Characterization

OVER THE NEXT FEW  BLOG ADDITIONS, I will be focusing on my characters and their 'personalities' as really, this is the most important facet of attaining success in this field: this is the sort of thing that can take years to 'master'...........looking at the really famous, well-known characters throughout Pop Culture History, it seems to be a case of effective characterization above all that ensures instant recognizability from Millions. 'Lick' this, and you got it made, Buster:

-----MICKEY MOUSE/  Tom and Jerry/  Charlie Brown/Peanuts/  BUGS BUNNY/ Felix the Cat/ Dennis the Menace/ Bart Simpson:  these are the sort of properties I have in mind: characters and concepts that endure for decades, unlike the vast bulk of todays' 21st-Century equivalents: I keep up to date with most new developments regarding character design........however, I feel that too much of todays' design is striking and bizarre seemingly just for the sake of it: to me, this is fine for an initial attraction / intruige-interest, but lacks the sort of longer-term staying power I am aiming for.


I am not especially interested [these days] in working on already-famous characters: this approach is great for 'learning the ropes' when the artist is setting out to produce pro-level graphics,  but ultimately I reckon it is just basking in reflected Glory,---and in almost all cases, 'clone' versions of established hits are mostly a bit disappointing, and lack the idiosynchronatic quirks of the original cartoonists' personal vision. -------------- there is simply no substitute for the pleasure in controlling your own little World with your own cast of characters---anything less is just slavery in comparison. Or at least, that's the way I see it...........

Anyway, here's my first 'proper' airbrushed rendition of Jet Blanc, the streamlined color  technique seen here being a Million Miles removed from his early bottled-ink incarnation: