Whoops!
Ever look back on a drawing and think, “What was I thinking?!”. Well, it happens to me all the time, and I guess that’s a good thing as it means I learned something in-between. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
I thought it would be fun to look back on some past work and review it with fresh eyes, as though it were drawn by someone else. That wasn’t hard though: There were times I didn’t even recognize the drawing… had no memory of drawing it and questioned whether it was mine. And those were the ones I thought were pretty good. No, when I come across a badly drawn one, I am usually certain that was mine. Is this what they call “old age”?
These examples I have pulled out are mostly posing issues. These are going further back in my past when Fairies were starting up… was that 10 years ago? Maybe more. Anyway, they include characters that don’t even exist anymore since the films.
I know! First one kind of bad, right? Lol
The overlay is a little larger than the original character and needs to be reduced some, but I think you got the general idea.
In this one, I thought she would seem more withdrawn and in need of comfort here, so I had her arms pulled in close instead of resting on her legs. And seeing the underside of her jaw helps the angle.
I wanted a little more action in the water fairy character, since she is presented somewhat vertical. For the other character looking up, I thought it would be more effective having her head face up too and not just use her eyes. Also, tried to fix the body problems: head attachment to body, shoulder placement, etc.
These fairy comps are so busy! I remember the art notes wanting everything in each drawing. The initial environments were kind of busy too, and although conceived beautifully (by Judith Clarke), they didn’t allow much in the way of visual “rests” to be able to place characters easily.
Anyway, let’s get back on track…
Yeah, what happened to this pose? Okay, lot of fixing needed here. And although a real pitch would require the lifted leg to be stretched out in back more, and the other leg more bent, there were space issues of the foot already going off the comp, and I decided to keep it bent. And the other leg straighter as in the original. It felt more feminine, as is the character. The pose still may not be perfect but it’s an improvement anyway. And what’s up with those wings? I didn’t fix them, but they would have to be if redone.
Okay, was that fun looking back with me and laughing at my bad work? I had a good laugh myself. Well, hope you thought it was interesting anyway.
Take care all, and talk to you again soon.
-Denise