COMBINE BEAN AND SHAPE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Combine the Bean and the Shape exercises by making new drawings from photo references to create lineups of different characters.
This part of the people studies can be looser than the upcoming 5 character lineup titled Body Shapes..
This Bean and Shape project will get you drawing and then the upcoming People Studies > Body Shapes (5 character lineup project)
This project will have you thinking through the story and the connection between the characters while keeping your shape understanding in the drawing.
You can work with silhouettes with shapes like Claudia does or just look at your negative space for good silhouettes.
File Naming convention:
BeanShapeCombinedFirstNameLastName.jpg
save your jpg as smaller than 1920 x 1080
Submit:
Pinterest Reference: https://www.pinterest.com/visualpump/character-design
Susan Bonner - Take your bean studies (2 min) and add structure to them (5 min)
Continue to think about using straights and curves here.
Get some references: Pinterest Collections work well. Here is Susan Bonner's (You need to have a Pinterest login to see these. You will want one in this industry and it is free.)
Drawing Resources (You can use Senshi and Line of Action Photos - but finding photos with costumes will be generally more helpful here.)
Demo on Bean and Shape - how to start your file and create characters with shapes in a line up. - Susan Bonner
Claudia Pimentel - Breaking down Body + Gestures with Shapes
Gesture first, the whole figure, using LOA, Bean
Simplify mass and volume with shape, keeping structure in mind!
Claudia Pimentel - Using LOA and Bean and quick sketching to establish simple shapes helps ground a solid gesture right away before adding details.
Claudia Pimentel - Shape Language: How you choose to represent form through line and shape
Your shape language will develop over time (think of it as your own handwriting) - Some of you may already have a good sense of your shape language
Focus on loose and fast sketching, but feel free to experiment with different ways to draw form
As you can see, my shape language involves a lot of tapered wedges - yours may differ
Claudia Pimentel - Shape Focus while Gesturing
Always gesture the whole figure, with Line Of Action and Bean
Don't get focused on the details too soon - consider the whole pose first, long strokes, holistic figures
Find simple, but strong shapes! This will keep changing and evolving as you find your shape language
Continue finding strong shapes in longer poses
Student Examples:
Corbin Swets - Beans then adding characters afterwards for the best action pose emphasis.
Randy Bishop (@randybishop) - Using triangles to make a villainous character.
Fisher Mancilla
Fisher Mancilla - rework on the squid character
Gai Mathu
Miki Davis