Tuesday, March 28, 2006


This character is a member of a group of barnstormers know as the Knuckle Heads. The story takes place at the height of barnstorming before the creation of the FAA. This character would hang from the bottom of planes that had lost their wheels due to shaky landings or close calls. I imagined these guys as using self made outfits, hence the old style football helmet for protection. I think this piece starts to work because the wheels on his chest are a visual story telling element while at the same time creating a silhouette that breaks up the normal silhouette of the body.

This character is Hansel from a Hansel and Gretel story I placed in Japan. For Hansel I wanted a characted who was bad mannered and even disrespectful. To established this visually I have him wearing a western style vest over a kimono as well as keeping his chopsticks in his hair. I wanted to set up in his design a distaste for more traditional ways, which I saw as a reason the Witch in the story would immediately dislike him.

Monday, March 27, 2006