It's RESULTS DAY! Before even attempting designs - these shapes looked challenging! But once we began, characters started popping right off the page for us. Check out the collection below which includes BABY TROLL, WHALE and THE WORLD'S LARGEST GUMBALL. Enjoy.
LEFT (BABY TROLL), CENTER (HAT), AMY's ON RIGHT (MER-TODDLER LEARNING TO FLIP TOWARD SURFACE)
LEFT (BIG CAT), CENTER (WHALE), AMY's ON RIGHT (TIPPY TOE TESS)
LEFT (FLOWER GIRL), CENTER (DRESS), AMY's ON RIGHT (WORLD'S LARGEST GUMBALL)
LEFT (MONSTER), CENTER (CHEWY - OUR DOG), AMY's ON RIGHT (GIANT HEADED BLOB GOING FOR A WALK)
When it was time to decide which design to color up I looked for the one that had the most story possibilities. I liked the MER-TODDLER because rarely do you hear about the offspring of mermaids - but - it fell in the same vein as a character I did a few weeks ago...AGENT MERMAID (BLOBS #55 RESULTS). Since I'm a big believer in exploring different ideas, I passed on MER-TODDLER.
I decided to go with THE WORLD'S LARGEST GUMBALL! I love gum! And so do my kids. (Small side note: I have my very own secret stash of cubed gum in my studio, and often go through many pieces while working late). The next puzzle piece to solve was..where does this giant gumball go? First thoughts were ...a carnival? Then a townsquare. I tossed that one out quickly though since it felt a little odd for an entire city to be fascinated by a giant ball of gum. I dug a little deeper and decided the candy should be housed in a BIG MUSEUM. Maybe THE BIG MUSEUM - where all things small get scaled up 100 times (or more). How fun would it be to see the detail of tiny things better and brighter?
Now that my sketchy museum doors were going to open, I fixed my shape. My gumball needed to be closer to the ground for finer viewing, so the original scallops were moved down. I also referenced museums that showcased large pieces to get an idea for what works best. My favorite was the Washington DC Air and Space Museum with the glass ceilings and large windows. I placed things quickly while keeping other small-big objects in mind that could be scaled up ginormously in the background (recognize the paperclip?)...
...then started liking the idea of people in the museum wearing clothing similiar in color to gumballs...
but then didn't like it anymore.
I kept my little girl figure who was aching to touch the big giant gumball (she loves gum too). And her alone in her bright blue dress, seemed to do the trick. Here's a detail view of the etched cast iron piece that is holding this chewy monstrosity...and the final color study.
I hope you enjoyed a look at the story process! If you'd like to fill in the blanks, here are some questions for developing a story with kids at home/school: Where did her family go? What other objects are in THE BIG MUSEUM? Does the little girl leave with a souvenir? How do the small objects get BIG? Does she wish she could turn a special small something...BIG? Wishing you lots of fun in creating your own story! Thanks for checking in.