Inspiration!
Here are two pics that are far-and-away the mental examples I’m using for inspiration. Notice the shading — it is done with such a simple beauty. This is the direction I want to go next. I have plenty of character sketches to work with — I want to emulate these styles in bringing forth my work. By the end of the week — look for something. It will be hard to wait, I know.
The first one is by artist Monica Calvo [blog]. She has a lot of other great pieces up on her site, all slightly varying in style. The picture I posted above is definately my favorite. I discovered her work through browsing “Veerle’s blog 2.0“, which is an incredibly designed graphics/design blog. I’ll probably devote a post to the awesomeness of her page sometime latter.
The second of these is, of course, our hero Link from the Wind Waker edition of Zelda (Gamecube). When I first saw this cartoony style, I wanted to rip my eyes out with a set of door hinges. After playing the game, however, my opinion shifted drastically. The cartoon look was absolutely perfect. Again, note the thick black lines (which you know I love) and the simple coloring & shading.