Thursday, October 8, 2009

Big but Graceful


That was the assignment I posed to Bobby Chiu's chuistream audience last night: draw a character who is both Big but Graceful, and it brought out some impressive results, especially considering the very short amount of time everyone had to do the piece and submit it. In the end, I chose the drawing below by Charles Santoso. Here's my note to the folks who submitted ( also posted on chiustream): 
Bobby, 
I'm going to go with the majority here on this drawing signed Chao. I like a combination of things about it and the fact that it works on more than one level. It certainly fits the basics of the assignment" Big and Graceful". Like many of the submissions, (including my own) there is a character delicately balanced on one foot. I think it's interesting and maybe a little alarming how many of us went to that exact idea. It's a good lesson for us all to try and think of an unusual way into an assignment and hopefully come up with a solution that no one else has. That said, the drawing here has a beautiful sense of volume, weight and at the same time, delicacy. I am also impressed by the added emotional layer in the way the face is drawn. There is grace there as well. When creating a character it's crucial that we consider not only what it looks like but also how it "feels". What emotion does the design evoke from the viewer? After all, the face will be the most important aspect of your design- it is what the audience will need to relate to most. 
Congratulations to all on doing such great work in so little time. And also congratulations to the two runners up. Great job, folks!
Good luck to all of you.
all the best,
Peter
On my last post, I also neglected to say that there was a prize for the competition, which was my own answer to the assignment which you can see above. I hope you like it, Mr. Chao.

18 comments:

  1. Great interview and sweet drawing! Thanks!

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  2. Missed the Chuistream, but glad to see the results. Great sketches...both you and Mr. Chao.

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  3. What a lucky guy! Thank you Peter for doing this, it was really great to hear your insight on things, very inspiring for sure!

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  4. Loving your art... from Barcelona! :)
    Cheers!

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  5. I loved listening last night! It was 4am where I was but I wanted to watch live. Nice interview!!

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  6. Thank you so much for choosing my work, Peter. I'm so honoured! :D

    Look forward to receiving your original.. it's beautifull!!!

    All the best! Can't wait to order your new books too :D

    Best regards,
    Charles Santoso (Chao)

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  7. Great interview, it was amazing to hear your thoughts about art and about being an artist. It was really inspiring!

    Best regards from Brazil. :-)

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  8. Hello from Argentina!
    Your sketches mean to me more than you may ever guess; they made me go back to my pencils after ten years of digital. Picasso said that drawing was the most fun one could have with one's clothes on. As for me, that's absolutely true.

    Good things,

    Marcelo

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  9. Peter, it was so wonderful hearing your honest statements made in your interview. So many things rang true, and certainly questions were answered that I've always wanted to hear.

    Also, very lucky guy to get that beautiful sketch! Such volume and dimension!

    Can't wait for CTN in November!

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  10. yes- this was a great interview - now I'm looking forward to the one on Sidebar coming out. :)

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  11. Thanks for sharing with the group of us. It was a fun topic to draw! Good luck with the book release, and future work!

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  12. LOVE the big guy... such rubbery wonderful rhythm. you are truly prolific! Sorry we weren't able to hang out in NY~ next time!

    Craig Elliott Gallery

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