Transition: Minimalism

In the past I tended to go overboard with the soft brush... a seductive brush that encourages overuse.  What you wind up with is mud. 

So I tried keeping my shading to a minimum:

Things you'll find around the house.... especially if you live in a 50s-era retro house.

Zalien: Intrepid Trio of Trick-or-Treaters (c)

Whereas I am sure there is much technically wrong with the rendering...

... here is our Intrepid Trio as they first encounter Zalien.

Zalien's Trick-or-Treaters: Rolly, Paul & Gina

Rolly is one of the trio of Trick-or-Treaters who discover Zalien and his spaceship:

Paul is the tallest and the oldest:

... and Gina is the bravest:

Zalien: Color Comps

Color comps from last week's character design excercise:

... I think I like the nose design in the upper left the best.

Quck break:Sponging Paint

Today I was taking a break from Zalien when I decided to experiment in creating a sponge brush… I specifically want a “dab” brush similar to how Hanna Barbera (and 50s Chuck Jones) would apply paint with a sponge.

Having done that, I then made up a picture. 

Not a great picture but a great technique!

IMPORTAT NOTE: the sponginess is achieved in the initial application.  Because subsequent additions of color are “clipped”, they will only affect the areas originally painted.  Thus, if you keep you first application fairly light with lots of “air” spaces, these will continue to show through further painting.  This way you cannot paint out the original sponginess.  I imagine this was a problem with the original technique: it could only withstand so much paint-over before it stopped looking spongy. 

All in all took me about 20 minutes.  Not great art and the comp is too symmetrical… but a great experiment in bringing back a technique that I thought was strictly a physical application.  PhotoShop… what can’t you do?!!

And by the way, I think this is a great technique for storybooks. 

Zalien: A New Look

The problem I'm having with Zalien is a common one for me: I try drawing him too robust, too rotund, with "voluptuous" curves (as opposed to no curves at all).  And that's just not how I like my cartoons.

I like minimalist drawings.  Too me they're easier to control and much, much funnier.

So here's the revamped Zalien with an attempt at showing the process:


Now compare the new character poses {left... very, very rough) with the character poses done earlier (right):

Much better character, I think.  Easier to pose and much funnier.