Aladdin Central Messageboard

[xfkirsten]

Okay, someone asked about this awhile back, although of course I can't find that thread now. Anyways, I got bored, so here it is! This is a collection of notes, tips, and hints I've put together on drawing Aladdin. Some of it is basic human figure drawing, which helps immensely to learn! Everything here is stuff I've learned just from observing the characters, or from looking at animators' model sheets, or that I've been taught in art classes.

General

Before I get started, I wanna throw out some notes about drawing characters in general. My first hint - invest in a mirror! If you don't have one readily available already, any old mirror will do. If you are trying to get an expression just right, you can easily look at your own reflection making that same face, and draw what you see. Second, find some human anatomy drawing books! Any bookstore generally has a number of them in stock, so flip through them and find one that explains it clearly to you. If you don't have the money or don't want to make that investment, local libraries also carry a wide variety. Third, use reference images! Screen caps are a great reference if you're not sure how a particular facial feature looks on a character. Other merchandise with the character (i.e. books, posters, etc) will do in a pinch, but I find that particularly for the Aladdin characters those images often look quite different than the characters in the original film. Another great reference are what are called "model sheets." They note particular features of a character for the animators to use as a reference. There are a number of model sheets in the image section right here on Aladdin Central!

Drawing the Head

Okay, starting with the head basics... this part applies not only to Aladdin, but to other human characters as well.

The following illustrations give you an idea of basic head structure for any human figure. The first drawing shows the basic shape of the head in profile. From the side, it looks somewhat like a lopsided oval. Also notice that the neck generally doesn't point straight upward - there is a very slight tilt forward. The neck connectes to the back half of the skull - not right in the middle!



The next part is a bit confusing to explain, so the second diagram shows a bit better what I'm talking about. The red lines are guidelines. For facial features, it often helps to draw lines on the face. If you draw a horizontal line right through the middle of the head, that is the line along which the eyes lie. Halfway between that line and the chin lies the mouth. You can also draw vertical lines, more or less dividing the head into fifths. The middle fifth is where the nose is. The tip of the nose generally lies halfway between the eye line and the mouth line. From the corners of the nose, you can draw a straight line upward to the inside corner of the eye. The eyes then take up the fifths of the face on either side of the nose. The ears are even with the eyes. If you draw a line straight down from the middle of the eyes, that is where the corners of the mouth fall.

Bear in mind, though, that most of the time you are probably not drawing the head looking straight on. You will have to adjust the proportions as such. This is where a mirror really comes in handy! The face is not a flat surface, so lines curve a bit differently. Take out your mirror, and start making faces in it for a reference! Also realize that these proportions change slightly with different facial expressions. Again - mirror!

Okay, now onto Aladdin's facial features in particular.



Notice how the corners of Aladdin's eyes tilt up slightly, giving him a bit more exotic look. The degree to which this is true varies from shot to shot, which is understandable because of the constant changes in his look during production.

The bridge of Aladdin's nose is straight!

When drawing Aladdin's mouth, don't draw lips! Human male animated characters rarely have the lips fully drawn out - the human Beast is the only Disney one I can think of offhand that does. Instead, there is usually just a small line below the mouth to indicate the edge of the bottom lip, and occasionally one on the top lip as well (usually only when it's needed for an expression, like when pursing one's lips).

Now comes the part that is generally the hardest for me - his hair. Aladdin's hair line falls slightly above his eyebrows. His part is directly over the center of his left eyebrow. How that curl falls varies, again due to the changes in design during production. Straight on, it usually looks like it's in one big chunk. In profile, it looks like it falls more into two relatively even chunks. However, occasionally there is just a little curly-cue in the middle (such as when he is first picking up the lamp). How his hair poofs varies greatly - I'll leave it to you to find good reference photos for the look you're looking for.

Drawing the Body

Okay, onto the full body! There's so much to talk about here, that I'll just cover the basics and a few notes here and there. Again, I refer you to a human figure drawing book for details. For illustrations, check out some of the model sheets in the image section here on AC - there's some great demonstrations there!

