Monthly Matinee July: Using Toys As Reference

Hurry Hurry Hurry! Got Your Ticket? Come and See The Edifying Explification of Zoe Sugg, As She Discusses The Use Of Toys For Reference! 

Technique Tuesday: Toys/Modeling

References! A critical part of any artist’s toolkit. I’ve got several folders of bookmarked links for photo references, but even after I’ve spent some time searching, sometimes I STILL can’t quite find the right angle/pose I’m looking for.

Plus, searching takes a ton of time! So that’s why I prefer toys and 3D objects as references!

Understanding How it Works

One of the things I love about using models is that you can really get a tactile experience of whatever-it-is you’re trying to draw. Let’s take a refrigerator! I know that:

• It keeps things cold/frozen
• You need a handle to open it
• It’s gonna swing out, towards the viewer
• The food inside sits on shelves

Notice anything crucial missing from the above list? Maybe not… But you certainly would if you were using it! Where’s the door shelves?! Oof, I can just imagine opening the fridge and watching all my beer, ranch dressing and energy drinks spill out. What a nightmare.  And because I understand how important that is to the function of my fridge, I know I should include it! And now my fridge will look a lot more complete.

Same goes for referencing a 3D model of something: When I had to incorporate a mail truck into a pitch, I went and bought a little 6-inch mail truck toy. This little thing helped me figure out how the back opened up, how a driver would sit in the front, etc.

Cost

“But ZuZu! Toys are expensive!” you say? Well… yeah, some of them, definitely. I have a few Bandai figures that cost…. Uh, a lot. $30-80 depending on extra features. And the only real solution there is to save up your commission money or wait til someone owes you a gift (perhaps several someones… I’ve asked friends to collab on pricey gifts before!). My Bandai figures are WELL worth the price for the articulation that they boast.

Thrift It

But I also have this handy dude~!

He’s regularly some kind of expensive classroom model, but due to the power of Thrifting, I found him at Goodwill for $5. Hey, don’t look at me like that! I draw a lot of horror comics! He’s not creepy! …Not THAT creepy. Anyway, he’s gonna help me with a lot of great references when I have to show people getting their guts ripped out :3

I also pick up random things when I find ‘em on sale. No idea what I’ll use my tank for, but it was in the $1 toy bin at Goodwill and it came home with me. Keep your eye out for what you can pick up, borrow, or grab for cheap. It’ll come in handy *someday.*

Getting the Right %$#*ing Angle

Now, I might be about to commit Art Blasphemy(™) here, but sometimes it’s also helpful to photograph an item and import the image into my drawing program.

Look, I’m a cartoonist, ok!? My brain doesn’t think in 3-dimensions!  2-D is best D! There’s times that you just canNOT understand an angle. The foreshortening refuses to work, the proportions just aren’t coming out, whatever. When I’ve made 20-30 attempts at something and keep hitting a wall, I’ll often import my references. And most of the time, if I end up tracing/working over it for a bit, I realize that I had a super simple fix that I just wasn’t seeing. Maybe that angle needed to be WAY more acute than I’d realized, maybe I just didn’t put the shoulder far enough back and that’s why the head was looking too large, etc.

Honestly, I’m not a purist. If it’ll help my art and help me get a better understanding, I’m all about importing my images.

Go Buy Some Toys!

Now that I’ve given you an excuse to indulge your inner 5-year-old, get out there and go buy some cool stuff! I’ve included some links above, or you can go hunt around and support your local economy! Send me pics of the awesome reference tools that you find! I’m @ZuZu_Cartoons everywhere, happy hunting!