Characters in Scenes with Chantelle Holt

Micro Lesson and Sketchbook Project

I have another treat for you!

My friend and Author/Illustrator

Chantelle Holt

is guest hosting this week’s Sketchbook Project and I cannot wait to jump into that. We’re both part of

illoguild

so I’ve had the privilege to read some of her writing, which is just as hilarious, zainy and well-crafted as her illustrations!

I’m on a deadline crunch, so a huge Thank You! Chantell for stepping in! Over to you Chantelle!

- Adam

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Thanks for joining me as I take over the Ten Minute Artist Sketchbook challenge this week! I can’t wait to see what you create. I’m Chantelle - an illustrator who loves using traditional medium and sharing hints and tips to speed up your work flow and boost your illustration game. That’s me below!

This week we’re going to develop a sketching habit that builds up to sketching one small scene a day filled with crunchily specific and zainy characters.

Day 1

Visual research - it’s time to jump on Pinterest and save a bunch of quirky images to inspire your character designs. Try ‘vintage photos’ or ‘high fashion’ or ‘bucket hats’ or ‘circus’ for some whacky character inspo. Save your images. I love to use the Pure Ref to save and display my images. You can pay what you like - or get it for free. It’s really user friendly.

Results of ‘bucket hat’ search on Pinterest saved in Pure Ref

Or, download the images from Pinterest onto your phone - then you can whip ‘em out at a moments notice and sketch ‘em where ever you are. I love to sketch on the tube.

Day 2 and 3

Sketch your inspo images. Use whatever medium makes you happy. I like using a 4B pencil as I generally sketch on the go and don’t want to cart loads of materials about, but wanna splash around some ink or crack out the coloured pencils? Go for it!

Day 4, 5 and 6

Each day we’ll attempt to create a small scene inspired by our visual research.

Reflect - which characters did you particularly enjoy sketching? Did any of the characters conjure a particular setting or story in your mind? Really stuck? Just start sketching and see what comes out! The great news is, if you’ve picked quirky enough reference images, then you characters will have a deliciously crunchy specificity to them.

I was sure my head gear was going to be the best.

Keep your reference sketches to hand. I like to use pencil to sketch out the scene then go in with micron or fountain pen afterwards. Don’t worry about making your characters anatomically accurate - sometimes simplified shapes for eyes, mouths and eyebrows can actually convey a characters’ emotions quicker and clearer. Try keeping a mirror at your desk to look how your face moves and so you can sketch your hands from different angles.

Try doing one of these little scene sketches a day. Too much? Try a character a day and build up your scene over three days. Think about if you want to add any simple environmental clues to your scene. In the image above the fairy lights and bunting hint at the festival setting. Go ahead and quickly Google some references if you need.

(The ‘Sketch a Day’ book featured in the images above is produced by Chronicle is a lovely way to document a daily drawing project.)

Day 7

It’s time to get your work ready to share! Think about how you can photograph your work to show it off to the best of your ability. Can you put it against a complimentary coloured background or surrounded by colourful or relevant props? Good set dressing goes a long way in turning your sketch into sharable content! If you can, use a photo editor to punch up the brightness of your paper for extra pizazz!

 Share your creations in the gallery below! I can’t wait to see what quirky characters you’ve created. 

Want more traditional illustration hacks? You can follow me on Chantelle’s Studio on Substack where I share all my best time saving tips! Or we can keep the conversation going on Instagram. Happy doodling!