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Dealing with Bad Gesture: A Quick Journey Into Frustration
🕑 Added 2023-09-30 16:06:54 +0000 UTCHey everyone,
In today's process, I'll document what constitutes a "bad day" for me in terms of conceptualization and execution. In both phases, I struggled to come up with a consistent idea, which consequently made the first half of the process (gesture) feel almost like a waste of time.
Concept
While looking at my references, I was thinking about what could be a compelling story to tell. I saw this dynamic between a cat and an owl in a picture I've saved long ago, and although it initially appeared like a friendly situation, I opted for a darker approach where the cat influences the owl. The first story that popped into my mind was "Pinocchio", about a boy made of wood struggling to find his identity in the world.
My initial idea was that the cat character would offer the child something valuable, symbolizing the first step toward becoming a real boy. However, this was a trap. The cat had malevolent intentions and planned to exploit the child in some way. At that point, my process broke down.
I began to critique the current reference and thought that perhaps this predator/victim dynamic could be better represented using a reference to an animal with a part of its body designed as bait. If you watch the video, you'll see how I replaced the initial reference with images of an anglerfish and a dumbo octopus. These actually aligned more closely with the story's direction. But further down the line, I remembered that one thing I value capturing from original references is the gesture. Unfortunately, the pictures of the fish, although ideal in terms of the story, didn't convey this crucial aspect. So, I reverted to the cat/owl reference. It took a while for me to spot this...
This might seem trivial to you, but for me, it indicates distraction. It suggests the concept isn't as robust or clear as I'd like, revealing challenges I'm unsure how to tackle. I guess some days and ideas are better than others. Nevertheless, it's crucial to stay aware.
Execution
While the concept was not as clear as I thought, I was pretty confident in the visuals. Often I imagine the final outcome, and if the rough picture looks decent, I move forward with the execution, but I was wrong.
While checking the video, notice how almost at the end, I changed the whole gesture of the child and the face of the black lady. I felt particularly frustrated in not noticing this small but essential point I can't miss, which was the emotion. The first child I've designed was boring, no facial expression, no body gesture, and in principle, it made sense. I wanted to make a very introverted kid; he is not a real boy, he is not happy or confident, So why not keep the expressionless gesture? Because the moment didn't feel right; he was about to receive one of the best gifts he considered, a real arm. He needed to look sad in terms of facial features, but his expression needed to be of excitement. The problem was not noticing this but noticing it at the end of the process. My indignation is the fact that I didn't think about this during the drawing phase, distraction again.
After fixing these small mistakes, the process was very straightforward. The visuals are important, but the heart of the piece lies in the characters' stories, often delivered by gesture and expression. Not missing this point is critical.
Conclusion
There is no consistency or control at every level of creation; art does not respond to interests beyond the art itself. The best we can do is to be aware of the points we want to convey with our piece and do the best we can to address them, regardless of whether we feel bright or not. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, keep it simple and be extra critical if you feel particularly distracted.
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