Sleeves/Characters in Perspective
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Just took Jake's Perspective course and am struggling with the concept of horizon lines specifically when drawing characters and how that impacts drawings...I've attached a recent set of character designs for reference with a draw over of my question... also, is there a "norm" / suggested spot to place the horizon line on character designs with no background?
Been drawing for years and suddenly questioning everything!
 
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@andrew-thomas So I don't think my images uploaded for some reason...but I'll try to use this link!
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Hi Andrew. I did a quick drawing to hopefully illustrate the horizon line issue. Please forgive this roughness. The accuracy is not the best, but I was mainly trying to convey the concept.
I think for a character illustration that you've linked to, without a background, keeping the horizon line somewhere in the middle of the figure- let's say thigh area to shoulder area- is a good way to go, imo, if you want the figure to look approachable, neutral, more on the same playing field as the viewer. If you lower the horizon line to around the feet, your figure with look more heroic/statuesque/ intimidating/ significant, etc. Not necessarily all of those at one time, but they tend to feel more powerful/ confident. If you raise the horizon line above their head, that can cause the feeling to be more aloof, or they feel less powerful, less in control, smaller. It all really depends on a lot of different factors though.
If you are wondering about how to convey sleeves, you need to understand how to draw ellipses and cylinders in perspective. Think of the arm and the sleeve as a cylinder. If the cylinder is coming toward us, then the sleeve will show more of an ellipse. If the cylinder is going away from us in space, the sleeve will be more of a curved line, and we won't be able to see the full ellipse.
If you are having trouble in this area, I'd suggest doing some studies based of off these sheets.
Another exercise to try is to take iconic cartoon characters and break them down into simple 3d shapes, like I've done in the studies below.
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@tessw Thank you so much! That's insanely helpful you have no idea!!!!
