Observation Skills and CG - An Introduction to Computer Graphics for Artists - page 40

Fig. 3.2 The effect of a
face-centric stylized human
head on left in comparison to
more authentic proportions
on the right
all the characteristics of a mouse. Unlike a schematic representation, where missing
details make it impossible to correctly identify the target, in a stylized representation,
the details that are present are designed to enhance recognition of the subject.
Therefore, although Mickey Mouse doesn't look like a real mouse, he does have
enough mouse-like characteristics to identify him as a mouse, and no other character
would be mistaken for Mickey Mouse. A symbol observation style is when an artist takes
the style conventions from another artist's work, and adopts them for their own.
When a skilled artist designs something, such as when Ub Iwerks designed
Mickey Mouse in 1928 for Walt Disney, the artist creates a simplifi ed graphic repre-
sentation of the subject. In effect, the artist creates symbols that represent the subject
as part of the stylization process. In the case of Mickey Mouse, a conscious decision
was made to draw him with circles to make it easier to animate the character (Halas
and Manvell 1968 ). This had the effect of making the character readily recognizable
from any angle. It also meant that the Mickey Mouse style library contained circles
as symbols for Mickey's ears. If another artist were to start drawing mouse characters
with circular ears based on his observation of Mickey Mouse, he is no longer looking
at the same source material as Mickey Mouse's designer, who was thinking of real
mice. This second artist is making an interpretation of something that has already
been reduced to a symbol, so it is not being stylized.
The copying of symbols or graphical style libraries is evident in the work of
students who emulate Japanese manga and anime art. Because students are not
working from the same source material as the original artists, but from pre-processed
artwork made by more experienced artists, they tend to deviate from their chosen
style when confronted by novel subjects. After seeing the artifacts of another artists'
seeing experience, it is very diffi cult to forget them. Some artists have a tendency to
adopt the graphic shorthand of another artist instead of paying careful attention to
the subject at hand. An example of this type is when an artist makes a model of a
human head with a shallow cranium. This happens because they are accustomed to
stylized representations that favor the face over the entire head, a very common type
of stylization found in comic topics and animation (Fig. 3.2 ).
Some artists don't like to be bothered with small details. They will take in an
impression of the overall shape and function of an object, then invent and substitute