Hi everyone! 😄
Is there a better character to hone our character design skills than Mickey?
He is not only the famous character animation - he is also a great lesson in how to design a character from basic shapes (like spheres). He was born at a time when animation was very expensive. Disney's animators had to find a simplified way to be economical with the animation sheets. That's why Mickey only has 4 fingers (like so many other characters after him), because the 4-finger system works really well, even if it's not realistic, it's believable and allows the animators to animate fewer elements.
By the way, this is an important point when designing a character: it doesn't have to be realistic, cartoons are the perfect example, but you have to make it believable in its own world.
Mickey's head is based on a round shape with a growth forming the snout.
I used to start my drawing sheet by tracing a circle, trying to make it as perfect as possible, just to warm up my hand.
Its body is like a bean. Then, we had the arms and legs, very flexible and round, with the hands and feet at the end of these.
The hand is also constructed starting with a ball.
Throughout Disney's history, Mickey has gone through several styles. The first one had black eyes, and the following ones had eyes as we are used to drawing them, with whites and distinct pupils. And it's logical that the first one had just black eyes, because it's really quicker to draw, but the second design is really more expressive and pleasant.
I think my favourite Mickey design of all is the one in Fantasia, he looks very dynamic and the hat suits him very well.
I hope you will like it !
And you, have you ever drawn Mickey ?
See you soon for more creations!
