Posts Tagged ‘Characters’

Hi guys

This week we’ll be taking a look at three evil sorcerers. These form the bulk of the leaders in fantasy stories.

three sorcerers

Have a look at this week’s pic.

I’ve drawn three examples of the typical evil sorcerer.

The first is the nomad traveler type. He wears the robe with hood, but is very unassuming and keeps to himself and plots in secret.

The defining features are the nose and beard. Also, when possible, hard shadows are a good idea to emphasize that he is evil. (See the blog on mysterious characters).

The second picture is exactly the same as the first except sometimes the Sorcerer has been able to live through death and been consumed by his magic. In this case he’s undead and has a skull for a head. Not only is this creepy, but shows he has total control of all things.

Once again, look at the shadows and keeping parts of his features hidden.

The last picture is the obviously sinister type. This one makes no attempt to hide the fact that he’s evil. He has power and he’s not afraid to use it.

Tip: Adding war paint, a mask, hideous scars or shiny glowy eyes helps to show that he is not a normal person and makes him scary.

Have a look at these and try creating your own villain!

Hi guys

This week we will be looking at a very subtle thing that makes a character more interesting. This is the unshaven look.

This is effective for making your character appear mysterious or drunk or just make him look like he’s having a rough time. It also adds sex appeal to the rugged hero.

three examples of unshaven characters

Have a Look at this week’s pic.

I’ve drawn 3 different characters with the stubble look. Depending on the groundwork of your character (fat, thin etc) the stubble look has different effects.

The first is the typical hero looking character. But because I’ve made him unshaven and a little drowsy looking, now he appears drunk.

The second is also the hero or anti hero. He is wide awake, so he looks more mysterious and has that rough look to him.

Lastly, is a chubbier character to show you how the stubble effect can look humorous.

He’s just angry. The stubble is as easy to draw as it looks.

Many very fine flicks on the facial hair areas. And that’s it!

Hi guys

This week I wanna show you that choosing your style shouldn’t always be set in stone, and leaving room for improvement and experimenting with other styles is the basis of what it means to be an artist.

Have a look at this week’s pics.

The first row across is an example of the old classic cartoons style. A lot of the old black and white comics used this extensively shaded style. The shading aside, it was a very simplistic style in which the shading was used to bump it up. For the most part light sources didn’t play a massive role like it they do today.

The second column is an example of a style that I’ve become quite fond of. It’s a very angular style. It is very blocky and made of several shapes. It seems easy to pull off, but appearances can often be deceiving. A good example of this type of art is the Work of Humberto Ramos. Phenomenal artist, and has worked a long time to refine his style to perfection. If done correctly, this style looks amazing.

Lastly is my own style. I’ve made it a lot more basic for this tutorial, but it still remains straightforward.

It’s the mainstream style, you draw it how you imagine it.

This style closely resembles real life, with enough comic flair to make it comic art.

There are also artists that draw extremely realistically. It’s all a matter of what style appeals to you the most.

Once you’ve decided, all you have to do is make it your own. A lot of artists fall into the copycat bracket and their work looks exactly like the artist they admire. Which isn’t always a good thing. Better to take the basics and make it your own.

Have fun and show us what you come up with!

Hi guys

This week we will be drawing goblins.

So, we all know goblins to be the work horse, easily enslaved race of the fantasy world. They don’t have the brains of wizards nor the brawn of Orcs.

So they are only good for menial tasks. How do we convey this with their look?

Take a look at this week’s sketch.

There are five main things to look at when you draw a goblin.

1 Ears – these are often bitten or damaged. They tend to be pointy and either too large or too small.

2 Mouths – these are either really large or really small.

3 Eyes – make these really big if you want the character to be gentle, sad or make us feel for him. If you want us to dislike him then make his eyes small and pointy.

4 Bones – Imagine the goblin as a pile of bones. He will have angular features, a sharp chin and cheekbones. They are not the brightest creatures, so give them a small flat head.

5 Skin – Their skin should be scarred and scratched to show how much they have gone through. They are also malnourished so their skin should be stretched over their bones.

Tip: If you have large ears, have a small mouth or eyes. If you have small ears have a large mouth or eyes. The point is to create a disproportionate face.

They are able to make extremes with facial expressions, so add large expressions.

The point is usually to make them look like they’ve had a pretty rough life. Plainly put – they are butt ugly.

Although they are generally not “main character” material, they are a lot of fun to draw and generally the best types of characters to learn to play with in terms of proportions.

Hi Guys

This week we’ll be looking at how to make your character look mysterious.

The easiest way to do it is to hide features.

In this week’s picture we see how a normal character looks far more mysterious once we add a big coat and heavy clothing.

On the left we have the normal characters. Perhaps a farmer or villager.

On the right, we have the same character. This time we added shading and clothing to hide his features.

Play with your characters and add few hard light shadows. Just remember your light sources! Using light is very subtle thing. It pays to learn how to use it. And it makes all the difference with inking and colouring.

Have a look at the shadows on my pics and see if you can tell where the light is coming from?

Top right pic – light is coming from the top left downwards.

Bottom right pic – light is coming from top right downwards.

Experiment, have fun and show us what you come up with!