in lovely Amble (Northumberland), I was inspired to draw the plant box and "frog" flowerpot that sat on the wall in the back yard.

There was also a framed display in the cottage of different knots (Amble being a fishing town). I fancied having a go at trying to copy the "Carrick Bend" knot that was part of the display.



I'm experimenting with using coloured pencils at the moment, so there might be a "coloured" version of this sketchbook page appearing soon!

(Edit: 10 Sept 2017)
I thought it best to add the coloured version here, rather than start a new blog page. So....here it is!

A new beginning....

After a long hiatus, the drawing board once more calls. I have had a story idea roaming around my head for quite a while now, and it's time to "set it free" (fly, my pretty, fly)!!

These first few sketches are character designs for what I shall call (for now) the "mystery" character. Think of him/it as possibly a storyteller....

The Lion in the Cinema

One of the groups I am a member of on Flickr is called "Vixen UK", set up by a fellow artist from the days of the "Freddie and the Fairy" as part of her own freelance business. She posted up someone's poem as an idea for a picture book: "The Lion in the Cinema". Even though I haven't got the time to fully illustrate it, I did have a go at a few sketch ideas.

Click on the images to view them full size on Flickr:

 

A hair-raising project (cont.)

Well, I've finished the pencils sketches for the young women illustrations, and now I'm moving onto the inking, and then the colouring.

I've since found out that the money wallets are also referred to as Gift Wallet Cards (<-- click the link to see a YouTube video on how you can make your own).

The idea with the wallets aimed at young women is based more on the "before" and "after" approach...

BEFORE and AFTER:

Look to future posts on the wording and finished products!

A hair-raising project

I've now got a 3rd project under way, with the "Nan & Granddad's Seaside" cartoon temporarily on hold, along with my "Jack the Giant Killer" project (doh)!

I've been commissioned to come up with some character designs to be used on money wallets that will hold gift vouchers. The wallet (and vouchers) are to help promote custom for a hair salon. These first illustrations are specifically aimed at gift vouchers for young men...the challenge being, not only to target the person buying the gift voucher, but to also make it appealing to the person (young man) receiving the voucher!

There will another set coming along soon, aimed at vouchers for young women. Future sets will also target older men, older women and possibly families.

Once the characters are fully coloured and rendered, I'll post the finished images, along with some photos of the finished money wallets.

Our Digital Life - next image (pencilled)

Here's the next pencilled image for "Our Digital Life". It's a scene based on an old cartoon I drew way back in the Middle Ages (when I was a young nipper) :)



I'm now in the process of colouring it!