John posted some more of these drawings over on his blog today, and also has some REALLY insightful theories on style and design. It's a great post, even though he's being too nice to me. Check it out!
http://www.johnkstuff.blogspot.com/
Here are the anime and manga influenced drawings I was talking about...I think my drawings have always been influenced by different Japanese artists, since I watched any anime I could get my hands on all throughout highschool. I kind of stopped being so interested in it after I graduated, but now it's all coming back and affecting my drawing in different ways. I used to just try and ape the style, which wasn't very easy for me. I think now I'm more influenced by the silliness and cuteness and extreme exaggeration in the comics I've been reading.
Lately I've been reading a LOT of manga...especially the cheesy romance ones, like Paradise Kiss, Happy Mania, Peachgirl, and Club 9. I'm sure some people would yell at me for reading this stuff, but I can't help it. I even like the ones with crappy drawings! They have a lot of energy, and the artists will change styles halfway through a page and then magically go back a panel later. I love that kind of thing! Maybe later I'll post some examples since I don't think I'm articulating this very well.
I guess I'm also seduced by the supreme cuteness of many of these comics. Princess Knight is so cute...everyone should go out and buy it! I only wish I could absorb how to draw everything so appealing and nice looking.
I'm wondering it it's obvious that these are inspired by a new influence, or if they look exactly like my other drawings. I've tried to take just certain elements, like the crazy cartoony expressions and cuteness, but really there's more I could and should learn from reading all those comics. A lot of Japanese artists seem REALLY good at drawing extremely difficult poses and angles that would be near impossible for me. Crap, I have to go out and run errands now, but I want to come back later and post examples, and maybe more drawings. Describing what I like about manga is too hard to put into words!
42 comments:
Nice pics!
I really dig the girl with the white/red socks!!!
Cool poses!
I'm wondering it it's obvious that these are inspired by a new influence, or if they look exactly like my other drawings.
They don't EXACTLY look like your others drawings, but if somebody show me those, I'd definately bet that Katie Rice drew them! And I guess it's a good thing.
KEEP'em coming!:)
Hello Katie...I am a professional artist (oilpaintings) and was looking at the "blogs of notes" in my dashboard and noticed your blog. You are very talented and should possibly look into a career in cartooning or illustration. Maybe you already are or plan to, either way, I was just leaving a comment that I appreciate your talent.--- bob
hey first time here.
i like your drawings! they're really very cute and you have a distinct style.
i've always liked drawing cartoons, but i'm never good.
looking at your drawings, even those in your portfolio at your webbie, i'm inspired to really put some heart into my own little hobby and grow and improve!
thankew for that inspiration! i'll be back!
Haha, I can't stop laughing about the ridiculous sock drama page.
Anyway, at first I just thought they were normal good drawings. But looking further the style and energy is definitely translated in the poses and expressions. I think it's a nice job of filtering out the bad stuff, and integrating the good.
I was worried we would catch a glimpse of the ole anime pointy nose, big watery eyes, and small mouth line syndrome. Nice to see you weren't influenced by that. But these are very cute. And again, the sock drama could fill an entire cartoon.
Oh, btw, for a good manga/anime(I've only seen the anime) - try out Honey & Clover. It's pretty good quality stuff and has an entirely cutesy character for you. :)
I'm pretty sure the blonde girl in the sock page is a self portrait.
Yeah, that stuff is a lot like your other drawings, the manga influences are not as obvious as you might think. I think it's because you just can't avoid being unique. Your art is amazing. You're about my age, I can't figure out how you got to that point. You must be a happy mutation.
I ain't pickin those socks up.
Oh Hi Oh
Are we not Men
No we are Devo
... and he went to work and he had a job and he brought home the bacon so that know one knew he was a ...
Shrivel up
Anyway keep up the art work
Anok4u2
Find The Clash
I think you are the next Mary Blair.
your pal,
Nico!
yeah, thats the stuff!!!
i wish more people would know the diffrence between anime Influenced designs, rather than just drawing bad anime art!!!
