HR Manager

by Nov 15, 20220 comments

I’m happy to finally begin the steps of creating my own animated shorts. The goal is to create short animations and use the still frames as 1-3 panel comics. I haven’t given the series an official name, but it will be comedic takes on office work situations. I have had all kinds of work situations over the years. I thought, why not turn those situations into short animations? This concept for an unnamed HR lady is the first step towards that goal. I’m sure this will go through a few more iterations before I consider it the final design. I like flat, cartoony designs with basic shapes. I see this character as being a watcher of sorts. Upholding company policy, making up weird-ass rules for people to follow… stuff like that.

Character Sheet for HR Lady
Character Sheet for HR Lady

The Process

These sketches show some of my thought processes behind the character. I definitely wanted this to be someone with power and authority in the company. She will serve as the antagonist. And while I want her to be mean, I also want her to have a loving and understanding side that is willing to break the very rules she created.

Initial Rough Sketch
Initial Rough Sketch

I used a base pose that I found to get my initial sketch. Then I adjusted it to look more cartoony. Shorter legs, and a large head. I’m still not completely sold on the head size. If it’s too big, it kind of distracts from the body size. I made several adjustments before the coloring.

Head size comparison
Head size comparison

I went through different face sketches before landing on something I like. I went with a simple shape with room for expressions. I gave her free-floating earring. Not sure if I’ll keep that, but we’ll see.

First pass for head shapes and expressions.
First pass for head shapes and expressions.
Second pass for head shapes and expressions.
Second pass for head shapes and expressions.

I also want her to have a few different interchangeable hairstyles. She takes pride in the way that she looks. She’s elegant and clean, yet professional at all times.

If all your art has to be perfect before posting, then you’ll never actually post anything.

One Brush Army

The Conclusion

I did have a couple of people give me feedback on this design. So I made a couple of minor tweaks before adding color.

I also learned that I’ll want to write the character BEFORE I draw the character. I was so eager to start that I just dove right in.

Then, something weird happened. As I was gathering more reference, I realized that I created a softer version of Amanda Waller. Go figure. I guess it’s true when art directors and producers say that there are no original ideas. The good part about making your own stuff is that you can change it along the way. Even from one short to another. That works for me because I’m letting go of the pressure of making everything perfect. If all your art has to be perfect before posting, then you’ll never actually post anything. Free your art from being stuck in a sketchbook.

Thanks for reading.

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