After thoroughly enjoying Pine & Merrimac, I decided to try my hand at some of the artwork in the book and see what I could learn from Fran Galán’s style.
As an amateur artist, I have alot to learn. One of the first things I’ve been taught regarding faces is the Loomis method, a very methodical and mathematical process for generating heads and faces. I don’t think Galán is using the Loomis method. His work seems to embrace exaggeration, and I feel like he has thought out his own set of shapes and proportions for his faces. The result is a fresh feel on each of his characters.
I also see a more angular style, which frequently embraces hard angles where smoothed curves might have been expected. I feel like this choice makes his art more attention grabbing.
Lastly, it is challenging for me to convey emotion in my own figure drawing, so I specifically looked to see how Galán was doing this. His exaggerated style helps here. Big eyes, big mouths, and extreme postures all help to convey the emotion of the characters.
There’s always more to learn! Thank you Fran Galán ( @fran_galan_art)