So far, so what...?

Another set of sketches for the children's book- I felt the kids were too cartoony but I was mostly trying to decide upon their hairstyles, whereas my daughter felt the Tokebas (little monkey men) weren't cartoony & silly enough. We both felt they look too much like small chimps with bad hair! The dragon is very straightforward as a monitor lizard at this point & will go through many alterations later on from this basic bodytype that I just had to nail down first.

Again- all my concept drawings are subject to the approval of an 8 year old, but I've had editors that give less direction & make less sense ;)

More Eowyn & Damien... & a boat

I could keep drawing their heads from every angle with every imaginable expression, but at this point it really is time to start testing colors & seeing how these figures mesh within some environments.

Model Sheet 1

Initial designs of some characters/ creatures... sometimes this is about getting the bad designs out on paper in order to move on to better ones :)

KIDS- first attempt

My first real go at designing the stars of the children's book, my kids. I've opted to age them from 8 & 6 to 11 & 9, which both clears my conscience from putting such young characters in danger & also puts them at a more capable age, a la the Bobsey Twins.

I also believe a story about little kids is less readable, i.e.: marketable, & it is far easier to draw slightly older youths for a long duration in many situations. This is the style that comes most naturally to me as well, sort of a cartoony minimalism thing with heavier lines.

More on the style choice later...

New Adventures Ahead!