Sometimes the first sketch is not the best solution
If we truly believe that our first attempt for a specific art piece is the only way to make that piece then we have robbed ourselves the advancement of that thought in its potentially refined form.
First Sketch
With my niece’s Easter holiday card, I set about a rocking holiday theme. My first reaction was to have a rabbit in a tense pose with hands held up in a rocker pose; however, the combination of the pose and the hand gesture looked too much like a former president. That may have been funny for something, but not for this card.
Second Sketch
The second study worked with a pose of an iconic rocker standing in front of a large speaker. To accompany the large stage speaker, the rockstar rabbit needed an instrument like a rocking guitar. The guitar could not just be a basic model, it had to have carrot-er…uh-hem, character. The basic carrot shape accessorized with guitar hardware was the iconic solution. Yet, the carrot guitar was static. The rabbit’s actions was also a bit stale lacking any refined and animated charisma.
Maybe it was the pose, or the style, the lack of charming details that did not visually drive this thought through.
Third Sketch
Pushing the second study added more drama with detail in the legs, the guitar resting on the knee and the secondary physical reactions with the carrot greens draping over the leg and the leg muscle squished under the instrument’s weight. The ears suggest a head motion and the earring adds an additional character detail. My previous rabbit sketches lacked the iconic animal cues: you cannot draw a rabbit without the two front teeth and whiskers. Why did I forget those important animal features? Cartoon characters sometimes have disproportioned body parts. The larger head supplements the cartoon story. Additional contextual play happened when the sunglass’ lens became decorated eggs. Still, the guitar lacked visual energy adding to and unifying the illustration.
Did I forget the large speaker? I may have but the rabbit exploratory study was the focus. Should I keep it?
Fourth Sketch
Cartoons’ strength comes from its exaggeration. The arched back and the hyper-extended leg pushed the body to rest on the other leg’s knee. The body’s pose and tension develops by the top portion twisting toward the viewer while the lower half appears to rotate away. In the canvas’ confine, the ears fill the space below the head with an opposite gesture of the guitar held at an angle above the rabbit with the pick hand reaching for the sky.
Fifth Sketch
Ideas work well in pencil, but the details that support them may fall apart when the marker’s heavier marking defines the contour. I also explored a bigger guitar but that sacrificed the clever contextual details such as the egg-glasses and the earring. Though the larger guitar direction messed the composition, exploring the carrot structure helped define it with a greater exaggeration exercise through developing the segments. The most important additional discovery was the pick hand–the previous sketches washed over the finger gestures that needed to be more refined. This hand emphasizes the feature of the gesture’s energy and action.
Final Sketch
Since this is a card, a message has to be incorporated into the composition. Placing text adds elements and they should work by supporting the story through interaction. This play can happen with spatial development and reactions such as overlaps and scale. The rabbit stands on the word “Rocks.” To amplify the weight through tension, the letters O and C respond by size.
The inclusion of text changed the composition, which means adjustments for the subject–the bunny. The guitar returns to a smaller size and the bunny has a tighter body form but returning to a larger head. And, I had to let go of the large stage speaker.
Settling on your first sketch may inhibit you from exploring the other compositional possibilities that could enhance your idea. Through exploring by several practices, the idea becomes more developed with reconsidered proportions, line placement and story details that can refine the image. However I do not dismiss that you may discover the first sketch was the best idea and you would only know that by working on other options. Do not be afraid to experiment as more developments may come from it.