#shape language

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Thinks about shape language thinks about shape language thinks about shape language again thinks about shape langu

Straw Hats Shapes Post

Everyone read my ramblings. 👇

Shape language is defined as “a concept used in art and animation to communicate meaning based on shapes we are familiar with” (source). This concept uses circles, triangles, and squares to convey an idea of the “personality” of the design without using any words.

In designs, using circles and rounded edges in your silhouette and detailing gives the design a soft and squishy look. They tend to be harmless, approachable, or changeable.

Designs using squares gives the design a solid, sturdy, and strong look. They are supportive, reliable, and inflexible

Lastly, triangle designs are sharp and directional. They are dynamic, dangerous, and unpredictable.

Here are the main silhouette shapes i used, i wanted to generally use one main shape for each of them. Everytime i normally draw sabo, i just think to myself “this man is just a big-ass square,” and im right. This art is such a long time coming im glad to finally do it.

Luffy and Sabo may be the circle and square, but theyre so triangle coded they simply needed triangles in their design as well. Technically luffy’s whole body besides his head is a big ol triangle too, but i felt that a circle for his torso looked better. And also Sabo’s cravat is a triangle as well, but im only using 3 shapes to outline this picture rn. Ace is just straight up all triangles though.

This was such a fun little exercise, i think these little guys came out so well. I dont usually draw in this kind of style so it was a very nice breath of fresh air.

Thank you for reading my ramblings, i love talking about this topic. I did my senior project on it in high-school and it was such a fun topic to write about.

[dustykneed]

Got any advice on drawing McCoy? I hear people all the time saying how hard Jim is to draw (and he 100% is almost impossible i don’t deny) but McCoy T-T that wrinkley old bastard just completely eludes me for some reason lmao

ANON hiiiii!! i gotcha buddy. hope this helps!

obv this is just how i interpret them in my style. there's no right way to go about this and another thing that helps is to, aside from referencing the source material, look at how other artists (off the top of my head, toboldlymuppet's trek art on tumblr definitely had some influence in how i drew them when i'd freshly gotten into trek!)

also forgot to mention but mcspirk definitely has really distinct silhouettes!! so don't be afraid to mess around with stylisation and emphasize the features that characterize each of em :]]

for this references are your good friend! (i'm a hypocrite bc i only use refs when im completely stuck LMAO it's a bad habit. use those refs liberally. don't be like me 💀💀)

learning to stylise blorbos always takes some work but i promise you'll get there<33 here's a side by side comparison of one of my earliest bones scribbles and one of the most recent-- you can really see the evolution of how i was able to get more comfortable with characterization (even though I used refs for neither of these LOL).

you got this!!!

[lucydoesart]

I loved doing this back in the day... I may do more of it.. Any suggestions on which group may be fun?

--

Support me on ko-fi

[splendidcyan]

Can I offer you some bat boys in this trying time 🥚 did the Timmy and Jason first, but didn't like how Jason turned out so I did some design work for his face. Designed Dick alongside bc I like the idea of them being opposites (square vs thin face, down turned vs upturned eyes, ect). The inked ones are pushed further in shape terms than the pencil ones.

[winterleech]

I love how this is the universal way to draw Otasune. Like yes everyone has their own spin on the two and there’s many an art style they’ve been portrayed in but every artist has to draw them like this at LEAST once

[macsmittens]

the trio

[jsabbuddies]

Possible jsab designs

The boyfriends

Hunk and twink

[artbyzephra]

Feeling a little sick today, so figured I'd do some self-indulgent art of some of my favorite older pokemon designs. Contemplating setting up a Patreon or something similar to a room a project of sketching every single Pokemon, but maybe not too soon.

Pencil sketch, having a lot of fun working with pencils again!

[wizardly-shrimp]

Pol character design and color concepts 🤺💔

I should add tho that this is old and I’m contemplating re-doing this in the future and/or also maybe getting started on other designs sheets like these for the crusaders. I’m not sure if I get a great job with the shape language and I really wanna lean into more triangle shapes!

However I really enjoy how the hair looks in this design and how the simplified version looks tho!

[wolfsteax]

Ash antics for the timeline.

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Can we have a deeper analysis in Sabo's shape language study please? It's amazing how you make him give different vibes with just his hair and I like to understand how does that work.

Oh. I'm SO glad you asked.

