character development

here was my instagram caption

to an early sketch of Arthur Dent for the Hitchhiker’s Guide. Developing a character for an illustration project I’m working on. This guy is English. Home Counties. A Guardian reader. (More likely he reads both the Guardian and the Telegraph) Of genteel stock. Often confused and frequently angry but possessed of a certain sense of sardonic humour and resilience. His name is Arthur Dent. I have a yearning to illustrate the works of literature I admire most.  The challenge is to take something lovely and add another layer of complementary beauty.  That needs creative reinterpretation – If I’m not adding value, the task isn’t worth the candle. This story is screaming for fantasy caricature illustration.  40 yrs too late, but hey it’s a classic eh? . This is an exercise in getting to know my characters as if they were real people. But they aren’t . . .

this man's house

is about to be run over by a bulldozer.

His upper lip is stiff, his gaze is resolute and he’s NOT going to let it happen.  He is definitely not wearing a dressing gown.

ford prefect

I though Martin Clunes would make the ideal Ford so I cast him in the role, but with a pot belly, skinny legs and a curly blonde hairdo.

haha just found another

early sketch for the Hitchhiker’s Guide. This was the Vogon captain reciting bad poetry after a disastrous affair of the heart, and before his sidekick threw our heroes out into space.

joey

a character invented and described to me by Ania for a story she is going to write one day.

this was a study for

a restaurateur.

Sometimes first scrbbles just come right.  That happens about 3% of the time.

Even so, I don’t know if this guy is wearing a mask or he just has a double chin.

women of a certain age

inspired by a lovely poem called Lunch With Girlfriends by Kathy O’Malley.
Though not all of my character exercises are appropriate to that.

holes

thinking of doing some drawings for Holes.

This would be a first study for Mr Sir

Watch this space.

holes

Early stage sketches for X-Ray, Zero and Armpit  . . .

“my name

 is Gregory Peggory” I replied with dignity. 

Jostein Gaarder – The Frog Castle

holes

another one for x-ray

captivated

by Sam Gayton’s book Hercufleas which I have been reading to my kids as a bedtime story.

Here is our hero as a bright young thing, liberated by his own ignorance before the troubles of life throw themselves at him.

My character.  Nothing like the ilustrations in the book as published.

and

plonking on some emotions or “fleamotions” as I guess the author would have it.

slarti-bartfast

character study based on John le Mesurier, who Douglas Adams had in mind for the character (according to Wikipedia)

trying

to capture that farawayslightly-angry a-bit-dissapointed smile-frown

slarti-bartfast

 

. . . getting there . . .

and

yup. 

Happy with that.

all of the above  – and a bit crazy too.

the anti hero

from a Polish fairytale.

He’s just stolen his brother’s sword and can hardly lift it.

and

a troll from the same story

the miller's tale

everyone’s favourite tale from Chaucer.
Here are Nicholas and John.

fun fact

I had a student holday job once mopping the floors at Marks and Spencers, Edinburgh.

Another long story: This was a DTIYS based on one by Craig Imrie and some of the elements can also be found here.

someone's

nerdy brother from a project that didn’t get off the ground.

and

her grandpa too.

ruby redfort

and Clancy Crew. Sitting on the roof, watching television, chatting about mysteries to be solved and so forth.

clancy

again.  This time being suspended over . . . well you can see really.

sabina,

Ruby’s mother having her suit ruined in a plot-cruicial collision.

and

her barefooted boss, LB

footnote to mobile site . . . This note appears in a sidebar on computers and tablets . . .

this was the instagram caption

to an early sketch of Arthur Dent for the Hitchhiker’s Guide.

Developing a character for an illustration project I’m working on. This guy is English. Home Counties. A Guardian reader. (More likely he reads both the Guardian and the Telegraph) Of genteel stock. Often confused and frequently angry but possessed of a certain sense of sardonic humour and resilience. His name is Arthur Dent.

I have a yearning to illustrate the works of literature I admire most.  The challenge is to take something lovely and add another layer of complementary beauty.  That needs creative reinterpretation – If I’m not adding value, the task isn’t worth the candle.

This story is screaming for fantasy caricature illustration.  40 yrs too late, but hey it’s a classic eh? .
This is an exercise in getting to know my characters as if they were real people.

But they aren’t . . .