When you pick a pose, choose something very expressive! Try to avoid straight up-and-down lines in the drawing, as they tend to be "boring."

As shown on model sheets, Aladdin is about 6 heads tall. That means his height is six of his heads stacked one on top of the other.

Aladdin has a broad chest! His chest is wider than his waist, so don't just draw him the same width all through his torso. Also, in the front of the neck, right at the base, there is a very small v-shape where your collar bones meet. It sometimes helps to draw that. Also, the shoulders do not make a 90 degree angle with the neck! The shoulders are sloped a bit more up to the neck.

Note Aladdin's arms - there is definition to them! Whether or not they are "muscular" really depends on the look you want. At the beginning of the original film, they are quite skinny. He is a street rat, after all! By the end, though, his arms have bulked up a bit. In either case, the muscles of the arm are well-defined.

Hands are a tough part. For me, the easiest way to draw hands is to pose my own hand and draw what I see. For Aladdin, his fingers have a very rounded shape to them. Don't draw them too thick or too thin! Also, one trick I've found when drawing fingers is to draw a line down the center of the palm both horizontally and vertically (don't forget perpectives!). The base of the thumb takes up the lower half of the palm. The four fingers can be spaced along the top of the palm, two on each half. Look at your own hand for a goof illustration here. Also, note that there is a fair amount of muscle at the base of your thumb and the heel of your hand - it looks quite rounded!

On the legs - again, make sure you have muscle definition! It often helps to draw the legs out before you draw pants, that way you make sure that you have the pose correct.

As for feet... oy. Again, one of my toughies. My suggestion again - draw what you see! If you're at an odd angle to look at your own foot, take out the mirror. A couple of notes: The front of your foot is not a straight line! It curves back as you go toward your pinky toe. Also, be sure to note the places where the bottom of your foot curves: under your heel and the ball of your foot.

Okay, clothes! I'm gonna be even more vague here, since there's such a wide variety of outfits.

The nature of clothes in Aladdin tends to be baggy. Lots of flowing lines - you're not going to use many sharp edges! The best advice I can give here is to put on a baggy sweatshirt or pants, and look at how the fabric hangs. It tends to bunch slightly on the inside of a curve, such as at your elbow. Also, it obeys the laws of physics - the clothes hang off a body part, they don't float around it!

In his street rat outfit, the crotch of his pants falls near his knees or a little above, depending on what shot you are referencing. In the original film they tend to be a bit tighter, and in the series they were baggy enough to give MC Hammer a run for his money. Also note that the waist tends to sag slightly.

In his Prince Ali outfit, the legs are more defined. They seem to get a bit wider near the bottom, though. His hair either tucks completely into the turban, or has a small wave of hair peeking through. At the base of his turban, it often helps to imagine the shape of his head - that band should fit snugly! Also, the turban cannot defy the laws of gravity, and it tends to sag a little bit at the bottom in the back.

Final Notes

Back to the general hints. First of all, practice! The more you practice, the better you'll get. Copying images from the film is fine - it's a great way to make sure that you are getting features correct. But once you really start trying to draw your own pictures, you'll get a much better understanding of how all this works. If the first few don't turn out how you'd like, just keep working on it! Second, think about what you're drawing. If you're copying a picture from the movie, don't just blindly copy it. Think about why that line is curved the way it is, or why it's there! Again, you'll get a better understanding of how the character is put together.

Okay, that's all I can think of offhand! If anyone has anything in particular they're wondering about or want more explanation, I'd be happy to help try and explain it. If you want honest, constructive criticism on a drawing to help you improve it, I'm happy to help there as well! Also, any corrections or additions are always useful. I'm not great at drawing the other characters, so someone else would have to step in there.
_________________
I don't need intelligent drugs, because I don't know what they are. But I will put anything into my mouth that is given to me, whether it's supposed to go there or not. Because... I'm different.

[Iago]

y'know that starter face makes all look like hes possesed
_________________

[xfkirsten]

[Iago]

[Salukfan]

This is bloody fascinating!

