I’ve been studying construction, mainly head construction. It’s been a guilty pleasure since I know I should be spending more of my drawing time on figure drawings. However I can say that I’m still learning some useful concepts through studying cartoony drawings.
Using Tex Avery as a reference, I’ve been copying his mouse character through construction. Which means that I start with simple shapes and lines and slowly draw in the details. With enough practice, this method ensures a consistency in character design.
Proportion is important because Walt Disney’s Pinocchio is essentially constructed the same way Warner Bros. Porky Pig or Elmer Fudd is constructed (big cranium, petite jaw). There are dozens of examples of characters who retain the same essential makeup but differ only in proportion and detail.
I read a lesson from John Kricfalusi’s curriculum, and he stressed the importance of checking your copies. That even small differences in proportion make an enormous change in the look of something. John says that if I copy something, I have to get it as close to the original as possible. Accuracy is key. This is where training my eye is important. As an animator, I need to train my eye to be able to later spot minute differences frame-by-frame.
I scanned in some drawings that I drew of Tex Avery’s mouse. And then overlaid the original drawings above. I was able to spot many areas of the drawings that need to be corrected. Training the eye is important as an animator. Guaranteeing the fidelity of my drawings through consistent practice is definitely something that will take a bit of time.
