Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Kid

Nothing profound today, I just wanted to post some drawings of the Cosmic Kid I did recently for a little side project (not the Scholastic edition--I'm told that's already off to the printer!).






I really enjoy drawing this character--unlike Cap Crater, whom I enjoy drawing less because I made some--well, I don't want to say "poor decisions," but let's say "less than optimal choices"--when I designed him. The Cosmic Kid is always expressive, energetic, and has different shapes and textures in his uniform for me to play with. I like drawing his gray undershirt and leather boots. I like drawing his Saturn emblem. It's always fun to revisit him.

WHTTWOT was recent enough that I can always dash off a Cap Crater or Cosmic Kid without reference. If I had to draw any other characters from the book, I'd probably take a quick look just to remind myself how I drew them. Sketching the characters from Mom's Cancer, as I recently did when signing books at the Medical Examinations Conference at UC Riverside, is more challenging both because I haven't drawn them in a while and I don't exactly draw like that anymore. No one else would notice the difference (I trust), but I kind of have to rewind my brain and think, "how would I have drawn them then?" In fact, embarrassing secret: before the Riverside signing I practiced so that I could casually dash off a sketch like it was no big thing. I worked at that.

There's another good reason to put a lot of thought and care into designing your comics characters: you may be living with them much longer than you think.

2 comments:

Jim O'Kane said...

Pondering the image of Dr. Xandra on my wall, my guess is that your favorite parts of drawing that character are the giant blouse buttons, his cheekbones, and the separation of the bib from the top of the shirt.

P.S. even though I might not comment, I'm reading the posts - great series!

Brian Fies said...

And goggles. Accessories make the outfit!