*Needs to try.. but can't now, because she's *already* procrastinating*
_________________
"This cow's been covered with flour!"

[xfkirsten]

LMAO... just noticed... ignore the direction of the flip in Al's hair in that econd pic. I flipped it horizontally after I scanned it.
_________________
I don't need intelligent drugs, because I don't know what they are. But I will put anything into my mouth that is given to me, whether it's supposed to go there or not. Because... I'm different.

[Nez]

Wow, cool.

I started printing off model sheets a while back and they were pretty helpful.

Now to see if that human anatomy book will do any good.
_________________

[xfkirsten]

You'd be amazed how true-to-life the characters are. Sure, they're cartoons, but the basic way that the body works and moves is exactly the same as ours. That's why Disney hires animators that can go beyond the "cartoony" look, who are just as good at realistic human drawings as they are at animated characters,
_________________
I don't need intelligent drugs, because I don't know what they are. But I will put anything into my mouth that is given to me, whether it's supposed to go there or not. Because... I'm different.

[Madeleine]

Yay, something for my artistically challenged self!
_________________
"You know what happens when my mom uses fabric softener?"
"What?"
"I DIE."-Wednesday Addams and Joel Glicker
Addams Family Values.

"Young lady, I'm getting a tad tired of your attitude problem"-Peter MacNicol Addams Family Values.

[Princess Lydia]

Oh thank you Kirsten and that was me who was asking a while ago! Thanks for remenbering!!

[xfkirsten]

You're welcome!
_________________
I don't need intelligent drugs, because I don't know what they are. But I will put anything into my mouth that is given to me, whether it's supposed to go there or not. Because... I'm different.

[Boz]

Wow, those are some really good tips!

I guess I have some more tips. They're from my "How to Draw Aladdin" book. It doesn't have a lot of tips inside. It's mostly about the steps taken in drawing the characters. The tips might not make much sense without the pictures from the book. They're general and somewhat obvious. Some of these tips are a repetition of what Kirsten has written.

Aladdin: His nose has a slight downward curve. His hair is widest at eyebrow level. When drawing his whole body, make his shoulders broad and give him a wide stance (his feet should be far apart).

Princess Jasmine: The tops of her eyes have flatter curves while the bottoms are deeper and rounder. Her eyes have a gentle upward slant. She has a narrow waistline and very small feet.

Genie: He has a wide smile. His eyes are on a slight diagonal slant and are set close together. His beard ends in a distinctive spiral. He has broad, flowing shouldes and a body that tapers down to nothing at all. He's drawn with long, flowing lines. There are no sharp angles on this character.

Abu: He is a stylized character, with a large head over a thin, flexible body. His brow ridge extends past the ball of his head.

Jafar: He has a long, narrow face that always seems to be sneering. The ball of Jafar's head is small, with a long, angular jaw. He has broad, pointed shoulders that emphasize the length of his body and the wickedness of his character. Draw him with long lines and sharp angles. He has spider-like hands, which add to his sinister appearance.

Iago: Draw his body as a pear shape, with a small ball for his head.

The sultan's body is one big circle. Carpet is a rectangle. Rajah's body is a large circle in the front with a top and a bottom curve that connect it to a smaller circle in the rear.

Edit: Then again, some people might already own this book.
_________________
When in doubt, hurt the bird.
My avatar is from here: http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/pocketgirl/

[xfkirsten]

Just found an awesome resource over on DeviantArt! This page has great diagrams of human anatomy!

http://www.deviantart.com/view/11939496/
_________________
I don't need intelligent drugs, because I don't know what they are. But I will put anything into my mouth that is given to me, whether it's supposed to go there or not. Because... I'm different.

[persian85033]

Wow. Some of the things you put there about Al, I hadn't noticed until now. Or at least not in detail.
_________________
"I too am a member of your species, Captain, or I was. Perhaps I am not anymore. Perhaps you are right in thinking of me as an alien. I know I am different from you. You see-I do not kill."

[AladdinsGenie]

*totally forgot she said she was going to make one for Jasmine* I'm such a horrible person . I should work on that this weekend...