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©2005-2009 ~tigrin
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Submitted: November 16, 2005
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So I'm home sick for a few days with practically every kick in the mental and physical system possible. I dedicated today to taking antibiotics and writing up this tutorial, as I promised I would at some point. Really this is more of an essay than a tutorial, so be prepared to read a lot of text.

Summary: This tutorial details how to make characters more believable through observation and careful study of the character being portrayed. This tutorial covers topics such as how to see, what to consider when creating emotion in your characters, and what to consider when using body language to communicate emotion.

This tutorial is not a how to. I am not trying to tell you how to draw every emotion out there. The emphasis of this tutorial is applying YOUR OWN way of seeing the world and how you experience a character to your art. I'm just explaining what I take into consideration when I draw my characters, and what I think about when drawing their emotions. My approach is highly inspired by Glen Keane (my animation god), so I've included an excerpt and some of his drawings to illustrate my point. Though i approach this largely from a sort of animator-y standpoint, this can be applied to any kind of creative work that involves characters.

Further Readings/Works Cited:
Glen Keane Gallery - Part of Aimee Major's site, where quite a few of the sketches came from.
Interview with Glen Keane - the interview (also from Aimee's site) where the excerpt is from
Treasure Planet: A Voyage of Discovery - where I scanned Glen's Treasure Planet sketches from. This is an incredible book in general if you have any interest in animation and characterization. There are a ton of articles and artwork in this book about the characters, and it's amazing and inspiring what the artists put into them.
The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expressions - Haven't read this one myself, but I've looked through it. Has a lot of examples of how subtle changes can make a huge difference in what a facial expression is suggesting. very detailed.
The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues - rather interesting site I stumbled upon today through a google search... has quite an extensive number of entries on different body language cues, as well as differences in cultures and media references. kind of weird, but an interesting resource.

err yeah. about it. hopefully someone finds this interesting at least. ^^;
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wow, i...this is awsome :D very well thought-out

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[link]
O.O Glen Keane Link goodness! ^_^ Ive been looking for some good Glen Keane stuff to read. XD

I think this could come in handy sometime. XD Thanks for writing it up.
you did a very nice job on this, kudos. I enjoyed reading through and seeing the interview parts from Keane, and of course your own perspectives on it. :+fav:

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It's not so bad here, underwater
once you get past the fear
been down for days
will you pull me up again?

.LiveJournal.
This is very good and very in-depth. I had a lot of fun reading it and it was actually really captivating and very helpful, not to mention informational. You know what you're talking about obviously! I also loved reading the tidbits on your characters; I found out some stuff I didnt already know. Awesome! And hope you feel better, babe. :)
-faves- I am learning so much from you Tigrin sensei X3

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Gone
Very nice read, very helpful, even for people who've been doing this stuff for a good number of years. :) (or maybe I'm just dumb)

I got to read it while I was kicked out of my computer class. =P Aka 3rd Grade Computers for Idiots. Apparantly you can still get kicked out of class in college. :shakefist:

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i pull wings off of fairies. :aww:
Viva la manada. :salute:

+Karen
It's great, just the kind of thing I've been wanting to see...

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Your friendly neighborhood crazy<3
Awesome piece of information there!
I found this very useful. So many things I've never thought of. Like the thing that it'd be a good thing to think what the character in question would think in different situations when drawing him.
I usually don't have the energy to read this long tutorials since English isn't my mother tongue but yours was written in a way that really made me want to read everything you had to tell us. The tutorial was also written so that I could understand what you meant, you explained everything you said so well. :D

I'll need to start carrying a small sketchbook with me so that I can draw quick real life sketches every now and then when I have time.

Well done tutorial!
interesting article you did ! it would be more interesting if i translate it in french :)

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if the evil is really in this world, it lies in the heart of humanity.

Edward D. Marrison from "Tales of Phantasia" on super nes
Wow, this is very informative! I'm definately gonna hold onto this, and check out those links. :3

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