People I'd like to draw in a sketch class, that is. Cartoonist require different types of models than easel painters. I'll try to touch on a couple of types here.
I'll start with the obvious: the all-time best male model for a cartoonists model drawing session would have been Don Knotts (above).
In his prime the man was incapable of taking a bad pose. He would have made a great John Q. Public.
Some sessions with an Arnold-type body builder would be fun.
Lately I've become interested in off-balance poses. I don't think it would hurt cartoonists to become aware of some of them.
Here's (above) a wonderful standing pose. The model's leaning against something but I prefer to think that it's her natural stand-up-straight pose, sans props. That slight off-balance look...that's the way cartoony people should look even when they're not leaning.
Well,
some cartoony people.
It works on guys (above), too. Lots of people look better with a slight list.
Fortunately the world abounds with good face models. Here's (above) a young Hitler lookalike, only it looks better on this guy than it did on Hitler. Geez, it's weird! I wonder what girls think of it?
Boy, take a look at that right leg! A smooth, curved line from the neck down to the tip of the shoe. I think cartoonists need to know about that, don't you?
Holy Mackerel!!!!!! Some women have nice legs! Um...somebody put this girl on the model list.
I got an idea while looking at this...that business offices should have some rooms higher than others and have glass sections to show off pretty legs to greatest advantage. Nothing too revealing, nothing that would make women feel uncomfortable...just something...funny and nice.
An added advantage of that setup would be the glimpse we'd get into the offices (above) slightly below. What we'd see would be bunch of disembodied heads scapering around the floor.
But I digress. We're talking about people we'd like to draw.
This (above) would be a terrific model for cartoonists. The planes and shapes and volumes are all so funny and interesting. For a model like this, most of the session should be draped.
Of course cartoonists also need to draw undraped models like this one (above), who have clean, clear curves. Sorry for the airbrushing.
Such a model no doubt posed for this Barks drawing. Nice, huh?
2 comments:
I've never drawn Don Knotts before, but look at those distinct features on his face! You can't get anymore specific than that if you want to move away from stock characters and poses.
Do you know why there aren't too many adult cartoons that attempt to incorporate funny drawing to enhance the dialog? I have an amazing cartoon idea in my mind that could possibly revolutionize adult cartoons altogether, and combine funny drawing with smart, intellectual, adult comedy, kind of like on shows like Louie and Wilfred, if you've been watching FX every Thursday night.
Rowan Atkinson would be another ideal model for a cartoonist. He's the triple whammy: expressions, poses and movements. You can learn a lot about comic acting just from studying the difference between his portrayal of Blackadder and Mr Bean.
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