emeriin [2011-03-29 10:40:03 +0000 UTC]
Aww, they're adorable! One thing I'm curious about though; how easy was it to draw her and get her right? Her art usually seems to have the same problem as Critic; it's difficult to be realistic, goofy, soft and hot at the same time.
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VenGethenian In reply to emeriin [2011-03-29 11:05:56 +0000 UTC]
Warning: You have just asked an INTP a question. This may become more complicated than you really wanted it to be. I apologise in advance. XD
I find it highly complimentary that you think I got her right. I think in a lot of art, the resemblance to the subject being drawn can be highly subjective and in this case, although I like how she came out, I still can't decide how "right" I think I got her as the Nostalgia Chick.
For me, getting anyone "right" is pretty much an equal challenge, with occasional exceptions for people I draw a lot. It's not something that's easy or hard, it's something that's necessary, because that's always been something that's been of paramount importance and interest to me as an artist. I think it's largely due to how I learned to draw people -- my primary "teacher" was Wendy Pini, through her art in the ElfQuest comics. If you ever read those, one thing I always noticed and admired about her art is how she can draw her characters in simple line art and still give every single one of them very distinct and immediately recognizable identities -- largely through their facial features but also in how they carry themselves. One example that comes to mind is a panel where the Wolfriders are gathered in the Go-Backs' lodge and just talking. You have one character who's very haughty and egotistical and proud with one leg up on something leaning in and almost GQ-modeling, another character who's carefree and squirrel-like crouched with his knees to his chest rather like a squirrel, another character who's a strong warrior but has just lost her lifemate standing with a blanket over her shoulders but with this look that is somehow both completely in another world in her shock and grief but also very determined and brave... she tells stories in the way her characters stand or sit or look at one another in every single panel, even if they're background characters who never even get names.
That's not just something I learned by noticing it in Wendy Pini's artwork or anyone else's, it's also something I was taught as a stage actor, and perhaps that's the reason I became really conscious of it when I see it in art. I've always considered it a mark of quality, of "doing things right," to be able to tell a story without actually TELLING a story. So it's something I've always aspired to be able to do myself. I succeed in some drawings better than others, but I can't help but to just TRY to do that every time I start drawing someone.
So um.... the short answer is, it's not easy or hard, I consider it more to be just my style and a result of how I learned to do art. In the end, it's the audience that really decides whether I've succeeded, not me.
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