2D Reto-style drawing

Good Character!

A few tweaks will make it even better....

Use the clothes over the body (torso, arms. legs, etc. ) to describe the forms that are underneath.

The line along her left side of her chest should show a delineation of her chest, breast and her sleeve.

Try to put as much silhouette in the pose as possible.

Design the pattern on her hip-huggers (now known as capri pants) so that the black spots differ in size and shape.

Again, a really good design to begin with...

Thanks,

thanks for all your comments but i find it hard 2 keep up with ure "technical" jargon no offence i'm only an amateur 17 year old.i don't know how 2 improve from this but will use graphiteman's desgin as a starting point.

I am on a Mac so I do not know if you can do this but I have all three images on my desktop side by side. If you do this you will notice that they are using the same basic technik. They have a simple underling geometry, look at the head. You should also check out the arc lines that runs from the head to the feet.

Maybe keeping you drawing as rough line work, untill you start seeing what you are looking, help you in your work. It is just a thought. keep drawning

Echi,
The older I get and the more I learn about character design, the less I divide them up into separate camps. To me, there is really no such thing as “Retro” design as there was a style that was popular at a certain time that was very graphically influenced. (Earlier in cartoon illustration than animation). Yet there are many common design elements found in the “flat” graphic influenced styles and the round 3d centreline school-of-design. In both, tapering lines are common. Your lines are very parallel. Curves against angles linearly can be common to both styles as are flats against curves. Avoiding Tangents are a biggie to both approaches. One can draw hands chunky but by varying the fingers in length you will avoid this in her left.
“Retro” design indeed has a structure albeit 2d geometrical (i.e: circular as opposed to spherical, for one.) Line of action always remains important. Looking at my favourite cartoons of that era I’ve come to the conclusion that while it is not trying to imitate 3d solidity that they are abstractions of 3d; the artists know what they are representing by the stylization. Both schools always have 2d clarity and silhouetting. The thing I might change about mine is experiment as you have done with a straight line for her belt line and bottom of her tank top. I think a simple thing like adding tapers to your gal will make a difference...and don't abandon structure.
I don’t know the Hart book but seeing that so many elements are indeed the same I recommend good ol’ Preston Blair. His page on design in his second book says it all. If you can draw like him, you will understand what is being stylized and abstracted.

Good one Graphiteman,

I really like YOUR design...I was just trying to show the forms underneath.

Ver cool stuff...

Good one Graphiteman,

I really like YOUR design...I was just trying to show the forms underneath.

Ver cool stuff...

Thank you, Larry.
Yeh..my approach was a quick 'n' dirty redesign.....could spend longer noodling around with it though.

Echi, I hope you have cut and pasted those pictures to your computer. I am feeling a littler better about spending more time working on primitives, seeing Larry L., Graphiteman and your work side by side is helpful to me.

Hey good start!

If you want to really getting it fine tuned, import your drawing into macromedia flash, trace it in with the line tool, convert the lines to fills, and then start to thicken and thin out your lines.

If you havent got Flash, download a free trial.

Good Luck!

I dont know aboout Flash - but you sure need to vectorize it - it will do wonders to the style. Question - what's retro about it?

http://www.royiddan.carbonmade.com

http://www.aniboom.com/Player.aspx?v=1455

Seems a lot like Kim Possible to me, which wouldn't be really retro.