For almost a year I’ve been slowly working on a personal project, sort of a mini-comic book. I’ve got the story written and the layouts thumbnailed, but I’ve been wrestling for a long time trying to find the right look for the main character. I spent a good part of yesterday playing around some more with the “retro” style. I still have a long way to go, but I think my brain is starting to grasp the concept.

It is very important that the main character be a likeable “everyman”, and I think I’m getting warmer. I invite any and all to post a comment and let me know if you like (or don’t like) any of these designs.

Also, Hitler makes a brief appearance in the story so I did a quick doodle of him. (How’s that for a teaser?)

I’ve always been impressed with artists who can draw in the “retro” style, which emphasizes bold designs and flat, graphic shapes as opposed to a sculpted, three-dimensional, “realistic” cartoon rendering. Think Powerpuff Girls or Dexter’s Labratory rather than The Lion King. It’s a “less is more” way of thinking, bold and deceptively simple. It’s a hard style for me to wrap my brain around, but I’m trying.

Here’s a few weak attempts I made over the weekend. I started by sketching a guy on a napkin at Applebee’s, and once I got home I used my memory of him as a springboard for some of the other sketches.

I’m not a sports fan. In fact, athletic events bore me to tears. But last night my wife rented “Coach Carter” starring Samuel Jackson, and I have to admit it’s a pretty good flick. It’s based on the real-life story of an inner city basketball coach who insisted that grades and character come before athletics. Carter made national headlines when, after a streak of winning games, he locked his team out of the gym and refused to let them practice or play until they brought their grades up.

What really surprised me was the reaction of the parents and community to Carter’s decision. They didn’t seem to care if the kids were failing math, but they were furious when they weren’t allowed to play ball. Apparantly the mindset is, “The odds are stacked so high against my kid that he has no chance for a future, so it’s cruel to even get his hopes up. At least let him enjoy some basketball before he drops out and winds up in prison.” No wonder the inner city is so messed up. It’s a mindset of total hopelessness.

There were a lot of good messages in this movie. Tough love and discipline can push kids farther than they think they can go. Anyone can have self-respect, but they have to earn it. Our decisions shape who we become. But most of all, the film made me thankful for all the opportunities, encouragement, and positive role models I was blessed with as I struggled through my teen years. Otherwise, who knows where I’d be today?

A late night doodle I was fairly happy with…

This morning I was supposed to be the sketch artist for a local murder trial. But after we waited all morning, the judge announced that the trial had been postponed. So before leaving downtown St. Paul I decided to grab some lunch and sketch some of the local city life. It was wonderful! It’s been a long time since I got out of my studio to sketch just for fun. I also realized my life drawing skills are getting pretty rusty. I need to draw from life more often, it’s great exercise! Usually you only have a minute or two before the subject shifts position or walks away. It forces you to be fast and accurate.

As I sketched, suddenly I realized I only had six blank pages left in my sketchbook! At any given time I have about 5 or 6 different sketchbooks going, so it’s a big deal when I finally finish one off. The sketch on page 1 is dated 12/13/03, so it took me almost two years to sketch 192 pages. Hopefully I’ve improved.

Below are some of the sketches I did today. (The waitress must have liked them, she brought me free french fries!) Another sketchbook completed!