(The Post In Question)

Okay so this isnt the first post ive made about shape language,

Here are the others:

ASL Shapes Strawhats Shapes

i'm just gonna copy and paste the definition i have for shape language from those posts here so i dont have to write it all again.

Shape language is defined as “a concept used in art and animation to communicate meaning based on shapes we are familiar with” (source). This concept uses circles, triangles, and squares to convey an idea of the “personality” of the design without using any words.

In designs, using circles and rounded edges in your silhouette and detailing gives the design a soft and squishy look. They tend to be harmless, approachable, or changeable.

Designs using squares gives the design a solid, sturdy, and strong look. They are supportive, reliable, and inflexible

Lastly, triangle designs are sharp and directional. They are dynamic, dangerous, and unpredictable.

That's base level but here's more in depth description of each design for ya:

this one is up first!

You may notice how in this design, his hair isnt in large clumps like the others are. His hair falls delicately and waves gently with little to no hard angles.

In this design, i was trying to convey the idea of "he wasnt born to fight, but he's molded himself into someone who will." I tried to depict that by making his hair all light and feathery, his facial features soft and rounded, but also showing how he's modified his body in a pointy and aggressive way.

I didn't want to only go hard edges with the piercings though because much like he's strayed from his mold of being delicate, he's also strayed from his mold of being a cruel noble. so some of his piercings are rings, AKA: Circles.

You may also notice the different in how I've drawn the collars of these guys. the collar of this Babo's black coat falls softly, and its' arc is rounded. The shoulders don't have any padding and it rounds at the corner.

This Man Is Round.

Next up is this Freak

This is supposed to be Triangle Him.

His hair is in larger, hard angled clumps. Indicating that he probably cut his hair himself. He did... greattt. I already headcannon him as someone who cuts his own hair, but i dont think this one ever gets any better at it.

The hard angles on his teeth, his scar, his jaw, his collar, that line i forgot to erase on the left, and his coat all give indication that this guy is Dangerous and you probably shouldnt mess with him.

I didn't have any real deeper meaning to this version, I just wanted to make him look as opposing as I could. this guy is "what you see is pretty much what you get."

Even though he doesn't have a lot of deeper meaning, I think this one is my favorite of the designs. I really love these colors on him and his hair was really fun to draw. I think I wanna draw him again at some point. I think this version of him would be very funny paired with Koala. I'm chuckling thinking about it:

Koala and her Armed and On Fire kindergartener

And lastly this guy

Sabo's base design is very rectangle coded. From his Hat, to his face shape, to his coat. So this version was very easy to make as I didn't actually need to change that much!

I think maybe I could've made his design a little more complex? But also I think there is a beauty in simplicity for this one. He looks straightforward, reliable, and kind. He seems like the kind of guy who gets his hands dirty, not because he likes doing it, but because he does what he must for the greater good.

I really love his hazel eyes, too. I think it brings a nice warmth to his design that is really nice.

Additional comments:

I love talking about this stuff. I love designing. I love art. I love drawing so much it's so fun

Everytime I get to sit down and make some funky doodles my brain feels like 🧠🤸🧘🧜🧚🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🧚💃💃💃💃💃💃

If you got this far thanks for reading :)

I usually have a description for my designs and my choices and stuff and I forgot to do one for this post, it makes me happy to see that it was missed :)

[velt0n]

Happy #starwarsday Grievous, one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise.

[swordfright]

shape language + dsmp cast !

Over the past year or so I’ve been slowly (very slowly lmfao) teaching myself to draw, and part of that process has been learning how shapes dictate meaning and emotion, so just for funsies I decided to do a full analysis of the shapes I usually use when drawing the cast of DSMP. Full analysis under the cut~

From left to right, top to bottom:

c!Dream — Typically, triangles communicate action, dynamism, or danger, all of which are pretty fitting for this guy, so the overall impression of his shape is usually triangular. His design also tends to use a lot of rectangles, which (because they contain elongated vertical lines) communicate a solidity that is less stable than, say, a square.

c!George — My design for him is very circular. Circles are made up of curves, so they tend to communicate softness and safety, as well as inaction or passivity. Since he can sometimes be quite a passive character in comparison to others, I usually go with a circle-based design for him.

c!Sapnap — I see Sapnap as a very complex character with a lot of different sides, at times extremely impulsive and at other times quite stable. Because of this, the shape I like to use for him is the rhombus, a type of parallelogram. Think of it like a square that’s leaning to one side: it still communicates the solidity and dependability of a square, but the diagonal lines that make up the shape mitigate that impression by suggesting motion/tension.

