Straights and Curves - The Secret of Kells styleguides

http://animationtidbits.tumblr.com/search/secret+of+kells
Barry Reynolds blog: Tons of stuff

Style Guide Notes - YOU CAN'T STUDY THIS STUFF ENOUGH!
most of this comes from Reynold's Blog.

Animal Character Design - Andrew Shek - Straights and curves

http://elephantart.blogspot.com/

Check out these sweet pages on Straights and Curves as applied to animal design.

Natalie Hansen Pizza Guy Drawover

Stacey Sleight - Pizza Guy "Do Overs"

Draw Overs (Note: These were done in Photoshop so I am out of my comfort zone with these drawings...)

Original

Lazy Lines

 Avoid "lazy- Lines."  Each line should be saying something and have a purpose. A lazy Line is a line that does NOT describe anything like shape, texture, softness, hardness, stretch, squish, gravity etc.

If a line or detail is not STRENGTHENING you drawing, then it is just extra baggage and is likely WEAKENING the impact of your drawing.

STREAMLINING - check everything, ask yourself if it is important and what it is doing and if you really need it to convey the personality.  Economize.  Use tracing paper and go over your drawing. leave out frivilous lines and detail.  strengthen the remaining shapes.  balance curves and straights.

Ben Balistreri - Straights and curves

Check out Ben Baistreri's Blog - he does some very nice breakdowns of some of his characters.

Look for his use of Straights vs. Curves!

labels

Straights and Curves/ Squash and Stretch

The Parts of the figure must be put together in a manner that brings out their meaning. Likewise the parts of the figure must be put together in a manner that will portray or caricature the meaning of the pose.

-Walter Stanchfield

When one side of a form stretches, the other side side should squash...and vice versa. This really helps add life to your drawings, get a better feeling of weight and is an aid in avoiding symmetry. A drawing that is totally symmetrical (both sides are mirror images) is usually a flat, uninteresting drawing.  Avoid this and look for how gravity is acting on your design.

Soft mass can stretch out when it's affected by gravity and squash down when it comes into contact with a hard surface.

As people move from place to place and perform actions, their bodies, limbs, even their clothes and hair (and everything else) are affected by the forces exerted by the muscles working against gravity, wind and air resistance, and this is expressed by drawing the forms squashed down or stretched out. Also, bodies can squash or stretch if they're affected by external forces out of their control (like a person tripping and falling face first on the sidewalk...their face might very well squash into the hard pavement). Link

Woulter Tulp - Gravity

 Use Straights and Curves in areas of natural stretching and squashing to Design your forms and give them rhythm.

Rad Sechrist - http://radhowto.blogspot.com

 

No matter how cartoony or realistic you draw, you always design the shapes

go Here - working from big shape design to smaller shape design

I often organize my figures so that one side is always squashing and the other side is stretching - Mark Kennedy

Anthony Holden

 Avoid "lazy- Lines."  Each line should be saying something and have a purpose. A lazy Line is a line that doesn't describe anything like shape, texture, softness, hardness, stretch, squish, gravity etc.

In Nature we see forms in balance, ready to move in any direction. Few fluid forms are completely symmetrical, and the contrast in form and shape makes and active type of balance. One side can be straight while the other bellies out with the relaxed weight, or they can both bend or stretch or twist or turn - it is always possible to make a drawing that is solid, round, pliable and in balance. we call these forms "Plastic" as opposed to "static."

The Illusion of Life

"Usually the part of the body which is Curved is the muscular or fleshy part which bends or folds inward. The straight is usually the Boney part which stretches or pulls tight when bent. Thinking of this will help determine the straights and curves in an object even in a relaxed position."

Milt Kahl