Originally, I planned to blog about something else this week because I wasn't sure if I'd be ready to do another Pixie and Yeti post, but then the project I was going to blog about didn't come together in time. So I'm going to talk a little about the process of designing Yeti.
The first yeti I ever drew was in October '15 during my first Inktober. I drew this guy and called him a Dog-earred yeti.
The first yeti I ever drew was in October '15 during my first Inktober. I drew this guy and called him a Dog-earred yeti.
After that, the idea of re-imagined and unique yetis interested me, so I played around with adding different feature to see how that would change the character. I drew this one, who I think of as an Owl faced yeti, a sort of mysterious, forest guardian, perhaps.
Around the same time, back in Spring of '15 I believe, Lauren and I were discussing the idea of changing the collaborative project we'd been working on to a picture book. As we thought about possible characters, I suggested yetis, because I had some past experience with them. I started playing around with making a warm, friendly yeti character for our story.
After a few attempts, I arrived on this design.
Time passed, life got crazy, and Lauren and I put our picture book project on hold. Then, a few months ago, once we'd decide to start working on it again, I start really refining Yeti's design.
Drawing him in profile is a challenge. I still haven't got that totally figure out yet. :-/
His face shape change a little to give it more dimension (and cuteness!). I also realized that adding fur was very important to making the character feel like Yeti.
Which brings us to where we are now.
I still don't have everything about Yeti figured out yet. I'm still not sure how he looks from the profile or behind. I need to make sure I can draw him in any pose our story calls for. I'm also not sure if he has any name beyond Yeti. But the basic elements of his character are there; large, egg-shaped body, deer antlers, droopy goat ears, furry. I picture his personality as being quiet, contemplative, and a bit wary of things that seem new or scary. He also loves cheese. :-)
Thanks for letting me share Yeti's design journey with you! Unless anything unexpected happens, I plan on talking about Pixie next week.
onward and upward,
Bethany
Seeing this process is really interesting!! It's fascinating how much some parts have changed and what other parts have remained consistent. I agree totes agree with the need for fur. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, vermontsnowboarder! Yeti's design has been a lot of fun to work with. He's definitely one of my favorite characters to draw! ^_^
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