Once upon a Timmy Progress

For as long as I've been on Blogger, I felt I've not been using it as I hoped. You see, I started this blog to showcase the progress of my artwork and discuss topics I found interesting. I hoped that it would help me in my journey as an artist. However, I feel like I've neglected it over the years, as most of my entries were dedicated to my trivial thoughts. So to maintain content on this blog, I'm going to start off this new direction with a recent piece of mine.

You may have noticed I've talked about the cartoon 'Fairly Odd Parents'; very frequently. I've discussed what worked and what didn't work about the series. I've also stated how people wish it didn't overstay its welcome (whether they be fans or not). I did so with concern because it was still a part of my childhood; I hoped it would conclude better than it did. Even if it was hokey and silly, there was a time when it was more than just 'fairly' good. So I decided to put the effort I put in critiquing the show into practice. What do I mean by that? I decided to make my own version of the series, as Butch Hartman would put it; it's the characters in the Milo Coco style!

It was a fun exercise to take existing characters and adapt them to a storybook-like approach. My aim was to take what I liked about the cartoon and apply my own sensibilities. I started with the characters; at first glance, it might seem like I'm taking these simple geometric designs and making them more lifelike. But I did my best to capture the personality traits of these characters.

I had to work out the body proportions and what facial features to emphasise. With Cosmo and Wanda, I like their characteristics enough, but I would draw inspiration from other fairy characters; so to add to their features. I liked meddling with their exaggerated hairpieces. 

I also enjoyed drawing Crocker; I tried to capture his deformed, decrepit appearance as well his manic expressions and body movements. 

After the characters were all drawn out, it was time to figure out their poses and where to place them. The same would apply to the watercolour effects.

I would then produce further studies to see what poses to put the characters. I would also experiment with tones and textures, trying to add highlights and details with the different brushstrokes. When I had sketched out the roughs and final layout drawing, I would experiment with the watercolour. As soon as the final illustration was done, I would take it to Photoshop to fix the colours and lighting.

Furthermore, I did this project out of fondness and appreciation for Fairly Odd Parents. Not to necessarily fix it, but to represent what it did right. The series had a charm that was all it's own, it's just a shame how it's reputation was tarnished. I wanted to offer my interpretation of this comical fairy tale, as my own creative exercise. The show showcased many morals; but one lesson I learned from it, it's to leave good enough alone to not let it stay too long.