Lilia's Room by Rhea

Fairy Turnaround

Writing Effective Character Description

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/11-secrets-to-writing-effective-character-description

1. Description that relies solely on physical attributes too often turns into what Janet Burroway calls the “all-points bulletin.”

It reads something like this: “My father is a tall, middle-aged man of average build. He has green eyes and brown hair and usually wears khakis and oxford shirts.”

This description is so mundane, it barely qualifies as an “all-points bulletin.” Can you imagine the police searching for this suspect? No identifying marks, no scars or tattoos, nothing to distinguish him. He appears as a cardboard cutout rather than as a living, breathing character. Yes, the details are accurate, but they don’t call forth vivid images. We can barely make out this character’s form; how can we be expected to remember him?

When we describe a character, factual information alone is not sufficient, no matter how accurate it might be. The details must appeal to our senses. Phrases that merely label (like tall, middle-aged, and average) bring no clear image to our minds. Since most people form their first impression of someone through visual clues, it makes sense to describe our characters using visual images. Green eyes is a beginning, but it doesn’t go far enough. Are they pale green or dark green? Even a simple adjective can strengthen a detail. If the adjective also suggests a metaphor—forest green, pea green, or emerald green—the reader not only begins to make associations (positive or negative) but also visualizes in her mind’s eye the vehicle of the metaphor—forest trees, peas, or glittering gems.

3. Strengthen physical descriptions by making details more specific.

In my earlier “all-points bulletin” example, the description of the father’s hair might be improved with a detail such as “a military buzz-cut, prickly to the touch” or “the aging hippie’s last chance—a long ponytail striated with gray.” Either of these descriptions would paint a stronger picture than the bland phrase brown hair. In the same way, his oxford shirt could become “a white oxford button-down that he’d steam-pleated just minutes before” or “the same style of baby blue oxford he’d worn since prep school, rolled carelessly at the elbows.” These descriptions not only bring forth images, they also suggest the background and the personality of the father.

7. Characters reveal their inner lives—their preoccupations, values, lifestyles, likes and dislikes, fears and aspirations—by the objects that fill their hands, houses, offices, cars, suitcases, grocery carts, and dreams.

In the opening scenes of the film The Big Chill, we’re introduced to the main characters by watching them unpack the bags they’ve brought for a weekend trip to a mutual friend’s funeral. One character has packed enough pills to stock a drugstore; another has packed a calculator; still another, several packages of condoms. Before a word is spoken—even before we know anyone’s name—we catch glimpses of the characters’ lives through the objects that define them.

What items would your character pack for a weekend away? What would she use for luggage? A leather valise with a gold monogram on the handle? An old accordion case with decals from every theme park she’s visited? A duffel bag? Make a list of everything your character would pack: a “Save the Whales” T-shirt; a white cotton nursing bra, size 36D; a breast pump; a Mickey Mouse alarm clock; a photograph of her husband rocking a child to sleep; a can of Mace; three Hershey bars.

Less to more

Female body turn around

turbo scanner

TurboScan Free: document & receipt scanner - scan multiple pages and photos to PDF by Piksoft Inc.
https://appsto.re/us/7GRP8.i

If you phone doesn't work with this app, please let me know. I can find another scanner app. Thanks.

Would you mind trying ths scanner app when you are free?

Drawings by Chris

daily doodle by Chris

Rhea, would you be interested in joining Chris?

Live Drawing 8-5-16

Reference photo for turn around

When drawing from life , either your subject or you will move, forcing you to think about the subject in three dimensions rather than a single viewpoint. 

Quote Originally Posted by Farvus View Post
I think the most healthy way of using reference was explained by Ian McCaig. It's a three step process:

First you do imagination drawing without any reference and try to capture the flavour of what you have in your mind. In second step you sit down and find something that looks like this in real life and do tons of studies from photographs or models. In third step you draw your idea without reference again but this time with all the details you remember from the studies.

It's beacause if you copy your reference onto your sketch, you don't process any information any you're limited by what you have on your photo. I also think it's more progressive because with studies and testing your memory your visual library is getting richer and you can make something even better in next project.


Read more: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php/130468-Using-photo-reference-correctly#ixzz4GR2ZWbbn

Where is weight?

Life drawing --stick figures

You can try stick figures if people move fast.

Life drawing

Are you still working on your life drawing sessions?
Try to focus on proportion and line of action first.