Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Animated cartoon characters are identified by name, species, personality traits, language, and clothing. For many characters, the characters’ name gives an indication of his/her appearance. Snow White is a prime example of this fact. A cartoon character’s appearance in many cases is the most significant aspect of his/her identity. This includes the clothing that they wear.
A description of Snow White’s appearance is as follows:
Snow White is Caucasian or White. Her skin is described as being as white as snow.
She wears a dress with a blue bodice and a white popped collar.
The bodice has puffy, red paned sleeves.
The bottom of the dress is bright yellow worn over a hint of a white ruffle.
She wears light or tan colored low heels with a bow.
She wears lipstick that makes her lips appear red as a rose.
Snow White is a brunette. Her hair is as black as ebony.
She wears a signature red bow in her hair.
Such information about well-known animated characters is important for artists who aspire to become animators. Often the path to stardom and notoriety for an animator begins by accepting a part-time position at a studio where an artist is needed to generate content that was created many years ago. In these situations, a new artist will be considered for the position such that he/she can draw, paint, color, and animate known characters. In time and as that new artist gains valuable experience, he/she may one day be able to creatively generate new content and new characters but until then, the ability to correctly produce what has already been done to go along with a new storyline is just what the doctor has ordered.
Instructions
1. Make copies of each coloring page so that you can practice coloring the characters.
2. Choose the best tools that you have to color each character – paint and paintbrushes, crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc.
3. Using the character descriptions and the colored photos as guides, practice coloring the black and white drawings so that they can be used in cartoons and sketches for animated films.
4. Refer to the detailed descriptions for the characters to make sure you colored each part of the character correctly.
5. Color the characters again if you notice any mistakes in the work you completed. Remember, each character must be drawn according to the specifications listed in the description.
6. Ask someone you know to review your work by looking at the coloring pages to check for accuracy in how they have been completed.
7. You will have successfully completed this lesson when you have colored the characters so that they look almost exactly like the image from the feature film.