NINE
Art as Lifestyle
More than words
if a picture is worth a thousand words,
what are pictures and words combined worth?
don’t just stand there
If there was a text book for picture book art it could be Martin Salisbury’s Illustrating for Children's Books : Creating Pictures for Publication. It’s an older book but much of it is still relevant. One section that has always stuck with me is about designing characters in action. It suggest that you consider your characters as actors and have them perform or do a little dance, bring them to life, as you design them.
Personally I die a little bit inside every time I see a character on instagram stiffly posed looking at the viewer, or a T-pose (how many T-poses do we need in a portfolio?), or even a pinup action pose. Our characters could be so much more than their shape, clothing, and attitude.
By acting out when we design we are once again using and exercising multiple creative muscles and once again we will have ready made content we can add to the vault.
take action
In a few short months you are on your own. No teachers to nag – or to nurture you. With no deadlines and no project assignments many students can quickly feel adrift after graduation. Having a healthy and self sustaining creative process that will keep your sails full and help map out a course forward can be a lifestyle saver.
Your sketchbook can become the centre of this healthy creative lifestyle. Through purposeful sketching an artist can continue developing their skills, build content, and find their voice. Or just find peace of mind – whether you find yourself becalmed or in the calm before a storm.
Building on our last exercise a fun and healthy sketch habit is to give your characters something to do, make them useful. Story driven sketching works more creative muscles than just character design skills and the drawings can become a vault of saved up ideas that you can make withdrawals from when you’re starving for an idea.