
I'm so excited to share another segment on this blog, where I can show the "bones" and WIP's of my projects. To take a break between final projects for Summer Quarter, I started a this drawing for a "Meet the Artist"; something I feel like every artist has done at least once! The photos are set in a "slideshow" style, so hit the left and right arrows to see my piece in process!
What I usually start with is a bright and contrasting "structure" sketch. I do this with all of my illustrations, and with more detailed pieces, there can be dozens of different colors that make a structure. With this specific piece being in a more stylized form of anatomy, I usually shrink and exaggerate different parts of the body, but in a proportioned ratio, to create a "chibi" figure. This is usually a large, egg-like shaped head, A triangular torso, short thighs, and long legs. The feet usually taper off into a small stub, and the hands can differ from small and simple to detailed and larger!

For finishing touches, I go in and add different layers of textures through line patterns and brush textures. I love to do curly scribbles for wool fabrics, and more stick-like textures for main pieces of focus: in this piece I used the stick texture on the dress! I also like to separate the hair with a shade of the base color, and then a highlight using a slightly different hue, in this case, yellow! It's good to not apply texture to everything in the piece, or else it can look too busy. I usually leave skin, shoes, and secondary fabrics to be plain.
I hope this was a nice look into how I draw simple characters, in this style! I always love to see how other artists structure different types of drawings, especially the final details and texture. I hope to upload a little more in September for this series!