Sketch, Shape, Story: How a Meme Inspired My Character Illustrations

Hey Everyone!

In today's process, you'll find an interesting concept/story about two little fellows walking together. While searching for interesting pictures on Pinterest, I got caught up in a series of memes. As I checked one after the other, I found a screenshot, I assume it's from Tumblr, that described a short story based on a crow and cat picture. Since art pieces with stories tend to be more powerful than just aesthetically pleasing ones, I thought I'd give it a shot.

The plan was simple: how to interpret this intriguing picture into two characters. I had an idea about the crow trying to convince the stubborn cat about something. At this point, I'm not sure if it's a crow or a raven. Please let me know in the comments. For the sake of this article, I'll call it a raven. In my mind, I envisioned the cat character looking a bit angry with its hands in its pockets and the raven using its hands to explain a point. This image popped into my head before I began sketching the entire scene.

After a few minutes of trying to define each character with lines, I decided to use the same approach I did for the "bear" illustration last week. This involved selecting the "Limberto - Hard Shapes" brush and aiming for a distinctive shape for each character, not only defined by their gestures but also their anatomy and attire. For the cat, I imagined a robust, broad shape; even though the cat in the reference photo has several curved lines that define its form, I believed a rectangular shape would best depict its sturdy appearance. Conversely, the raven, being round and having thin legs, seemed best represented by a sleek, sharp, and slender character.

A notable aspect of this piece is my decision to keep it rough. The goal for this week's article was to capture the essence of the concept with rough lines and then refine a few key areas (see yesterday's post for more context). I contemplated sharing an extremely messy sketch to gauge reactions, but my perfectionist tendencies wouldn't allow it.

However, as I revisited the drawing, exploring other ideas that were still rough but slightly more sophisticated, I realized my initial sketches were more compelling and straightforward. This reaffirms the point from yesterday's article that sometimes the first, even most obvious, idea turns out to be the best. So, always duplicate your layer before making significant changes.

Due to the extensive information present in the line art, I didn't want to overcomplicate with colors or values. When lines dominate, it's often best not to have competing shadows and highlights. If you intend to use strong lines, consider keeping the contrast between shadows and light subtle, as seen in the white clothing of the "cat character" or the dark tones of the raven.

I did grapple with the "cat" character's hair. I've been using this hair style for a while and wanted to incorporate the cat's ears into the style. So, I decided to emphasize the round head of the cat by cutting the hair short. This decision added an edgy look to the character, suggesting a more battle-hardened background.

In conclusion, this was a brief overview of the process. Please watch the video for a more in-depth understanding and reach out with any questions in the comments, DMs, or on our Discord server.

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