Feedback: simplification / shape design
1yr
Liandro
Hey, @Struggler! You originally requested my help in another post (https://www.proko.com/s/CFaT), but since there was a different discussion going on there first, I’m creating this new separate topic so we can focus just on your demands here. To provide some context, I’m attaching your drawings, and here’s what you originally wrote: —- Hi sir,  I need your help to improve my work. I want to do cartoon style work but i am unable to simplify it, and that's exhausting. I am not able to making those gorgeous shapes that speaks of life. When I exaggerate something it feels to me that I am doing it wrong. So I want you to give me a honest review of my work so that I can know what I am doing wrong. Thank you —- So, as requested, I’ll share some thoughts! My personal gut reaction to your drawings: I honestly like them. To me, they feel cute and adorable, and I think they also have a nice sense of appeal and storytelling. One thing I like to have in mind is that there is no “wrong way” to draw - art is vast enough to withhold various valid types of expression. And in cartooning, I think this is especially true. But I also understand that we, artists, often idealize a particular style we wish to have, or envision techniques we want to grow upon. With that said, I think it can be important to reframe the question, not so much as “what am I doing wrong?”, but more like “where do I want to get?” I can certainly tell that you are, in fact, already drawing in a cartoon style, since your drawings do have a degree of simplification. The thing is: would you like to simplify even more? If so, what is it about each drawing exactly that you feel you’re having trouble simplifying? You also mention you’d like to make “gorgeous shapes that speak of life” - could this be a hint that what you’re struggling with isn’t exactly simplification, but shape design? (I’m thinking of exaggeration as a part of shape design too, by the way) Let me know if any of this rings true to you and if you might have anything else to share, then we can keep discussing in this thread!
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Liandro
Hi again, @Struggler! I recently remembered something that I believe you might like to know about. I wonder if you’ve ever heard about the concept of “iteration”? It’s an idea from the computing sciences, but it’s also commonly used in design as a problem-solving method. Here’s the Oxford Dictionary definition for it: “repetition of a mathematical or computational procedure applied to the result of a previous application, typically as a means of obtaining successively closer approximations to the solution of a problem.” Essentially, here’s how it works in design/drawing: first, we draw a sketch; then, on a new layer (if it’s digital) or on a sheet of tracing paper, with the sketch underneath, we draw a new sketch, not tracing the first one, but using it just as a base and changing whatever we think could be improved in terms of shape, gesture and overall design; then, on top of just the second sketch, on a new layer/sheet, we draw a third one from scratch again, repeating the same process and with the same idea of making adjustments and improvements; and then a fourth one; and a fifth one; and keep doing it, always taking just the latest sketch as the base and improving upon it, and we do it for as many passes as we need until, hopefully, we feel we’ve reached a satisfactory result. As a practical example, I’m attaching here an attempt I made recently as a study. The first sketch was already simplified and had some things I liked about it, but I decided to take it further and try an iteration exercise. I thought to myself: “What is this character, his facial features and his shapes really about?” I figured it was about the elongated face and neck, the bun, the teeth and the pointy nose - so I did two other passes trying to exaggerate these qualities and dim down other features (hair, eyes, beard texture), while also experimenting ways to improve the shapes, the simplification and the style more and more. As another example, philipino artist Nathan Pangilinan (whose work with shape design I admire a lot) recently showed his process for designing an animal illustration in this post on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFpOu9GAJ7G/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= I find it amazing how much change there was just from step 1 to step 3, which is when I think he really started to achieve some interesting shapes. @Court Jones also shows his approach to iteration techniques in his Caricature course, in this lesson called Caricature of a Caricature. On each stage, he exaggerates even more the unique features of the face, and tunes down everything else - and that’s what leads him to such interesting and boldly exaggerated designs. You might notice Court takes each sketch all the way to a pretty developed stage, which might not be necessary though when we’re just on the early stages of a drawing (as you may have noticed in Nathan’s sketches and in mine). Since shape design was something you mentioned you wanted to improve in your work, I thought perhaps you might like to try iteration exercises as a way to develop this skill (in case you've never tried it before). The best results for this exercise happen if we adopt a mindset of being curious about “how far can I take it?” and if we’re willing to take risks and not be caught up on the fear of “making mistakes”. Hope this helps!
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Struggler
God bless you sir! Thank you for helping me this much and showing me path. I was trying kind of iteration but not certainly in this way (making your progress over your drawing). I was doing exploration recently and that was fun too but this look more specific towards my goal. So thank you.
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Struggler
Hi sir, I am sorry for posting on the wrong thread because I had little idea about how the thread discussion works. Actually yes I like to simplify it more and i do want to have great shape design. I love simple yet interesting shape designing but the problem is when I try to make it simple I think that it's not working and I am loosing all the information here, then it started to looking boring and dull and that just doesn't work at all. And whenever I try to keep it simple I just can't stop myself from making it more complicated and I just keep drawing keep drawing it until I ruined it. Maybe I overworked my work because I don't think that looked good enough when I have simplified the drawing, i keep adding the details to make it work.
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Saliya Wickramasinghe
simplified or not this drawing looks fantastic.. you are an amazing artist @Struggler !! Wish you the best!!
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Liandro
No problem, @Struggler! Could you mention any specific artists whose style you admire? Characters or projects which have this quality of simplification and shape design you are seeking for your art? One exercise you could try is to create a reference board filled with examples of artworks you like and which have the visual qualities you want to incorporate more into your drawings. Then, analyze the images and name what are exactly these characteristics that you like and seek - try to be as specific as you can, if possible also thinking about why you like the aspects that you like. For example: “I like that shape because it’s asymmetrical and has balanced negative spaces” or “I like that pose because it has a strong sense of weight and gesture”. Of course, it can also be helpful to do some master copies of these artworks as a way of studying them and intuitively learning their visual qualities. Inversely, you can try being very specific when assessing your own drawings too. When you say “I think that it’s not working”, what aspect exactly isn’t working? Try to clearly elaborate the issue for yourself and, if possible, avoid sticking to general statements such as “the shapes are not working”; instead, maybe rephrase it to something like, for example, “the shapes are getting too anatomical, volumetric and even, but I’d like them to be more stylized, flat and asymmetrical, as in Jon Doe’s work” (whoever Jon Doe might be). Remember to take it easy on yourself - some of us can be harsh when analyzing our own work, so keep in mind that the idea here is not for you to judge your work as good or bad, or as better or worse than someone else’s. No, the idea is just to objectively investigate, within the big areas of “simplification” and “shape design”, what are the specific practical aspects that you feel you want your art to have more of. Let me know if you think any of this could help. And I must say again, I really like your sketches! This image, in particular, is a pretty cool page to look at.
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Struggler
And when I draw from reference it just look like a copy of refrence, i don't feel like I've created my own work, all i felt is copying the photo. I do struggle with this a lot. I want to exaggerate the reality, i want my art to feel more, to live more, to express more.
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