How I Design Characters with Shapes (Frog Reveal)

Thought I would have a little fun with this one. I hope you like frogs.
Illustrating with shapes, not lines, my personal process of approaching art
Full time-lapse of my 2024 Drawtober Character Spread

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[hi_jellie]

"How are you going to have performance anxiety if you don't even know what you're going to make?"
This resonated so hard.

[tarabooartarmy]

I love the way the frogatar trembles when he speaks like he’s just so excited to share his knowledge with the world.

[aaromalvarez]

I dont know who you are and Im not even a 2D artist but that Frog is peak character design and Im staying just to see more Frogs

[VillainViran]

I can't remember her name for the life of me, but there's this japanese illustrator who was an office worker without an art background. In a few years she went pro thanks to something you mention early on. She'd have this vivid idea in her mind of a piece she wished she could paint, and would then break it down to all its elements. She'd take a week or two studying each of those elements, so that when it came time to making this actual piece, it felt way more approachable and easy.

[felixoesinghaus]

80% of the time I use the same 4 brushes: Hard round, semi-soft round, soft airbrush, textured chalkbrush.
On occasion there can be stuff like clouds, greenery etc. where the right custom brush can speed up the workflow a lot but they work the best if you use them sparingly.

[SavMortem]

Definitely been trying to lean into more of this sort of work flow. I find myself trying to go back to drawing sketches to start but having it not work out for me. I don't even like ending with linework or enjoy the process. Thank you for sharing your process, it's really nice to see how i could change my approach.

[lillypollack]

"Art school teaches line art" Yes! And it's always been a struggle for me because I think and work in shapes and colors. I feel so much more valid now. Thank you!

[DylanDecepticon]

The best way someone explained to me, is that some artists see in form, others see in lines. But we’re capable of learning both. It also seems helpful in getting over working destructively

[imanispence]

Honestly this approach of working via shapes over purely lines, is something I needed to hear. I've heard so many people tell me that the way you draw directly correlates with the painting, but my brain has always thought more in shape and flow than purely in line. So this was a very refreshing and a nice take on the conceptual process.

[Mmmmatcha]

I just started the video but omg the frog is so cute, two of my favorite things in cartoony character designs are pointy hats and little bowties I love it so much!!

[ArasMPectol]

Your art is so fuckin good and cool! im really just enamored with how you paint and how the shape and tri layer/shading is, for me next level.

[zoelikesfrogs]

Omg I have been summoned! Frog gang unite

[giulyanoviniciussanssilva]

I loved the reuse of pieces of old art or reusing the whole of a character for new works. I don't like to waste good concepts, just like a sculptor doesn't waste pieces, so I really appreciated that.

[diego-df]

Frog is awesome! 🐸
Thank you for sharing your process!

[pinxmon]

making "take that, stupid brain!" my new mantra when drawing to keep myself from getting too in my own head about a piece. Yeah man take hours do it the silly way have fun with it thats what arts all about

[otherme]

Your laziness is a type of professional I hope to achieve one day 😂 And maybe I can since I have the same struggles when it comes to drawing and I have to break down things to their basic shapes to make it work 😁 You have given me hope^^

[arknark]

I hope many people see this cause many people need this <3

[ckatzell]

This was really validating to watch. I spent a lot of time learning the fundamentals and learning to draw well because it's my belief that, especially as a beginner or intermediate artist, it's important to have a good base. However I never could wrap my head around building things up using basic construction methods so anytime I create something I start with the form and overall shape first but I've always been self-conscious about that. Almost 5 years later I still approach things the same way and it's nice to see someone so skilled say this way of doing things is valid.

[kaylabunting]

This is incredibly helpful and I would love to see more "how tos" on Procreate in your style!

[plausiblecoffee]

This video found it's way into my recommendations and I'm so happy it did. I've been struggling finding joy in making art and this video made me realize that maybe I've been stuck trying to make art that I dont actually enjoy making. The rendered anime style is what I've been trying to achieve but the whole process with sketch into line-art doesn't make sense to me. I naturally go towards more of a painterly style so the tecnique to start with blocking out big shapes and going from there seems really fun and more approachable.