The pencil sketches above were the first steps in developing a design for a creature that is halfway between a human and a raccoon. I surrounded myself with photos and drawings of both and experimented with different ways to draw the mask and to place the ears. Each sketch is a little different, and it takes a lot of variations until one jumps out as the winner.
The final painting was used on a paperback cover for a science fiction novel called The Architect of Sleep by Steven R. BoyettRelated posts on “Apophenia and Pariedolia, and Animal Characters.
That's a cool sequence of drawings. The character has a lot of pathos. It makes me want to draw comic books again!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job on the Raccoon Man. You really did choose the best solution. I might show this to my fifth graders. I was telling them why we sketch -- because our first idea is not usually the best idea.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of anthropomorphic drawing. One of my favorite comics is Usagi Yojimbo (Rabbit Bodyguard) by Stan Sakai.
That was very interesting to see this series and how much differences a few changes make.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of covers I recently had a bit of a "revelation" when I realised you did the cover for one of my all time favourite books!
ReplyDelete"The Stress of Her Regard" by Tim Powers.
It's a small world really! I had been talking to Tim and wanted to illustrate a scene from this book, but I had misplaced my copy and he sent me that hardcover with your art on it!
By the way, I am now getting excited about the 4th of Oct! I hope we can get to chat for a few minutes!