c!Punz — The base shape for Punz is usually either a short rectangle or a square, communicating reliability, while the face shape tapers into a point to suggest dynamism. He’s tricksy but dependable.

c!Techno — This guy’s always made up of circles and squares! Sturdy, reliable, approachable, strong, friendly. An all-around (haha get it) great guy.

c!Philza — I see Phil as one of those characters who, despite being very affable, has got a lot going on under the surface, so I didn’t want to stick to simple shapes for him. The shape I usually go with is an oval, because it carries the safety and amiability that roundness lends, as well as the slight instability implied by the long vertical lines in an oval.

c!Sam — This guy’s mostly squares! Strong, dependable, solid, secure…but also deeply inflexible.

c!Quackity — Nearly every shape in this design is some kind of triangle because that’s how I see Q: unpredictable, sharp, active. Triangles effortlessly convey the volatility associated with his character arc.

c!Wilbur — Okay, this is a tough one. Wilbur is a super manic character. This bad boy can fit so many shapes in him! His design usually features a pointed nose (triangular), a square jaw (strength/conviction), and either a rectangular or oval-shaped head. Wilbur can do (and be) a lot of things at once, so I really wanted his shapes to get that point across.

c!Tommy — Since he and Tubbo are both some of the younger server members, I like to include circles in their designs since roundness conveys youth. Tommy’s face shape usually tapers into a more pointed chin because he’s so active and volatile, he needs some pointy bits to show it!

c!Ranboo — The predominant shape here is a LONG rectangle. When it comes to rectangles, the wider the base, the more stable the shape ends up looking. But if the rectangle is much taller than its width, it conveys instability or even anxiety. I want Ranboo to look like he could topple over at any moment.

c!Tubbo — Just like Tommy, Tubbo’s primary shape is circular to communicate youth. But since Tubbo is a somewhat less active character than Tommy (a statement that’s true of most characters TBH) his circles are wider, sort of more squashed, to represent a state of semi-stability.

I could go on about this for way longer but I’m gonna cap this post here. There are a ton of characters I haven’t covered obviously, so LMK if there’s anyone else in particular whose shapes you’d like to see me break down.

[missmisnomer]

Beep boop.

Drawing robots.

[marblyso]

I may have discovered the Pikmin character formula

If you’re over-analytical like me, you may have noticed this already, but there’s still some interesting things here. Ever since Pikmin 2, main series installments have had character trios (yes, even Pikmin 4), each of which follow an archetype.

The most obvious pattern is visual, and this pattern also carries a consistent archetype as well.

It’s in Pikmin 3 too, of course.

If the pattern wasn’t obvious in Pikmin 4, it should be now. “But the playable character is customizable!” Maaaybe it wasn’t always meant to be that way. But I’ll touch on that another day.

We’ve got a small, circular character, a long/triangular (triangle is obvious on Louie if anything) character, and a boxy character. It’s kinda an obvious pattern to most, but if you think that’s it, don’t worry; it runs deeper.

The circular character is iconic, in a literal sense. After all, Captain Olimar is the representative of the Pikmin franchise, apart from the Pikmin themselves and other recognizable critters. It’s obvious why, but it’s not just him. Alph gets a spot in Smash Bros just like Olimar does and gets the group together in 3. The default for our customizable character is just everywhere in marketing. Along with this, they tend to be helpful and act as the glue keeping the group together.

The long/triangular character tends to be on the impulsive side. Louie and Brittany’s place in this archetype is self-evident, especially due to how similar they are, but Captain Shepherd’s a bit more disconnected. They’ve domesticated the idea of a Louie-like character, so to speak, but the heart’s still there. Anxious (Freaks out big-time at any critter that’s not a dog) and dog-obsessed (She requested that Russ make a thousand dog treats in advance for normal training routines without a second thought), I think she qualifies for the archetype well enough.

The square character… generally has a theme of work. The President is, well… a president of a company. He’s the embodiment of work even if he isn’t working. Captain Charlie is very dedicated to being the captain, to say the least. Collin is always working, even if he doesn’t exactly want to - he’ll help at any time. Pretty simple.

Why have I been highlighting captain? Well, that’s because there’s now been a captain for each archetype, which I find interesting, especially since each one has had a captain by now…

Where will the Pikmin series take this formula next, I do wonder… :)

[fizzb]

i love her shes so shape language