KW
Brian Froud
Brian Froud is an artist who has created many characters for the world of the Dark Crystal many of these creatures are trolls and therefore are very applicable to research for my original folklore design and concept. Froud has created many books filled with illustrations, his most noteable is the book Faeries. It is beautifully illustrated, with a very distinct style. He also created the world of the film Labyrinth and worked on many other Henderson projects for the design, puppeteering and animatronics. Froud was also the designer for Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book from which I have taken pitures below. Goblins! was another that I came across in my search for inspiration. His primary book of interest for me is Trolls which was published in 2012. Much og his work has become cult favourite, he has many shows in his name and has has renown exhibits of his work. Overall he is a very impressive artist who work has inspired many, therefore I think that he is suitable to research for my current project. His style is also incredibly stylised making it particularly interesting and unique.
Brian Froud, Goblins [Online Image] Available From: http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lno1bmXS5X1ql1jpho1_500.jpg Date Accessed: 14/03/2015
Brian Froud, Brian Froud's Concept Art for Labyrinth (2012) [Online] Available From: http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/05/5311980/ Date Accessed: 28/03/2015
Brian Froud Art (2011) Available From: http://worldoffroud.smugmug.com/Art/Brian-Froud-Art/19797010_rgkTpj#!i=2108617857&k=FH7PCbP Date Accessed: 28/03/2015
Brian Froud Art (2011) Available From: http://worldoffroud.smugmug.com/Art/Brian-Froud-Art/19797010_rgkTpj#!i=2108617857&k=FH7PCbP Date Accessed: 28/03/2015
Brian Froud Art (2011) Available From: http://worldoffroud.smugmug.com/Art/Brian-Froud-Art/19797010_rgkTpj#!i=2108617857&k=FH7PCbP Date Accessed: 28/03/2015
Brian Froud (2015) Trolls [Online Image] Available From: http://afanyc.com/frouds/trolls-exhibition-art-brian-froud/#!prettyPhoto Date Accessed: 27/03/2015
I really like this design created by Froud due to the sinister quality about the design, the borrowed brows with the slight smile. The overall styling of the costume combined with the hair on the creature work extremely well together. The colouration flows through the design to create a cohesive look. The angular brows which continue through the hairline are particularly interesting, the way in which they break up the regular forms in an interesting effect. Which I find particulalry inspiring.
This collection of creatures surrounding the human baby have fantastic forms, I am particularly interested in the shaping and colouration. There are some very unique structure involved in the characters, for example the blue creatures wings. The colouring on the creature with the helment is also a interesting route to take for the development of my troll. I think this image is very inspiring due to the very small characters that are not initially noticed and their forms. There is a small character to the left with its back facing the centre looking over its shoulder that has interesting brow shaping and the mouth is also and powerful design that makes a big impact on the overall shaping of the face. The wrinkling in many of the creatures is also worth taking note of due to the deep grooves and the way in which it changes the whole design of the character.
This group image also contains many designs with powerful elements to consider. Most of the characters have pointed noses which is generally a strong feature of the troll creatures. I may take inspiration from these shapes. I also like the lip shaping on various characters, there is a grumpy looking character whos thin lips are a strong feature on the face. I think the thinner lip approach might be most suitable for my character. The colours of the designs are also interesting, I like the way that they are of similar tones, yet the contouring and shading helps to create a powerful effect. The characters which have side profiles also show the neccessity for a strong shape design. I will consider this when looking at my design from the side profile. I will ensure that I have a very strong shape that make a big impact on the viewer.
I very much so like the colouration used in this drawing, the use of the grey tones throughout the body, contrasted with the slight flesh tones seeping through in the ears, nose and cheeks. It helps to make the whole piece have greater contrast to make certain areas stand out, this should be considered in the paint scheme of my makeup as there needs to be areas of less focus in order for the other aspects to stand out and not make the overall result too cluttered.
This is one of my favourite Froud pieces, the portrayal of evil can clearly be dictated through the facial awareness. The deep wrinkling helps to add to this effect. The colour contrast also works very well, the white hair counteracting the grey tones of the face. This seems to be a clear point to take note of in the colouring, that there must be something to contrast with the other colours for an effective result. The prominent lips also have a strong impact on me, I like the way they create a natural expression of distaste, yet the character would still be able to convey different expressions.
This image has been included in my Froud research due to the nature of the character. The rock structure of the being is not particularly impressive, as it appears to be a simple boulder. However the colouration clearly represents rock texture and shaping. The minute details all add up to create an effective result.
