How do you make something from real life look cute and whimsical?
I’ve always been fascinated and amazed by artists who can paint or sculpt something that looks like the real thing but have been equally amazed at those that can make something from real life look cute and whimsical, yet still recognizable.
I’m not the most patient artist, so I’ve always preferred to sculpt simplified and whimsical creatures and objects.
So how do you make something from real life look cute and whimsical, while still making sure that it resembles the actual thing?
To sculpt or draw anything recognizable, whether it be realistic or cartoon-like, you will first need to understand and know the subject that you’re planning to recreate. This means you will need to really look at and study your chosen subject matter.
A face still needs to look like a face, a spider still needs to look like a spider, and a mushroom still needs to look like a mushroom, etc.
Look at your subject and decide what makes it recognizable. A normal face will have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and 2 ears. A spider will have eight legs and eyes, and a head and abdomen. A mushroom will have a stalk, skirt, gills, and a specific shape depending on the stage of growth. These are what make them recognizable.
To recreate them in a whimsical or cartoon-like fashion, we simply need to adjust, enhance, simplify, and change some proportions and features.
A mushroom has a very recognizable shape, so by simplifying the gills, basic shape and colours we can make a very magical looking mushroom, that doesn’t look real, but still looks like a mushroom.
By changing the size and proportion of the nose, eyes and mouth on a face, and by softening or enhancing certain features, like wrinkles, teeth, scars, moles etc, we can turn a normal face into a caricature or impression of a face. By softening some features, or enhancing them to make them more grotesque, you can change the entire feel and character of your subject, but it will still be recognizable as a face.
To make this spider look cute rather than scary, I first had to think about what most of us find scary about spiders. There are a few things, the biggest ones being their legs and the way they move, and their fangs. So, I made the spiders legs short and stumpy, lowering it to the ground, and “slowing” it’s movement, and I softened the fangs to make them look more like a little moustache, and also covered them with the little pedipalps (like little spider hands). I also added a little blusher to the cheeks to make it look a little shy and bashful.
The next time you create something, make sure to first look at the real thing, in real life or from photos and videos. Really look at it and see it. Notice textures, colours, the way it moves etc., and then try simplifying or exaggerating those features that stood out to you in the artwork you create.
I always notice something new. It’s exciting!
Have fun!
