Hey everyone! Here's the second batch of Alphabooks characters. In case you don't know what Alphabooks is, it is a blog in which all artists are welcome to draw a book character corresponding to the letter of the week. For instance, A for Aslan, B for Bilbo Baggins, etc. Feel free to check it out and participate! :)E is for EnderEnder’s Game by Orson Scott Card
I was trying to figure out who to illustration for the letter E. Cody suggested Ender from Ender’s Game. Having heard of the book but not read it, he explained that it was a science fiction book in which a young boy conducts epic space battles while donning sick battle armor. Good enough for me. :) I read the book within the week before the picture was due and really enjoyed it--now I understand what all the buzz was about! The next obstacle was that we were on vacation and I didn’t want to spend time drawing when I could be visiting with my family. So I managed to work on Ender during the car rides between Lynden and Seattle (and if you ask me, I’m pretty proud that I could set up a “desk” using a backpack on my lap, an open glove compartment to set my laptop, and still use the tablet while moving 70 mph.) Regarding the picture itself, I decided to take a different path from my previous alphabook characters and choose a pose that would be more dynamic—more suitable for someone who lives in zero gravity and is floating around all the time. Also, as you’ve probably noticed, I decided to use less cross hatching to shade and more washes. It just seemed more appropriate for Ender—his flash suit was designed to be slick and arodynamic, and the wash seemed to cater to just that. Overall, he was fun to draw. :) (2.75 hours)F is for FenrirHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Fenrir is an interesting choice for me. In case you don’t know who he is (and I don’t expect you to), he is a werewolf character from the final book in the Harry Potter series. And judging by his overall appearance, you’d be correct in thinking that he is probably one of the antagonists. I’m not largely into the werewolf thing, but the main reasons why I chose him were that A.) I didn’t know who else to do for the letter F and B.) More importantly, I needed practice drawing antagonistic males. And males in general. The large subject majority of my art are girls, and in order to develop a diverse and well-rounded style, I always need to practice drawing things and people outside of my comfort zone. Fenrir was one of them. To be honest, I’m not the happiest how he turned out. I decided to do just a bust since I wanted to focus on the face. However, it was one of those pictures you start off being really excited about…but when you’re wrapping things up, you just kind of go “ugh…that didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. =P” I think it’s something to do with the way his head is positioned on his neck and his corky grin. It seems too posed. And unnatural. (Well, I guess werewolves are sort of unnatural to being with.) Oh well! Lesson learned, life moves on. :) (1.75 hours)G is for Garrick OllivanderHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
I must have been on a Harry Potter kick when I was doing these Alphabook characters—but what can I say? They’re so fun to do! Again, I wanted to challenge myself by drawing someone out of my normal range, and Garrick Ollivander (the town wand maker) was so much fun to draw. Drawing the elderly is a challenge in itself—it makes you realize the intricacies of the human body and how everything is put together (and changes with time). The really cool thing about drawing Garrick is that he doesn’t feel constrained or stiff—and that comes from the fact that it was very relaxing and easy to draw. Oftentimes artists who draw young characters need to be careful not to give them characteristics that make them look old (wrinkles, creases, etc.)…but in Ollivander’s case, I could just go to town! ^^ I modeled him a little after Geri from Pixar’s short, Geri’s Game. Also, those are wand boxes he’s carrying in his right hand. I forgot to decorate the exterior and am too lazy to do it now. =P (1.5 hours)H is for Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock was definitely fun to draw. I have to admit that this feels a little bit like a cheat (I’ve never actually read the Sherlock Holmes stories) because my Sherlock was inspired from the movies. But he’s still a book character, so it counts. ^^ Anyways, I really enjoy Robert Downey Jr. in this role, but I didn’t want it to look like typical fan art. I actually wanted to make something a little more original. I tried to blend a bit of his character with something else (I don’t really know what… :Z) and wha-la! Sherlock was born. It was good practice to work on drawing a man’s face without making it look feminine. I’m also trying to study facial traits and what makes each face unique and different. I have a long way to go, but I’m learning more each time I draw. The main complaint I have about this picture is that he still looks a little too posed and/or flat, like there’s just not enough dimension. I think I could have deepened the shadows and contrasted it a bit more. Overall, I’m pleased. Yay Holmes. :D (2 hours)I is for Iron ManIron Man comics by Marvel
Whoo hoo! Cheat week number two! Well, we were allowed to do comic book characters, and although I didn’t want to abuse that, Iron man was just too hard to pass up. :) Again though, this drawing is based more on the movies than the comic books. Whatever. Practice is practice, and he was really fun to draw! I used a pose reference and definitely had to reference the armor. Yet again I got to practice drawing men, drawing dynamic poses, and technical work (I’ve never been good at drawing mechanical detail and objects.) I didn’t spend a lot of time at all shading it (in fact, I really liked the outline the best…I might actually ink it). I wouldn’t mind finishing this piece. Fun, fun, fun! ^^(2.25 hours)
