Weekend and a drawing

[pandonkey]

I was working on a post about the weekend yesterday, but lost it. So let me sum up:

Hiking on a cold sunny day: good!
Silence in the woods: good!
Delicious new herbed chicken recipe: good!
Productive weekend: good!

The problem with weddings is that no matter how pure your original intentions, they always end up becoming girly. I have a pearl necklace now (gift from Doug), and...a tiara. A freaking TIARA. I bought it on ebay. MYSELF.

What is wrong with me?!

The trouble began when I tried on dresses for the first time the week before last. Something in me must've snapped. It wasn't even the "bridal assistant" putting the tiara and veil on to complete the outfit -- the dress I was wearing at the time looked ridiculous, and I'm definitely not wearing a veil because I think it makes me look like an idiot. But, uh, the tiara was little white flowers and it actually looked kind of nice with dark brown hair and uh ... they got me. But I was still strong enough not to even consider paying $70 for one from a real bridal shop. So I bought mine on ebay for fifteen bucks!

Anyway, for extra lame, I drew a picture of a little girl holding a unicorn. This is an offshoot of a vague character/story idea that's been rattling around in my head for awhile. The girl's eleven and lives in a trailer park. The unicorn's...small.

The face isn't even close to being right -- I hate it almost as much as the first version, which was much too large and featured a bright, manic smile. This version of the girl just looks like a deformed teen model.





Any advice about this (especially the horrible, horrible face) would be appreciated. Oh -- and the pants are intentionally too short. She's wearing outgrown hand-me-downs.

Comments

[lynxkitten.livejournal.com]

I think the major issue is that her face is held at kinda an odd angle from her body - it seems kinda stuck on her neck. That, and her head and neck seem a little large for the rest of her body. I have severe trouble with that, myself, as well - a person's shoulders are usually three-head-widths wide, and the body tends to be six to seven head-lengths to be in proportion, I think. I'd have to re-consult my anatomy book to be sure, though.

I'm not much favored toward drawing people. :p They're always so annoying...

Maybe look for photo reference online? the rest of her body looks all right (other than her forearm looks a scoch too thin). The unicorn's adorable :)

[pandonkey.livejournal.com]

Yes, I shrunk the head down a bit on the re-draw, but as you can see, not quite enough. :) And I think you're right about the neck angle...

As for reference pictures, I hauled out a collection of stock photos I have and used pics from that, but obviously I didn't rely on it quite closely enough. I was trying to avoid copying any of the photos too closely. I think I need to sketch a few of the faces from the photos, just on their own, before making an attempt at this one again.

And hey, drawing people is fun! Especially the feet. Gotta love drawing feet -- they're such an intriguing shape. Anyway, hopefully I'll have a newer version of this up sooner rather than later, so watch out for the contiiiiiiiinuing stooooooory!

[shenryyr.livejournal.com]

corny!
*hop*

[pandonkey.livejournal.com]

Y'know, now that you mention it...he DOES look like Corny. I never realized before where that mental image had its roots. :)