From the Sketchbook #2

So back in the Fall I did some storyboards for a 2D Animation class assignment. One of them was this Wild West story that's been "rattling around in my frontal lobe" for years now. So in my current sketchbook I decided to work on the whole Wild West concept a little more. I watched some of the Man With No Name/Dollars Trilogy for inspiration, looked at some old buildings from around where I live, and did some sketches of iconic Western characters.

"I'm thirty years older than you are. I had my back broke once, and my hip twice. And on my worst day I could beat the hell out of you." #TheCowboys

I saw a great sketch of Lee Van Cleef on another blog by artist Oran Parker and I wanted to try the same technique he used. I used Staedtler pens, a Sharpie pen and my trusty Prisma markers. This was the first time I ever did a sketch like that and I was pleased with the results.

These are silhouettes of various Wild West characters. In last semester's Figure Drawing class my professor showed us The Skillful Huntsman, a concept art book by students from California's Art Center College of Design. It documents the creative process of illustrating a classic fairy tale. I liked how they drew silhouettes to work out the overall shape of the characters.

I think an appealing character needs to have an appealing silhouette, so I took a couple of pages to experiment on balance/appeal etc.

Oh and you should watch more King of the Hill.