Rainy Flowers

Of all the flowers out there, I'm pretty sure hydrangeas are my favorite. In Japan they're considered the symbols of the summer rainy season, and nothing makes me happier than seeing my town painted blue with hydrangeas.

Senior Film: Inspiration

I'm starting work on some art direction and character designs for my senior film (I'm not calling it by name yet since it's still pretty tentative), and the biggest concern I have with this project is "the look". I want to have a piece that's visually appealing, so if the story (or even the animation, although let's hope not..) doesn't strike anyone at least the visuals will. Also, I've been very fixated on expanding my horizons, so with this piece I want to go further than simply having unique character designs.

Having said all that, I had a real hard time getting actual references for the style I'm aiming for. I want a look that's sketchy and minimalistic but stylish. Since I'm anticipating having a lot of backgrounds, I figured that would be my most effective option. I also wanted to have a watercolor-y, picture book-esque thing going on. Finally, after much searching, here are some references:

http://www.swarovski.com/Web_US/en/magazine?contentid=10007.72260

This is pretty much the aesthetic I'm going for. I love the use of loose, flowing lines and vivid watercolors.

Besides that, the whimsical feeling of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is another good one. The flat but detailed backgrounds really appeal to me:



On top of that, I really like the feel of the art direction in Disney's 101 Dalmations. It's loose and sketchy, but very deliberate. It might seem sloppy, but a lot of care's gone into the backgrounds:

April showers bring May flowers

I know since we're fast approaching the end of May Spring is all but over, but the weather's still got that Spring freshness to it and Savannah's still in full bloom which helps me pretend the season will go on for a bit longer. The in-between seasons (fall and spring) are my favorite, and something about seeing all the flowers of spring makes me want to draw. I almost wish I pursued watercolors more just so I can go to the park and do some color sketches more. It's not the same with a laptop and wacom...







(Photos courtesy of Flickr. If only I could take such amazing pictures!)

Princess

I don't think I ever got over the fact that I'm not a princess.

Desserts

I've been wanting to use my blog as a place to keep note of all the little things that inspire me (read: things I like): cupcakes, pink, lace, ribbons, dresses, fairytales, all sorts of things. It's always hard to explain how these things work their way into my drawings, but I think it'll be a fun exercise for me to write them down. So for organization's sake, I'll be starting a series of posts called "Sara Loves" in which I'll describe my current obsession.

And what better personal obsession to start off with than desserts? I'm such a sucker for sweet things, and nothing gets me more excited than a beautiful batch of cupcakes and little desserts. They're so small and colorful, like little edible decorations... <3










If only there were a way I can eat them and keep them to look at, too...

Anime

I overlooked my blog yesterday in favor of my Digicel production blog, which completely wrecked my "post once a day" streak. Since school's started I don't have a lot of new sketches to show, and even if I do they're generally Digicel related so it's going up on that blog. Charapoo's Place will stay active and exciting though, I promise.

So today I've been thinking a lot about influences, specifically relating to character design. As part of an assignment I had to collect some images from artists who are good reference for character design. I immediately picked up artists like Chris Sanders, Jamie Hewlett, John K, etc. The weird thing is, I never even looked at western (non-anime) artists up until maybe a year or two ago, and now they're my main focus. In an effort to find a style that lends itself better to western animation, I'm looking at western artists.

I think I just want to take a moment to reflect on the biggest influences to my art, and remember why it appealed to me so much. I want to evolve as an artist but I also don't want to lose my roots, and I'm sometimes afraid I am.







Tanemura Arina is without a doubt my biggest influence, and what really got me drawing seriously. Like most shoujo styles, unique facial and body structure is replaced by a standard "attractive" template, but that's what I enjoy. Immense detail is put in the linework, the clothing design, etc, and her colors are subdued but effective.




I can't even express how much influence CLAMP circa Cardcaptor Sakura had on my drawings. The soft colors and cutesy expressions were one thing, but the detail in the character's costumes, etc ust blew me away.





Art from Honey and Clover by Umino Chika. She was definitely a later influence for me, but big nonetheless. Her use of colors is so appealing, and all her lines are sketchy but deliberate.

Schrek?

I started a production blog for my new DigiCel class, and one of our required entries is to make note of some animations that inspire us. I thought this was an interesting topic since I tend to look for inspiration elsewhere, like movies, music, what I see in real life, etc. I like taking something that isn't animated and turning it into something of my own that is. While I do look at animated films for inspiration, I don't do it as much as I should. I need to work on that.

Having said all that, I went to youtube and looked up some examples of animations that incorporate elements I find important, whether it be storytelling or visual. Here's what I came up with:


I can't talk about animations I look to for inspiration without mentioning anime. I grew up with it, and it's influenced me more than I can say. Anime can be limited in animation, but it focuses on aesthetic and design elements, which I find very important.





Dramatic storytelling isn't something I see often in mainstream American animation. To be marketable, films tend to be family friendly, simple in plot, and humorous. While the film itself wasn't a total success in this area, I still remember the chills I got watching this scene; it was dramatic, dark, mature, and different.



And for artsy film's sake, here is a part of this year's Oscar winner:



Again, this is film has a mature, heartfelt story with a strong visual style. It was successful without necessarily conforming to the Disney formula.

Rococo

Inspiration dump, Marie Antoinette/ Rococo France edition!






Fragonard <3



This shot is the essence of what I try to capture in my girly drawings: sexy, cute, and very classy.



Adorable 18th century French fashion: cute, feminine, but meant to seduce.



Glamorous princess fashion, Versailles luxury, and CAKES!! <3 <3 <3