Alright, let me tell you about something I tried messing around with recently. It involves that artist, Phil Ortiz. You know, the guy who did a lot of work on shows like The Simpsons. I saw some of his character model sheets somewhere, and I thought, “Huh, that looks pretty straightforward. Maybe I could give that a shot.” It seemed like a fun little exercise.
Getting Started
So, first thing I did was just grab some basic stuff. A regular pencil, some plain paper from the printer. Nothing fancy. I figured I didn’t need special gear just to doodle a bit. Then I went online and looked up some specific character examples credited to him. I wanted clear references, front views, side views, that sort of thing. Found a few good images of characters he designed or worked on.
The Actual Trying Part
Okay, so I picked one character. Let’s just say it was one of those classic yellow guys. I started trying to copy the head shape. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Getting that specific curve, the placement of the eyes, that weird overbite thing they often have… it was tougher than I expected. My first few attempts looked really off. Like, really wonky.
I spent a good while just erasing and redrawing parts. The eyes especially. They look simple, just dots usually, but getting them spaced right and sized correctly to match the head? That took some fiddling. Then I tried the body. Again, seemed simple – basic shapes. But putting them together in the right proportions, making it look like the character could actually stand up, that was another challenge.
- Tried focusing on the basic shapes first, like ovals and circles.
- Paid attention to the line weight – some lines are thicker than others. Tried to copy that.
- Looked at how the limbs connect to the body. It’s not realistic anatomy, but it has its own logic.
I probably spent a couple of hours just sketching, erasing, sketching again. Filled up a few pages with lopsided heads and weird-looking bodies. It wasn’t exactly a smooth process. There were moments where I got a line just right and thought, “Okay, maybe!” and then the next line would throw it all off again. It was kinda frustrating, honestly.
What Came Out of It
Did I suddenly become a master animator or character designer? Heck no. My drawings still looked pretty amateurish compared to the real deal. But you know what? I definitely learned something. I learned that even styles that look simple on screen take a lot of practice and a really good eye to get right. There’s a specific structure and consistency there that’s hard to replicate without putting in the time.
It gave me a new appreciation for guys like Ortiz. You see the finished product and maybe don’t think about the skill behind nailing that specific look over and over again. Trying it myself, even badly, made me respect the craft a lot more. It was a bit humbling, but a good experience overall. Just a little reminder that things are often more complex than they seem on the surface. Maybe I’ll pick up the pencil and try again another day, maybe not. But it was interesting, that’s for sure.
