Hey guys,

I received this question from one of my AMA on Instagram. I gave a brief answer there, but I believe I did not cover all the important things “the trigger cores”. So here are some of my thoughts & drawings to help answer the question and I hope they will help you improve your art and learn something. =)

Note for copyright:
- People photos I took from Pinterest. I do not own their photos and do not know who the photo belongs to... so if you know please message me!
Link of the photos are attached underneath.
- All the drawings are mine and for education purposes only. Please do not copy or sell. You can use it for your own learning, and NO selling or reposting without asking me. Thank you. =)

HOW I start my character proportions. 

1. Look for references (photos, real person, animals, etc. anything)

I normally like to go to a Gesture drawing session for this. I find it is more personal that way. Sometimes I draw in the bus, event or a coffee shop which is also fun and I can see different types of personality, shapes, and colours, also helps the wallet by being free. =)

2. Look for "Line of action" - LOA

You can draw LOA before or after sketching out the characters, totally up to you and your timing. However, I believe this is a very important guideline to the character's gesture to hold all the shapes together, simplify and strengthen the pose. 

3. Quick sketch following the LOA. Give the line art "a meaning" (ex: soft, harsh, happy, energy, exhaust, sad, confuse, melt, etc.)

Very quick wrapping lines of shapes following “C” and “S” curves. Looking for shapes, and really ignore all the details.
I suggest to make the most ugly lines you can make in this stage. The most important thing is to keep your hand moving fluently and relax.

Have you seen my early sketch before it is all polished? How embarrassing, I know! 

4. Exaggerating, balancing & weighting.

Exaggerating, balancing, and weighting to give the gesture an attitude, a believable, a sense of story (who she is, what she doing, how she feels, etc.). Pretty much, a life!

5. Color palette. Breathe life into the sketch.

Pick color palette suits the purpose and try on quickly. This will quickly give you a sense of the finishing piece. Sometime I find it's looking just perfect the way it is imperfect. =)
Since it is still an early stage you can change things quickly before going into details. 

6, 7, 8, etc.

The stages coming after will be staging, texturing, lighting, composition, polishing and finishing touch. This is where you will be adding the details. However these stages are all important. I believe none of them are more or less important than the others.

Annnnnddd... after all...
Relax, let your hand flow, have fun!

If you want more information of Gesture drawing or Figure drawing, I suggest to look for the master Michael Hampton. I learnt a lot from him. =)

I hope this will help anyone who needs a kick-start to hop onto character design train or whichever you name it.

Remember, it is always about having fun. =)

Cheers,

Linh 

Hello everyone,

I realize this is something very important to share to beginner or whom want to archive the career of being an artist one day. Which is AWESOME!

This question has bugging me everyday since I started my career. Not that I clearly found it, but it is getting closer and closer I can feel it.  I believe everyone has their own workflow differently than others. This is how I do and it feeds enough interests to keep me doing what I do everyday, seeing the future of how I may become. 

SO, lets read it together!!! 

1. Knowing yourself, what you like most. 
2. Have few collections of artworks you love for inspiration.
3. Study your own self, what you love most from your favorite art collections?
4. Apply what you love to your own drawings.
5. Be comfortable with deleting a drawing, it will always get better with the second one.
6. Have fun.
7. Believe yourself.
8. Understand your limit and push a little. It is about that "little push" will one day make you success. (I believe THIS)
9. Make a list of what you want to draw, pick one and draw it.
10. Do research before drawing.
11. Look at favorite artworks for inspiration before starting the drawing.
12. Take it easy. Remember to have fun.
13. Do it not perfect.
14. It is not about what you can draw, it is about what you want to draw.
15. Questioning yourself - Do you have fun?

The most important thing is knowing about yourself, do it for yourself, have fun your own way, your own time. If you have a commission to make a drawing, draw the thing YOU LIKE or the way YOU WANT. Yes, repeat the list again to make sure me and you, we don't miss anything. ^^

One last word, please do not copy to publish other artist's works. They are their brain juice, their life and hard work over years to find their own voice. Plus, what a shame, right? 

I hope this post will help anyone struggles to find their artistic style. I am working on it. SO, LET'S PRACTICE TOGETHER!

Any questions please leave a comment here or on my Instagram account @linhillus . I always stay active on Instagram! ^^

Cheers,

Linh