Part 4: Exercise - Character development

Book 'Waiting for Mummy'.
[Accessed 12 August 2015, www.wilkinsfargo.com.au]

Exploring characters, I came across the description for this one shown above, which is a good example of the motivation behind the narrative and visual characterisation: 

Set in Korea in the 1930s (during poverty, and the dangerous threat of subjugation under Japanese rule) Waiting for Mummy tells the story of a young child waiting at a tram stop for his mother.

Trams come and go, people move along and the little boy waits patiently, while a snowstorm gathers. The story culminates in a visual rendering of the 'wait' which is subtly resolved for those looking carefully, in the final illustration and magically portrayed with little narrative and a powerful visual effect.

The author, Tae Jun Lee was born in Korea in 1904 and orphaned as a child.  His works are known for their descriptive prose and emotional sensitivity.

Korean illustrator Dong Sung Kim captures the emotional experience of a child waiting for its parent in his series of drawings which are painted on han-ji (traditional Korean paper), using traditional muck-sun (Chinese ink line) techniques. (like Indian ink pens ...).

Anatomical proportions
[Accessed 14 August 2015, www.design.tutsplus.com]

An instantly easy-to-remember proportion guide for human anatomy for character drawing.

My catalogue of characters below:
Children:
[Accessed 16 August 2015, www.thinkstock.com]

Rotational angles for 360 degree drawing
[Accessed 15 August 2015, www.raedrawsalot.blogspot.com]

Older people

[Accessed 16 August 2015, www.thinkstock.com]

Interesting faces

Interesting faces to draw
The Weekend Argus (2015) Mail industry needs a standard for lease options to minimise friction, losses. 16 August. p.7
Anthony Hayward (2015) Voice artist best known for portrayal of Noddy. The Weekend Argus. 16 August. p.5

[Accessed 16 August 2015, www.thinkstock.com]

Sports coach Heneke Meyer
[Accessed 16 August 2015, www.iol.co.za]

Personal photograph of colleagues, note the dip in the man's jaw and his hairline and the pressure of the line of his back in the activity of writing.

I started drawing from my photo above and made notes about the stance of the character observing where the tension in the body and face were to characterise the person's feelings. I drew from there and used this as a point of reference for my character.












I also drew my dog to experiment. There are some unique characteristics in his personality that I expounded on, particularly his nose which is clownish when forshortened.

His eyes made smaller and narrower show slyness and his eyebrows place softly and thickly show empathy.

I decided to create a character named Alby Peebley. Alby is based on the personal photograph of a colleague seen above in my catalogue. The structure of his jaw and shape of his hairline and head were perfect for characterisation and I created the character from there practising the head and features first and then adding the body to a 360 degree drawing.

Alby is the friendly neighbour next door. His eyes are large - pupils round: stricken and surprised, also gullible.

Mouth - small, slight smile, man of few words.

Eyebrows  - raised upwards, approachable, gentle, ineffective.

Nose - long, passive, thoughtful, puts others first.

Stance - ageing paunch, inactive.

Personality - blue jersey and slacks - conservative, aged.

Hair - conformist, receding, messy, panics in a crisis, stutters when stressed, easily ruffled.

I drew Carla, a bully in another 360 degree drawing.
Her head is a peanut shape - she is a child.
Hair - pigtails and utilitarian fringe.
Shoes - too big for her frame, they're kicking shoes.
Hands - big and obvious, I drew her carrying a ball, she's a tomboy.
Eyes and eyebrows - aggressive
Her nose is little and snubbed to show a mean streak, the mouth distorted to the side shows a crooked personality, it's unpredictable and prone to nastiness.