Anyone else reworking their previous yetis?

[Valerie Light]

I don't know about you all, but I missed the first yeti character design project, learned a whole ton on the Yeti House project, and am learning even more on the Yeti Spot. I'm finding myself working back through all 3 projects now as I finish up my spot illustration. It's exciting to work toward having some new sequential work in my portfolio!

I figured I would make this thread if anyone else wants to show off their revisions and re-dos of the past 3 yetis. I would be happy to ooh and ahh over them.

[Tiffany Thomas]

Yes!!!! I'm in the same boat as you, missed the first Yeti project, learned from the home and started re-working and playing catch up. Thanks for creating this thread, I'll definitely post mine here once I get them done ;).

[robbery]

@Valerie-Light not as yet. I am going to wait after the spot illustration before I start reworking it.

[Valerie Light]

All right, here goes! I really need to get some solid sequential work into my portfolio, and as much as I'm frustrated with the mistakes I've made on the first time around, I'm learning A LOT really quickly, and I know I can do better on a second try.
So here's a page of yeti progress. If anyone else wants to chime in on this thread with their yeti reworks, I would love to have some project accountability buddies on this. Join me! I'm very open to feedback and draw-overs.
My yeti house made top 16 last month, and Jake & Will told me to give it a wider frame, ditch the snow, too much going on. Totally agree, and trying very hard to learn the lesson of Less is More. I think my cooking yeti is over-rendered, too busy, not a clear enough silhouette, too. I'm really stoked about the textures and shapes in my new Yeti House WIP, and would like that kind of edge work and shading to carry over in my cooking yeti. My new WIP for the character design challenge, I think, is good a establishing the yeti's size, but I haven't figured out how to make that work for the cooking one.
So show me your repetti yetis.

[Kim Rosenlof]

Your new ones look better!

[Valerie Light]

@Kim-Rosenlof thanks! Also I'm just realizing how different the skies look on my monitor from how it looked in Procreate. I need to make a better habit of adjusting color before posting.

[Asyas_illos]

Yes newer versions are much better I especially love the bench scene in the character sheet! Smart move considering will kept going on about about showing the scale somehow. Looks great

[Valerie Light]

@Asyas_illos thanks! on that character design page, do you think I should get rid of the sledding yeti, or try to fix her up? I wanted to make a drawing of how she'd speed around a banked turn on her snow slide, but am not getting the angles right I think.

[KevinTreaccar]

@Valerie-Light This is my first time consistently remembering to enter these monthly challenges (thanks to prompt reminders on phone). My biggest lesson with the Yeti prompts was to make entries that fit my brand.

I chose my favorite idea for the December entry and then was working with something that didn’t really fit adventurous stories for kids (PB/CB/MG) going forward. Should have swapped out my yeti for the cooking, but I thought I finally had the yeti for the prompt (I had the other yeti eating humans concept).

I’m definitely making sure my fairy tale traveler is someone I’d like to continue working going forward, especially since we know April and May will also focus on fairy tale traveler.

[Asyas_illos]

@Valerie-Light I think you could keep her but yes the angle isn’t right I think if you tilt her top in so we can see a little bit of the underside of the sled that would be cool maybe some snow flying up? I don’t think you’d need to keep straight lines I think it should bend with her weight.

[lizardillo]

@Valerie-Light I really like your new WIPs. I'm planning on trying to rework mine too going on the feedback from the arena. My actual yeti character was quite weak as I find figures hard to draw and faces even harder. Will and Lee made some good points so when the recording is available I'm going to listen again and try and act on the advice.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Valerie-Light I love your adventurism and how much you've grown -- it must be even more exciting for you, to see that growth in such a short time. Really loving your new yeti house WIP!

One thing to think about: is there a way to push the expressions and poses to communicate your yeti's personality even more? She seems like such an enthusiastic, larger-than-life character. Love the personality in her close-up face, sledding, and the 3/4 frontal view. You've hit the right tone there (just my opinion). The walking and sitting views feel a little too generic -- they are more static, and it doesn't feel like it fits the character. What's the story with the sitting spot? Could the angle of the bench be sharpened so the kid is way off the ground? How would Yeti react to that? In the walking pose, is she shopping for spaghetti ingredients? Is she a grumpy shopper?

Another example: in the house WIP, her pose reads a little forlorn to me -- what if she was interacting with her house? Or show how she lives in that house? Is she an extreme-sports enthusiast? She could be sledding/skiing/sliding down the ramp or on her house...

Really loving the style that you've been exploring in your yeti house and yeti cooking pieces. Can't wait to see the end results -- please share them when you're ready! ️

[Valerie Light]

@Asyas_illos great idea, I'll try it!
@lizardillo Thank you! I was stoked to see that yours made it in- I'm really inspired by how you used line and color in it! I think your stylization worked really well, and I'm excited to see how you upgrade your piece later on.
@Melissa-Bailey-0 Thank you for the advice and encouragement!! These contests are an excellent way for me to mark progress in a deliberate way. It is exciting!
I think in the yeti poses, I was imagining that she had just moved to the suburbs and was trying to be on her best behavior not to bump into anyone at the bus stop or in the grocery store, in a world that wasn't made for somebody her size. Home is where she can let it all hang loose. Maybe I can show that but also more consistently show how exuberant and downright excited to be here she is, too.

[Jeremiahbrown]

@Tiffany-Thomas Yay! Your yeti cooking was actually my favorite so please do post your Yeti updates!

[Jeremiahbrown]

@Valerie-Light This is a great idea and can't wait to see our illustrations!

[Valerie Light]

I'd love to get some feedback on this set of images.
@Melissa-Bailey-0 you gave me a lot to think about with your character notes, and I redrew several of the poses to more consistently show her big, enthusiastic personality. (the sledding yeti isn't working yet- I need to find a reference image to sort out that pose.)

I also reworked my yeti spot composition, which feels like a big leap, and maybe I've gone too far? I've boiled it down to just the action of cooking, and the yeti's face, for the most part. Does it read at a glance, or is it too awkwardly cropped?
Any input is always very welcome.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Valerie-Light thanks! Glad I gave you a lot to think about!

Loving your reworked poses. They're definitely more dynamic and her personality shines.

And also loving this new yeti spot illustration -- you've included just what info is needed to communicate that she's cooking. Zooming in on her face allows us to see her expression that much more clearly, which is good in a spot as usually these are smaller illustrations. Just one thing to think about: have you tried this new composition from a 3/4 view instead of profile? Just wondering which would have more impact...

Loving these! Her exuberant, over-the-top personality comes through loud and clear.

[Valerie Light]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 I tried out the spot illustration from a 3/4 view like you suggested, and of course you were completely right that it's much more engaging! I'm so grateful for the tips! Is the foreshortening on the right arm working, or is it distracting?
This is a color rough- she's not quite consistent with the character design page- something with the eyes to fix, but progress!