Posted by I’ve been in the zone working on my picture book dummy. it is definitely an exercise in pulling all the concepts together that I have been learning about. The things that have been forefront in my mind are character consistency, composition, and clarity:
- Consistency: Do my characters look the same from page to page? Do they look the same from pose to pose?
- Composition: How can the composition guide the reader where I want them to focus? Is there anyway I can use composition to enhance the storytelling?
- Clarity: Are values, shapes, and lines clear?
Video Resources
Here are some resources that touch on these topics:
Composition in Art Explained: a 10-minute video primer on composition. I enjoyed the quirky presentation and visuals. For additional resources and tutortials, check out Flo’s website.
Drawing Clear, Simple Facial Expressions: a 20-minute video by Aaron Blaise, an art educator, director, and former Disney animator. His tips for simplicity are golden. For additional resources, check out his website or YouTube channel. Note: although there are stylistic differences between illustration and animation, I still learn a lot from Aaron’s tutorials!
How to Draw Character Faces Consistently: a five-minute video with a lot of useful tips for analyzing facial consistency in your work. This is critical for an illustrator. Walter is an comic writer and artist with a current series on webtoons.