Rob Peters has wonderfully expressive characters in his drawings. I've been following Rob for a while now on Instagram. I love his dedication to drawing every day. He creates such wonderful characters for all his work. There are so many pieces of his that I love and I don't think that I could pick one that I like best. If I did choose one, then it would probably be the Smart Dummies logo he created for this event. Of course I'm a bit biased on that one. 😂 I also love his illustration from "Little Red Riding Hood". So many people have done illustrations for this book, but I find that I just adore Rob Peter's illustration. He brings a fresh look to an old favorite!
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Dani: Could you share with us a couple important things you need before creating an image/book for a client?
Rob: I always like to start with the technical specs—page size, number of pages, etc. It’s good to get that out of the way first.
Then I want to know about the story from the author or editor—NOT necessarily the plot, I’ll get that later when I read the manuscript, but what the author feels and thinks about the story. What the tone of the story is—what it “feels” like. Much of my work is with self-published authors. Since self-publishing can be a big commitment, most of these authors are incredibly passionate about their books. Learning why they’re passionate about that specific story can help guide my art. 
For example, I was contacted a few years ago by an author who wanted to know if I could draw a swan for their book. I responded with a small sketch of a swan. The author told me that my swan didn’t fit the book’s tone and would look elsewhere for an artist. I tried to explain that I didn’t know anything about the book or the intended tone, but it was too late to change their mind.
Dani: In an epic battle who would win: kittens or puppies?
Rob: I imagine it’ll play out like any superhero battle from the comics I grew up with—they’ll fight to a draw and then team up to stop their real enemy—squirrels.
Dani: What's one thing in the illustration process that takes you the most time to do?
Rob: I think the coloring stage takes the longest because there’s the most variables there. A good drawing with a good composition can become a mess if the colors aren’t right.
Dani: Out of all the Daily Drawings you've done which series is your favorite?
Rob: For those that don’t know, I post a Daily Drawing online every weekday morning. These a little line art pieces relating to a monthly theme.
It’s hard to pick a favorite but I think Elephants and Monkeys are somewhere at the top of my list.
Dani: Your artwork is very expressive. Do you have any tips for adding emotion to art?
Rob: Use the whole body when showing emotion, not just the face. A happy character might stand a little straighter and have a broader stance while a depressed character might curl up and draw in on themselves.
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| Smart Dummies Logo Contest Winning Entry! |
Dani: What are you working on now?
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Follow Rob:
Website: http://www.rob-peters.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobPetersArt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RobPetersArt/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobPetersIllustration/
Thanks for sharing your process.
ReplyDeleteRob, Thank you for sharing your work and process. I love your expressive characters.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rob for this wonderful post on how to get a handle on your character drawings. I like - use the whole body. It gets into the emotion more that way and it's so fun to 'read' -
ReplyDeleteNice blog!
ReplyDeleteLove the tip about using the whole body for showing emotion.
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of working in a theme when you draw every day, I will definitely incorporate this habit into my day! Thank you so much for sharing your insights.
ReplyDeleteI like your advice about using the whole body to express emotion. On some level, I already knew this and was instinctively doing that, but your focusing on it as central crystallizes how important this aspect is. And I will make this a focus in the future. Thank you! :-)
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