Rigid Characters? Here is a Simple Trick! - Frustration Process Video & PSD File

Hey everyone!

Here's a brief introduction to my process behind 'Frustration,' my latest illustration. The intro is divided into concept development and technical execution. Enjoy.

Concept

This time I tried one character illustration instead of many because I wanted to create an interesting composition quickly. Surprise, surprise, I still spent around six hours, and probably eight since I spent 1 hour or two just searching for references and thinking.

Anyway, I saved this funny picture of a raven painting a long time ago, I just did not know what kind of original character would make something out of it. While exploring, I thought a gothic girl would fit the animal, as ravens and crows are associated with dark themes. This would be a good excuse to make gothic-like cloth themes, plus use these visual references around the character to create an emotional "artist" character type, you know, like this stereotype that we artists are very sensitive.

The raven in the picture looked quite chill in my opinion, but the strokes she/he made were a bit "dramatic." That's why I thought a frustrated artist would fit my narrative well enough. So far the list looked like this:

• Ref: Raven painting
• Action: Character artist painting
• Costume: Gothic, traditional artist workplace.

Execution

I chose purple as the main color for this particular composition. With that color in mind, I made strokes to simply capture the character's frustrated gesture and props around her. Since there would be one character, dressed relatively simply, I added a wide range of different shape props, often the ones you find in any artist's workplace, like paintings, frames, benches, tables, sketches, brushes, etc., plus some extras related to the raven and the gothic topic.

One particular issue I encountered with this character's gesture was the risk of "hiding" a pretty face. Yes, I know you can still see the character's profile, but if you see the beginning of the process, the profile view wasn't my initial plan. We often spend quite a lot of time on pretty faces or, in my case, expressive faces, and we build around it. Frontal views or three-quarter views for these faces are great to deliver key information, profiles not so much. This is a risk I often don't like to take, but it can lead to a rigid gesture, especially if the character is looking at something in his or her back (this particular case).

Eventually, the profile view of the face felt more realistic, so I ended up choosing that one. If you feel your characters look rigid, question this little feature by thinking, "How frequently do my characters look to the sides?" Here is a quick tip to try out today:

Work on Neck Rotation in Your Drawings

When drawing characters, consider positioning the head differently from the torso to create more dynamic poses. For instance, in a frontal view, you might tilt the character's head slightly to the left or right, as if they are looking over their shoulder or attempting to glance back. Another effective pose to try is the 'head tilt,' reminiscent of how dogs tilt their heads when they encounter something intriguing or perplexing.

The key to these exercises is to move away from stiff, static poses by introducing natural dynamics in the head, neck, and shoulder/torso areas. The word 'torso' is appropriate here, as it refers to the central part of the body to which the neck and shoulders are connected. By varying the alignment of these body parts, your characters will appear more lifelike and expressive.

Have a look at the process video and PSD to find out more efficient ways to create compositions like this, color treatment, and values. If you have any questions, just drop them here or send me a DM on Patreon!

Conclusion

While I shift towards "less complex" compositions, I'll be sharing my optimization process here with you. My ideal is to spend just a few hours per day without compromising the quality of my pieces. I want to become faster and better, and I hope the same for you. Thank you for your support!