The colouration of this design is particularly applicable to the style that I want to create with the character that I want to create. The darker tones, mixed with a slightly lighter costtume along the same lines. Similarly the hair work goes really icely alongside the design of the face and would be something to consider.
The ageing in this image is my main focus, I want the troll before rock transformation to have a similar amount of facial texture, which I want to convey through the rock in the final version of my design. It is important to note of the shapes and location of certain wrinkles to understand how I would translate this into the rock. I also like the proportions of the face, the small eyes with the large face create an interesting dynamic for the overall design.
I like this image as the face looks quite like bone, as if there was no skin on the being. As the horn on the head will be made of a natural substance it is important that I make it look as though it is bone with a good colouration. I want to take inspiration from this image, as the face is slightly off colour with a base of the white tone.
This shilouette is a very powerful one, as it has such a round shape to the whole character with the one curled horn protruing from the top of the head. The elongated nose would be very interesting to include in the design of my troll-like creature. I think that the way the face is shrouded by the hair also adds an element of mystery to the character. I would like something of a similar nature to be included in my design.
This cahracer is very troll-like. The nose is exactly the style that I want to try to create. I also like the way that the ears are so large it evens out the mouth. Where the eyes are so small the large features help to counteract the scaling issue. The tail is also an engaing element of the design as it has a similar style to the hair on the top of the head creating a cohesive result in the character.
I really like this design as it has a really interesting structure, the way in which the stone has blended with the troll to create a great shilouette. It creates an idea of sympathy for the character. The teeth finish the character making a dynamimc finish to the design. I also really like the piercings in the nose as they balance the face out. I will also look to this design in terms of the colouration of the character. The texure on thedarker rocks is worth considering, the variation in colours helps to make a more indepth and detailed result. Highlighting the importance of creating a tonal character to make the final result that much more engaging.
I think that this design works as an overall character due to the way that all the aspects have been thought out. The convergence of the bird qualities and the tree branch structures. The ear shapes are engaging as they stand out from the facial structure, with a slghtly different quality compared to the rest of the design. A viewer can draw elements from the design to determine some of the backstory to the character. I think that this is an important factor when designing to ensurethat it is a detailed, intricate character.
The most important part of this design for inspiration in design my own is the colouration in the face and the hands. It works really successfully to create a pale, stone like exterior. The grey tones, contrasted with the slight red at the end of the nose create an engaging effect. Similarly I think that the costume finishes off the effect. I will use this design for inspiration into the way in which I could my designs.
In this story you can see the backstory behind the character. I think this is an important aspect to convey in a design. The character must be believable with a story. Not one character will have been made without a backstory, they will fit in somewhere in the environment created around the character. This is also partly due to the costume in this design. It completes the design, thus suggesting the mportance of costume, without a costume the look would not be finished and therefore be quite unsuccessful.
Changing the face
I really like how Froud has changed the shape of the face to create an elongated shape that standout out in any environment. Similarly the use of moss/plant like hair to create contrast in the character is a good effect. I like the grey colouration of the character as it conveys the other-worldy effect.
This is one of my favourite Froud designs. I think it is applicable to this project as it has similar structuring to the type of character that I want to create. The furrowed brow wih strong wrinkling is one of the focal points that I think would be an exciting area to play around with. I also like how the long ears balance out the face creating a contrast in structure. They help to balance out the large jaw creating an overall character design that works really well. The texture that is used on the top of the head would be worth the consideration when trying to create the rock like strcutrue in my character design. I also like the nasal shape as it is still fairly humanoid, yet with an animalistic quality.
Froud, B. (2012) Brian Froud's trolls. New York: Abrams.
This is a great design. The use of an extension to the head works really well. The tree bark looks like a mixture of an extension of the head and also a hat. I like the detailing on the tree part that make it seem worn and more intricate. It creates a whole atmosphere around the character The ears are also intriguing as they have a delicate shape yet are clearly strong nough to support the tree bark. Overall this is inspiring, I like the way it creates another worldly element in the design.
This design has a great structure through the large, elongated horns that create a great shilouette on the character. I think the use of hair combined with the facial areas also works really well to produce a powerful final image. I think the nasal holes are also interesting due to their placement and think this could be a good way to create a nose for my character.
This character has a very sinister style to his face. I think that this is due to the placement of the eyes. The way that the mouth creates a certain expression through the shaping. all add up to make a successful character. The skinny arms along the large head create a really distorted image which works really well, suggesting that I contrast certain features in the design.
Brian Froud's Trolls