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Welcome to the second episode of Character Caricatures.
My name name is "DJ Dr. Magic Master AH Swagga Dawg".
... but you can just call me Austin!
That is, unless, you've already called me something else. [cough]
Anyway, here we have our next character; Jimmy Smith, a.k.a. Rabbit from the film 8 Mile, commissioned by a sexy person.
The same person who implored me to watch the film and look past my preconceived assumptions.
Y'know, because I'm sometimes "that guy".
Assumptions in general don't bode very well, I find.
But to avoid this video becoming a preachy movie review, let's just focus on the character.
Marshall makes the transition into his character near seamless.
This character being someone I'm sure we can all relate to in some way. Feeling pressured by things surrounding you and facing difficulties to fully explore yourself due to your environment.
Nevertheless, he's a tough cookie and manages to turn his act around and realize that he's also responsible for the outcome of his future.
Just like me with how I'll return the focus of this commentary onto the actual drawing.
Mr. Rabbit, here has some distinctive features that shape his personality.
The sleepy eyes and leaning posture display his withdrawn self and laid-back attitude.
Throughout the 5 or so thumbnail sketches I drew, I was having trouble deciding on how to get his expression down.
Having watched 8 Mile twice, I felt confident in giving B-Rabbit a more indifferent rendition.
In one of the sketches I tried a more stern look on him but it only gave-off a more aggressive tone which fit his short-temper but not his overall character.
While he does have a short fuse, I don't really read him as overly contentious.
Then again, I lost count of how many times he threw his fists around throughout the movie.
Oh, speaking of of visual confusion, it was so difficult to find a clear reference image of those headphones Jimmy wears.
Hilariously enough, I ended up finding a toy figure of the guy, miniature headphones included... the exact same, too.
I should've checked to see if the toy comes with the ability to throw beer bottles at trailers or shoot paint balls at cop cars.
Obvious film references aside, the majority of the face is complete and now it's onto his outfit.
Dressed in three layers; shirt, hoodie, and jacket. Safe to say it was rather chilly in Detroit.
It's always a strange phenomenon when a caricature's arms come into focus where the head is concentrated.
Because you know how all caricatures have big heads, right?... It's the main attraction.
So now we have this arm here that just refuses to stay put and wants all the spotlight. [sighs]
"What's it doing?", you ask? Keep watching and you'll find out.
Finally filling in the eyebrows and adding some more shading among the face.
I wound up spending more time on this caricature than the previous the one, actually.
When it comes to the final piece, I'm considering aiming higher quality-wise with these videos.
Stronger contrast against the Speed Sketch videos.
Ah, there's that beanie! I knew you were lookin' for it. And there's that pesky hand, too!
Worry not, though, because it's got a purpose. Symbolism and whatnot.
Around the beginning of the film, when Rabbit leaves the lost rap battle and heads home, he signals to his friend, "Cheddar Bob",
using a peace sign with his hand over his head. This looking like rabbit ears. Clever... but it only happened once in the film.
I liked the pose so much that it became the caricature's as well.
Now we're on the final stretch where all that remains are touch-ups and shadows along the smaller corners of our now positively puissant pal, Monsieur Lapin.
Eh... that was French for "Mister Rabbit".
See? Who says YouTube videos can't be educational?... Certainly not me.
All and all, at least he didn't turn out looking like Pinocchio as most of the sketches did.
Aw, what'cha cryin' for?... Now Jimmy's a real boy. YAY!
Eh heh heh... Pinocchio reference.
Thanks for watching!
If there's a particular character you want drawn, click on the 'COMMISSION' link smack dab in the middle there to visit the Character Caricatures webpage
where you can commission me to make a caricature video of any character!
There's also a 'Playlist' link over here that'll bring you to the entire list of videos in the series.
Take care and consider holsters if you're going to carry guns around instead of stuffing them down your pants.