Great drawings!
;]
Hey, Katie! You're probably tired of hearing this, but I just love your girl cartoons. They're just so damn interesting to look at and I love to study them! You're a huge inspiration to me! Also, I love your interpretation of anime. It's got a little spice of your own thing in them. It's just too cool! Sorry if I come off as scary. heh
your huge fan!
Pedro
very appealing drawings! by the way, did you go to art school or are you mainly self-taught?
Nice pics and gr8 blog... congo ur featured on blogs of note...:)
its your stlye if your style cwas getting drunk in shibuya
Hi, I just saw your blog! Beautiful and distinct drawings! They're real cool! :D
*wow..
I love anime and my brother used to try to teach me how to make them! I agree, most Jap artists are real good, and real creative with their work..
Ha, paradise kiss!! Makes sense since you're into the fashion thing.. I saw some of the show, my boyfriend watches it (should I be worried?) Watched them paint roses blue for 20 minutes, but the girly side of me was creepily intrigued by it all.
I don't think it's too obvious... I mean I can see the anime in it but you make it into something good. Love those disembodied legs on sockgirl page there, particularly the top right with the crazy wrap-around going on.
there is no such thing ad being too nice to you.
Who cares about spotting "The Next Mary Blair" when we already have the first Katie Rice?!
Great drawings, and though they definatley have your signature style in them, they do seem to be going in a different direction. They are lovely, even though I never did get the whole manga/anime thing myself. More of a Beano/Dandy (very British kind of childhood.
Tom
:-)
do you know your junko?
http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~mjdotcom/gallery.html
anime now is so different than what i grew up with. thanks to it's popularity, it's harder to find the real gems. you might want to check out, if you're unaware:
http://www.windy-tales.com/
http://www.tweeny-witches.com/
and some other studio 4C productions.
all are available to download for free as long as they're not licensed in the US.
http://www.animesuki.com/series.php
did you get john k. to watch flcl?
Yes! Those are cool! When you said "anime influence" I think I expected something more... well, more obviously anime. Instead, something wild and processed through what you do. But yeah, the anime is there.
The intensity. Anime tends to exaggerate emotional intensity and I can see that in some of the faces. The eyes, definitely... but without doing that multi-reflective thing... the lack of noses on some of the smaller faces. Anime noses tend to be disposable and you captured that. But the basic aesthetic is so obviously you, it's more like it's been absorbed rather than merely copied.
I read John's post... I always learn so much from him each time. That stuff he wrote is true stuff!
I always hated HATED anime and manga. Of the two I prefer manga now because there's more variety in the art styles and some of those cats can flat-out DRAW. Rumiko Takahashi, for example. She reminds me a little of Walt Kelly occasionally. There are quite a few others too whose names I don't know!
Actually living in Japan now has really added a new level on top of that. It's strange sometimes to read an English translation of manga while standing in a Japanese bookstore surrounded by Japanese translations of English books...
Anyway, I'm also learning a lot about drawing from you. Stuff I thought I knew but obviously wasn't quite getting until I saw it popping up in your work and in some of the other artists John's been championing on his blog!
PS- You're right about "Princess Knight!"
Hey, nice work. The drawings are really cute.
The anime influence is not obvious. And even tho' these new drawings are clearly related to yer larger ouevre, they remain quite distinct.
What jumps out at me is the way these new characters imply such funny movement--and it looks like a very un-anime type movement. More of a rubber-hose approach, but with the limbs and torsos softly segmented into slender sausages. Reminds me a little of Aaron Springer's old, neo-30's movement.
Was it even on your mind to design characters with this funny movement potential?
What would the guys in such a cartoon look like?
(I agree, the chick manga like Peach Girl is surprisingly involving.)
These are great!
