We are about a week into the process for the hand puppet this year. I did the complete process myself to try and give examples of what expectations were/are.
Because I knew there were a set number of thumbnails to do I gridded the page off for the format. And because I knew that all the puppets had to fit a hand I started of sketching the hand shape in each box. This enabled me to have a starting foundation and to help ensure some consistency. As I always try to say... a little work in the beginning and smart planning now saves a lot of heartache later.
The next step was quickly filling in details. The point of thumbnails is to try different things and to visually problem solve. They should be clear enough to see what is going on but they aren't hanging in a gallery. Some things work...some things don't...but variation is the key. I keep trying to reach them with the fact there needs to be variation and attempts at drawing things with different styles. Sometimes they get locked in with "there are only so many ways to draw something" after 3 or 4 thumbnails...but this is never true. There are endless ways to draw anything without losing the character of the starting animal...look at how many different ways people have drawn rabbits and ducks.
After they get a thumbnail approved they move on to the rough stage...if their thumbnails are weak and more development needs done we will do mini-roughs...bigger than thumbnails (usually 1/4th of a page) but not as big as the finished product. This was the last of the three roughs that I did and probably my favorite...once again proving the general law that your first isn't usually your best.
This was my second rough.
This was the first...at first I really liked it...but now not as much...
The next step will be doing the maquette this weekend and next week we will be doing a final in colored pencil.
