My Life in Advertising Schober

                My project is entitled, Life from a Pencil. It was done first on marker paper in pencils, and then was transformed into a digital medium. I used Illustrator to trace the middle character with the pen tool, and the surrounding sketches were scanned in and tinted blue. The project will be both digital and print. The subject is myself. I created myself as a Disney style character, to stand in the middle of the composition. The secondary subjects are sketches of my character in poses doing activities I enjoy. I scanned in my signature, but morphed it into a custom font I created in Illustrator.

                The composition of the piece takes its inspiration from Disney character profiles from the animator. There is usually a main, completed and colored drawing of the character, followed by the character’s name below, surrounded by unfinished sketches of the character in poses found from the movie. These unfinished sketches bring focus and life to the main character. I also decided to make the name of my character go from sketch pencil to finished vector lines, to signify the process and skill behind the finished work. The sketches themselves proudly display their geometric beginnings, showing circles and cross-sections that brought them to life.

                This work has everything to do with me. Ever since I was little I have loved Disney movies, but as I got older I realized I loved them for the artwork, effort, and skill that goes into creating each character. I love seeing the drafts of characters, in pencil or charcoal, unfinished or in progress, messy and not filled in, where you can see the cross sections and shapes they make up each character. For me, it’s almost like seeing a baby picture of a good friend.  You are able to see the creation of life. This is similar to what I have seen from my classmates. We are all drawing from something that makes us who we are.

                Glen Keane is my hero. He created most of the classic Disney characters I love. He created Tarzan, Ariel, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Beast, and most recently, Rapunzel. I love his messy but deliberate style, that every line has a meaning, and the level of detail he commits to. The fact that he drew Rapunzel, who ended up being entirely CGI, is also remarkable that both artist and computer can capture a character’s essence together.  I tried to model my character off what I have seen from Keane’s work, as he draws with shapes and lines and a blue pencil. It is not perfect, but then, I want to stay true to my own style as well. The character my not resemble me, but I learned very quickly that the realistic features that give one a uniquely individual look are not suited well to character drawing.

               My intent was to show through my drawing who I am. I added activities I enjoy to show people who do not know me about my life, but in reality, the pencil sketch is who I am. I am a pencil on paper. The lines are me. My final project is not flashy or colorful, but I think I was successful in what I wanted to convey.