How Do I Draw People?

posted in Journaling
/ tags: character, character development, drawing, people, querky, sketching

Did you think this was an instructional post about drawing people? Sorry, no. I am asking myself this question.

Every time I work on character development, I get intimidated and eventually distract myself with a different project. These pages in my journal are another attempt to practice drawing faces. While drawing these, I was thinking about my characters being sculpted in the same way that I created the Snail Mail series. So the end vision is a doll or a puppet.

The first face shown in the page above, was not created using any references to the real human figure. To put it bluntly, I don’t like it. She has a Cruella Deville look but not in a good way.

This next page shown above is a little bit better. I was watching a youtube clip with Ellen Degeneres so I was using her face as a reference. I think I need to continue to use real references. What I don’t like about this drawing is that it is too realistic and not abstracted enough for my tastes.

In this final drawing, there is what I consider some improvement with style. I like my characters to be querky and a little off while still maintaining the essence of the character. Obviously, these are just loose, quick drawings in my sketchbook, and I have a long way to go, but every little bit of practice helps.

Amy DeCaussin specializes in Illustration. View her work here, amydecaussin.com.

For illustration, image licensing, agent representation,

and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.

Apr

2015

2015 / Apr / 07

Pistachio Peak

posted in Journaling
/ tags: americas best idea, arizona, colorful, drawing, explore, exploring, illustration, journal, journal entry, journaling, ken burns, mountain, picacho, picacho peak, pistachio, silly, the national parks, travel, tucson, watercolor

My husband Cam and I took a weekend off and drove from our home in Phoenix, Arizona down to visit some relatives in Tucson. It is about a two hour drive and, being new to Arizona, we had never been there. On our drive down there was a very large peak that began to grow larger and larger in our view as we approached it along the highway. I looked at the map. “That mountain up ahead is ‘Pistachio Peak.'” I told Cam. I studied the peak and thought it over in my head. It made perfect sense somehow. I imagined a large pistachio nestled into the crescent wedge shape at the top. As we got closer, Cam pointed to a sign, “Did you mean ‘Picacho Peak?'” he chuckled. I had completely misread what the map said and never thought twice about it. Something that we continued to laugh about for a long time after.

There is a state park that the mountain sits in and there are trails to hike. We did not stop to explore the landscape there, but now it is on our to-do list. I have been really enjoying exploring Arizona. I have been hiking a lot and enjoying the mountains, which are very accessible, even in the 6th largest city in the country (Phoenix). I am extremely passionate about nature. If you feel the same way, like if you are super geeky about it like I am, I recommend checking out a documentary series called “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” It is a PBS series, but I found it on Netflix. This series has greatly effected me. It has awakened the previously existing deep passion inside of me for all of God’s creation.

Amy DeCaussin specializes in Illustration. View her work here, amydecaussin.com.

For illustration, image licensing, agent representation,

and other creative projects contact Amy: amydecaussin@gmail.com.