Monday, March 3, 2008

IF: Leap

In my efforts to draw more last week I took two stabs at the IF theme. I had more more idea, but as I am still working on people, I decided to stop early on that one.
Anywhoo... here are my two versions:


This was the first idea that came to me. Kids leaping from puddle to puddle in the rain. This one was quite hard in getting the face to look right, as I wanted her looking down. Overall it seems a bit stiff to me, but I am happy none the less.

Now everyone knows that when elephants aren't slinging mud, they like to "leap" through a field of flowers. With this, it was a toss up between and elephant and a hippo. This was the result of much sketching over and over on the same drawing until I liked it. Then I outlined it with a Micron pen and erased the pencil. I think it came out decent.

I welcome your comments and critiques on these. Another update next week, though I think the "fast" is officially over! :)

8 comments:

Alicia Padrón said...

Hi Tom!! Good to have you back :o)
I really like these two drawings.

The one with the girl and frog I like a lot. I think the frog is great, shows the action perfectly. I really like the composition and the light strokes suggesting the background. You are right, she does look a bit stiff, but not too much. I think that if you exaggerate her angle a bit more, you can accomplish the illusion of more movement. For example, bend her upper body more forwards and maybe lift the leg a bit more. You can also add her left arm in front of her to help with the movement. I like this illustration because it is capturing a fun moment and is telling a story. I think you have something really good here.

And the elephant one is adorable. He is just too cute jumping up in the air like that. :o)

Tom Barrett said...

Thanks for the comments, Alicia. Really helpful! I will work on this over time and repost a new version.

Bee said...

A great, joyful elephant scene! (although I imagine you'd want to be out of the way when he lands!) I'm trying to draw often too, with a focus on 'moving' my characters -I'm starting with circles for heads and adding guidelines where I want the features to be, then working from there. Best of luck with the drawing :)

Mônica said...

I like both your drawings, and I agree with Alicia, the frog on the one with the girl is just right. They both capture a lot of joy and playfulness. I went through years without drawing and painting, and of course, whenever I tried, the end result would not be what I had expected. Total bummer...
But now that I try to do it more frequently, and give myself a bit of a break, I can see myself improving. The same will happen to you, for sure.
BTW, thanks for your comments on my blog! :-)

van dyke said...

The little girl and the frog has a very gentle feel to it. The theme is appealing and your execution is good. Keep up the good work.

Tom Barrett said...

Thanks Bee, Monica and Van Dyke for the encouragement! Looking forward to the improvements to come! :)

sketched out said...

Nice to have you back Tom. I like your drawings, very cute. Alicia gave some great advice. You have a good teacher in her. But the overall look and sweetness is definitely there! Keep up the good work.

Tom Barrett said...

Thanks, Linda.