With the craziness of summer travel engulfing me, I have decided to rerun my series of blogs Designing a Character. Hopefully this is new to most of you.
Line is one of the essential elements of design. The type of line used in a drawing or composition creates a psychological impact on the viewer. Imagine the theoretical spine of your character as a certain type of line. How does that impact their personality and actions?
Vertical lines, especially substantial mechanically drawn ones, convey strength. In nature, we relate the vertical line to trees or buildings that define a city’s skyline. The horizontal line cannot help but be associated with the horizon, where sky meets sea, i.e. peace, tranquility. The diagonal line needs support to keep it from toppling, but is oh so exciting to slide down.
Let’s not forget our friends the curved lines. The half-circle, not so thrilling, but the spiral conjures the power of a tornado. The meandering curved line takes us on an easy but not always purposeful journey, like the course of a river.
What kind of lines do your characters represent?
I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I’ve always seen Harry as an active spiral, sometimes loose, but having the potential to pull in tightly at any moment. Harry can also be a straight line that rapidly changes direction such as the readings on a seismograph. Hermione is definitely a vertical, and Ron, meandering.
Time to share. What kind of lines do you see in some of your favorite characters?
