The pen adds ten pounds

Since I was kid, and even now, Norman Rockwell was a large influence in my artistic life. I always found it fascinating that certain artist could replicate a scene with near photographic fidelity but Mr. Rockwell captured the emotion, character, and frankness that others missed. I’ve always tried to increase my skills and abilities in perspective, proportion, depth, light, color, etc… but if I don’t practice with character, it seems a lot of that other stuff is just wasted. That’s why once a week or so, I’ll find a random photo and try to capture the character of that person.

Lately it’s been women, not because I’m trying to send a message, but because when you spend your entire teenaged and young adult life drawing inhuman muscle bound, superhero men, you wake up one day and realize that you don’t have a clue how to draw a woman that doesn’t look like a muscle bound superhero man.

So, here are, what I can only call, attempts at female characterization.


Rachel McAdams - in a Steve Purcell style: Large disconnected Anim eyes, the pipe like limbs, exaggerated forms and the sculpted 3d-ish hair give it all its always happy style.


Olivia Munn - Our half Asian, techno-host in classic comic book style: emphasis on the flat, almost unremarkable qualities, avoiding exaggerated form to bring attention to the seriousness of whatever dark story this graphic novel would bring us.

Of course both sketches have relatively the same lips and nose. This is because I'm still struggling with deviating those parts without cursing the poor thing with man-features. Again, my years of superhero misadventures are fighting against me.