Getting Cute
Learning a new visual language so I can talk to more art directors
I want to expand on the styles that I show potential clients in my portfolio, in hopes that I can prove my versatility and open myself up to working in more industries. In particular, I'm very interested in toys, animation, and video games. The visual language that I want to learn is cute/kawaii/children's designs (or for children at heart).
My goal isn't to be fluent in this language; I don't expect to be taken as a native speaker. People have been drawing cute things their whole lives and made it their personal style. My goal is just to be good enough that I could make my way around and not get lost, and ask for directions. "So are you looking for derpy or kawaii?"
First, I needed to immerse myself in the style.
It starts with doing research and gathering references. I went through a few websites of companies that do work out of Toronto and looked at what they offer, and I looked at the overall history of toy design, at some of the standout designs from years past. Not going into depth, just seeing what the top toys were from various times. This was mainly a visual search, with little reading except to get context and check what year something was made. These images were saved to a Pinterest board.
Once I had saved enough, it was time to move on to drawing.
I drew a bunch of these characters and toys, aiming to get an intuitive understanding of the proportions used. I focused on figuring out the basic building blocks these characters were made from.
(video of kids toys study)
![[Kids Toys Study.mp4]]
By far the hardest to draw was Rainbow Bright; she really has her own thing going on, and there is a surprising amount of detail in the character.
After getting a feel for what makes up these existing characters, it was time to move on to making my own.
Next, I chose a style that seemed very popular currently, and not just trendy popular, but seemed to have been around for a while and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I drew a selection of animals in that style. All the animals are ancient mammals, including: Siberian Unicorn, Long Llama, Giant Armadillo, Giant Ground Sloth, Saber-tooth Cat, and Dire Wolf.
When I first looked into this big-eyed North American style, I wasn't super drawn to it; I thought they looked a little too sickly sweet, like a sugar rush headache. But as I drew the animals, I found myself liking the style more... It grew on me. It's kind of like when you don't like a person, then you get to know them a little better and you realize that they are alright. This happened to me with the big-eyed style.
At a certain point, I asked a friend of mine who is an expert in toy design for some feedback, and she said that they needed to be more whimsical. So after thinking and doing more research, I did a mashup and made them into mystical plant creatures. By this I mean I combined each mammal with botanical elements to make a magical hybrid. You can see a sped-up video of the process below.
(Video of full drawing process)
![[Paleo Petals Full 1min.mp4]]
I feel really happy with how these turned out and ended up thinking that they would make cute stickers, so there is a sticker sheet up in my Etsy store. Do I feel like I'm an expert on "cute"? No, not by a long shot, but I do think it's a good start, and I feel a bit more on solid ground as I draw more kid-friendly things going forward.
I also felt a surprising amount of freedom drawing this way, because I could make whatever creature I wanted and didn't have to worry too much about making realistic details. It doesn't have to work in real life, it just needs to look magical and make you wonder what its life is like.
I think they look cute and friendly and just a little bit weird. Do you have a favourite? Mine is the Long Llama (the pink one).
Sticker Sheet
https://threeeyesshop.etsy.com/ca/listing/4367715417/sticker-set-paleo-petals-whimsical
Youtube speedpaint
https://youtu.be/L1VQdiZxZRI
Substack Link
https://open.substack.com/pub/threeeyesstudio/p/getting-cute?r=5tf9nf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true