Sometimes when you're drawing a character, it's a good idea to get them from a couple angles. That way you don't get stuck composing a picture because you suddenly realize you need the character to face the other way, and you have no idea what they look like in that direction.
This is my attempt to get my mouse detective from several sides. As you can see, some of the pictures turned out better than others. Donovan facing left took me two takes to get right. The middle right-hand picture actually looks like him. The one on the left looks like a mouse Mountie. (Sigh.)
It's sort of like putting a character into different types of situations in order to see what they're made of. If they're recognizable from any angle, you're doing something right.
That is neat. I haven't done enough drawing and art to really know what goes into getting a character right. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I could apply a similar idea to writing. {thoughtful look}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I think so. Like where you write a holiday dinner scene to see how your character reacts to one kind of stress, then write them escaping from a burning building to see how they'd react to that. (Then you suddenly realize that you don't need a holiday dinner, and the fire will ruin your climax. So you say `those were character studies! I meant to do that, honest!')
ReplyDelete{chuckle} Yes, that is how it works, isn't it? A lot of character studies seem like part of a particular story until after they're written It's often later that you realize they don't fit where you were going to put them. {SMILE}
ReplyDeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
Exactly, and yet you wouldn't be able to move forward if you hadn't gotten that scene out of your head and onto paper. They say nothing you write is wasted. But that's hard to remember when you're looking at a very full `outtakes' file.
ReplyDeleteExactly. It feels like wasted time, no matter how useful it really turns out to be. {rueful smile}
ReplyDeleteI just need to remember that there are other benefits. That would help. Especially with a couple of stories which decided they needed to restart in pretty much different ways. One is doing that for the second time, the other... only once, but it was awfully far along when I realized a different idea might work better. Well, at least I know the characters better now. {resigned smile}
Ei yi yi! Beginnings are the worst. (Look at that! I've actually found a use for Mom's expression now that I've finally learned to spell it.)
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to wonder if I don't know TOO much about one set of characters. I keep having to resist the urge to cram in everything from various bits and pieces I've cut over the years. The story has turned into a Frankenstein's monster! I tell myself that eventually it'll all be smooth and beautiful with lots of psychological nuances. Sometimes I even believe myself.
I'm glad you're getting somewhere on yours, even if it is frustrating.