Un-Visible Girl

Violet Parr sketch
Ink and color pencil on paper.
22.23 cm x 15.24 cm (8.75 in. x 6.00 in.).
Pg. 085 in sketchbook

Most of my sketchbooks consist of tiny thumbnail sketches of ideas before they vanish from my head, a form of taking notes with pictures. They are not intended for others to see and much less to judge. In other words, they are not Instagram-worthy. Some times I just try to draw something nice.

During one lunch hour, I drew Violet Parr the eldest child of Bob and Helen and for all intents and purposes a member of the super-hero family team, the “Incredibles,” of course, from the Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles. She has the powers of invisibility and projecting not so invisible force fields. Yes, just like those of Marvel’s Invisible Woman, Sue Storm, and member of the super-hero family team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, “The Fantastic Four.”

See elsewhere on the internet for the discussion of “The Fantastic Four” vs. “The Incredibles.”

Anyways, back to the drawing– To truly draw an invisible character is to not draw the character at all. Well, that isn’t any more fun for me than anyone looking at a blank page on Instagram. So, she’s partially not drawn, i.e. she’s partially invisible. At the same time, didn’t I merely draw a vignette of Violet? Sure, that’s fair.

Working in red and black, I recall someone queried why I didn’t color the black parts of her costume with black rather than the deeper shades of red. Speaking on something that I did twelve-months ago, it’s because as a character artist, I’ve become accustomed to focusing on developing line art. Tones and color become a secondary concern.

As posted on Instagram @monstergram7.