Dimensional Warp Lines
Aug. 13th, 2003 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pasitheaSomewhere between cyborg 009 and the stereostrobic pictures Peganthyrus showed the other day, and re-reading Burne Hoggarth's 'Dynamic Figure Drawing', I learned something very important.
Burne Hoggarth cheated!
His books are all about defining forms with light and dark, volumes and mass. However, all of his sample work has sort of a hyperdimensionality to it. It seems more 3D than the actual world. Today I suddenly realized why. Contour lines! All of his 'construction lines' in the examples are also contour lines. They follow the forms and accent them sharply. The stylization of the characters in Cyborg 009 has this built into them. the swirl on the big-nosed character and the facial tattoo on the big guy, and the hair on cyborg 009 are all sort contour line objects hidden in the 'style' of the character. These features increase the dimensionality sharply.
So. Nifty. I'll haveta think about that when I'm designing characters and incorporate it into them. an armlet on a character can make a flat arm have depth. A scar above one eye can bring out the shape of the face, a zipper on a skin-tight bodysuit.... I'VE UNLOCKED THE SECRET OF ANIME!
Okay. I'm being goofy now but um. still. it was an interesting revealation to me. Also makes me feel that my policy of re-reading art books and switching styles from time to time is still working. :)
Burne Hoggarth cheated!
His books are all about defining forms with light and dark, volumes and mass. However, all of his sample work has sort of a hyperdimensionality to it. It seems more 3D than the actual world. Today I suddenly realized why. Contour lines! All of his 'construction lines' in the examples are also contour lines. They follow the forms and accent them sharply. The stylization of the characters in Cyborg 009 has this built into them. the swirl on the big-nosed character and the facial tattoo on the big guy, and the hair on cyborg 009 are all sort contour line objects hidden in the 'style' of the character. These features increase the dimensionality sharply.
So. Nifty. I'll haveta think about that when I'm designing characters and incorporate it into them. an armlet on a character can make a flat arm have depth. A scar above one eye can bring out the shape of the face, a zipper on a skin-tight bodysuit.... I'VE UNLOCKED THE SECRET OF ANIME!
Okay. I'm being goofy now but um. still. it was an interesting revealation to me. Also makes me feel that my policy of re-reading art books and switching styles from time to time is still working. :)
