I’ve recently started drawing some characters that I hope to turn into childrens birthday cards. Each animal character is an animal found in the English countryside.
I started by looking at photographs of rabbits and hares and sketching some of the characteristics I found.
I was mainly trying to get the head shape because the body I wanted would be almost human in shape.
You can see by the bottom right sketch that I’d come up with some style of rabbit head that I liked. I also used Cathy Wu’s six components to a cuter character in the design. You can watch some of her tutorials on Skillshare.
Click this link for a two week free skillshare trial: https://skl.sh/2RiEAQA
The cuter character components are 6 body and face changes that add to the cuteness of any character.
- A more rounded body
- Small limbs
- Large head
- High forehead
- Wider eye settings
- Larger pupil
Once I had decided on a basic style I liked I scanned the sketched into Procreate and started turning the sketch into a final piece.
I added clothing, but then decided I liked the idea of having clothing as a cut out, I’m a child of the 70s so remember the joy of getting my weekly Bunty comic and cutting out the dress up doll that came free each week.
When it came to naming the rabbit I decided I’d choose what I imagined a toddler would call a rabbit, I had a bit of a consultation with a family member who has become a new mum and the name Rabby was chosen.
So, here is Rabby, not yet at the printers, but soon to be my latest series of Birthday cards…
I’ve been working on a fox the past couple days and actually was able to ask a two year old how she would say fox… I’m sure many parents will be laughing already, but I need a different approach, my fox can’t be called a swear word!
Anyway, let me know what you think.
Betty Virago 