I think of alot of us are influenced by anime in our younger years, only to have to beaten out of us when we're in the industry because "all anime is BAD".
One thing that is reeeaallly cool is when they go TOTALLY off model for an instant! It's a cartoon... why not do that! It's frustrating how american cartoons have to be such a slave to being on-model when that's not necessarily the best way to communicate an emotion.
Even on Hi Hi Puffy you're hard pressed to get the characters to snap to totally off model for a bit. Grrrrr...Flash.... grrrr!!
Show us more!
Katie,
I love your drawings! Congrats!
What do you use to color them?
Thanks,
Vin
www.caffeteria.net
'Sock page = brilliant. It belongs in a museum or a throne room or treasure vault. You should pose your gals more often; you're so good at it. It's my new 'Katie' favorite.
See ya!
DAMN IT!!!
Now I have to go out & buy a new hard drive - my old one's full of Katie drawings!
You da man... er uh... well, you know...
Being a girl you are supposed to like Japanese girl comics. Don't be ashamed they are for you! I makes total sense you influenced by what they are doing in fashion and art. There work has an appealing cartoon style and as you probably know it's the only form of comics in the USA where the readership (girls) are growing.
I think the guy who does the Gorllizas Videos is good, but would not be as good If he wasn't influenced by Japanese artists. John did a great analysis on style and your work so I won't repeat the obvious. One interesting thing he didn't cover is outside influences and how a good artist will see sometime good and improve it in his own mind. What I mean is I often casually look at some Japanese comics and not buy them. Then months later I get a job where I have to design in a Anima style and I remember the stuff I looked at I'm my minds eye. Often when I go back to the store it's not as good as I remembered.(Not always, sometimes it's better, but rarely.) I'm not saying I can draw what they do, my mind and memory just fool me. Like when you have a dream about looking at great art and you wonder if you can see it in a dream why can't your draw it that good?
Just keep digesting great art influences while your still young and your mind can absorb it easily. I'd love to talk about this stuff with John, but he cuts my posts when he doesn't agree with me so... What can you do?
It is really cool to let yourself be influenced by other artists work! Anime is such great art! Great sketches again!
Hilarious expressions! Beautiful designs! Will be back lots! Nice to see some young women getting some much deserved exposure. Congrats!
wow
i totally get what your talking about and have been fighting the same fight of drawing my stuff with the same care and devotion of the manga artist that i look up to but not really just doing " the style" .
I am doing a manga comic and still and trying to take best of both worlds. It is more of a half manga which works cuz i'm half asian! I have been reading lots to inspire my self but it is more cute romance stuff like sugar sugar rune, dr slump,rezelmine, tokyo mew mew and ranma.
anyhow great stuff!
Anime is lovely and timelessly appealing as a style of drawing. I enjoyed your blog and will check back off and on. You might enjoy reading mine as well, although up until now it lacks any illustration. I may change that after looking at yours. Check my site out if you have time. www.clarkcountydiva.com
Clark County Diva
You deliver on funny and cute. But, if you're looking for over-the-top cuteness you need to really apple up those cheeks.
Love the phone doodles you did previously. I do that all the time.
Simply wonderful,
:) Harald
Thanks. This blog post answered my previous question to you. :)
You are a talented illustrator, well done and keep up the drawing, never stop. I am a graphic designer and 'dabble' in illustration.
Wow!! I can't draw at all, so to me, your stuff is amazing. I'm sure you would prefer that comment attached to someone who was a professional artist or something, but either way, I'm impressed. And you sound so young and sweet and American.
u draw cool cartoons.Ijust love them
i dont really like them, but i can see other people loving them keep up the good work!!
Hi katie,
i was just "yahoo searching" one of my blog pics called(surprise surprise)"anime influence"!!! and saw ur blog instead.Nice work :)U got a good mix of western and anime in your cartoons.You can check out my "anime influence" on www.toonplaza.blogspot.com
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