3 Little Wolves

I seem to be getting better. The overlay process showed some of the same problems which cropped up with Jerry. I need to make my heads more circular and keep the proportions in check as I tend to draw them too tall. Shorter, squatter bodies and rounder heads should be the antidote.


Here is a still from Disney's 1936 short The Three Little Wolves. I really love the character design on these guys. I find them stylish without being too complicated to construct which is ideal because it maintains my drawing interest without the frustration. You can watch The Three Little Wolves on YouTube; it's a lot of fun.

Jerry

I knew the overlay process would be painful. Some of the mistakes were obvious to me without doing this, others were more elusive which is, of course, the entire point of the exercise. Jerry is two-and-a-half heads tall, sporting typical cherubic proportions. I am so used to drawing adult humans that the tendency is for me to make the head too small/thin and the body too tall. Everything needs to be more rounded and lines of action for uncommon poses require more attention.

On a side note, some of these are so off that I could probably put on some red-blue glasses and see mice in three dimensions...

Hierarchy & Composition

Mouths

I could watch Katie Rice and Naked Beach Frenzy all day.

Hands

Everybody's doin' that crazy hand-jive!

Line of Action

Again, these copies of the images from Preston Blair's newer publish appear to be more generic than their true counterparts. Since I was away from the net when I did these, it was just easier to use the newer, inferior hard copy I have. In my mind, what's important is the principles still hold true regardless of the character designs.

Screwballs

Two-Legged Characters

If these characters appear more generic than their Warner Bros. dopplegangers, well, it's because I'm using the newer print of Preston Blair's book which just happens to be handy.

Stretch & Squash

Head Construction

John K. has started a private "cartoon college" blog and to get into the cabin I'll be swabbin' some decks. Here are some head construction exercises from Preston Blair's indispensable Cartoon Animation book.

Humble beginnings

I set up this blog because I'm finally old enough to know what it is I'm supposed to be doing in life: cartoons. Thanks to my childhood hero John K. and his blog for re-awakening me.