Vault Boy art-style

E

Elrahc

First time out of the vault
Hello,

I'm new to this forum - I had a question, so I had to sign up and see if I could get an answer. (Genius, I know.)

The Vault Boy (yes, the blond lad, not the red haired Pip Boy) art-style, does anyone know what this style is called? I want to create some images or have some images created by others that are in this style. Is it something that was invented by Interplay for this game alone, or did it originate in the 50s-60s or something?

Also, would it infringe on any copyrights if the same style was used to create new images? I'm not talking about re-using already existing artwork, but create similar ones.

Thank you for any advice.


~Elrahc
 
Vault Boy is a mix of the old-style Monoply man and 50's-60's advertising mascots.

if this has a name, no clue, but i'm sure Wooz or someone else here could give you a better answer.
 
As Sue said, the Vault boy character was mainly influenced by 50's ad mascots, and Rich Uncle Pennybags, the monopoly character.

Examples:

vaultboyjt8.jpg



The style? AFAIK, I don't think there's a name to it other than "you know, the style used in the fifties for ad cartoons".

As to creating similar ones and copyright infringement, it depends on how much you're planning to base yourself on the vault boy.
 
Thank you, that was a lot of help. :) With all those examples, I think it's possible to come up with one's on twist on it that still has the cool charm. Vault Boy is by far the coolest I've seen of this "old style" cartoon, so topping it will be hard. It will be fun to try!


~Elrahc
 
The style of the Vault Boy is commonly referred to as "clear line style", but that doesn't say a whole lot because Hergé, the creator of TinTin, also used the clear line style and his work looks radically different. That's because Hergé used a drawing pen, whereas a brush is being used for the Vault Boy linework.
If you want to emulate the style of the Vault Boy, I recommend a good brush, pure sable. They're expensive but cheap brushes just won't do the job. Trust me.
You might want to check out stuff like Archie comics (not the fifties series, but the sixties series) to find examples of similar linework. The contemporary artist/cartoonist Seth works in a similar style. Look for his most recent work, "Wimbledon Green" or for "Vernacular Drawings", a collection of his sketchbook drawings.
 
Thank you for this informative reply, alec. I would like to try and emulate the style of the Vault Boy, yes. However, I wish to do it digitally, and I've been wanting to get a Wacom tablet for a while. Any of you got experience with the Wacom products? I am hoping that I can achieve the brush effect with it, is all.

I would appreciate tips on books or web sites that look at the style and teach it. I'm using Google a lot, but I've learned to never underestimate the results from Word of Mouth.

Thank you,


~Elrahc
 
Elrahc said:
Any of you got experience with the Wacom products? I am hoping that I can achieve the brush effect with it, is all.
Click to expand...

Yes. It's the best brand in the market. If you got the money, I strongly recommend it.

If you want a real brush effect, do the drawing on a piece of paper and scan it. Remember, scanners and tablet-art are complementary.

I would appreciate tips on books or web sites that look at the style and teach it.
Click to expand...

Pfft.
 
"The Art of Comic Book Inking" by Gary Martin (Dark Horse Comics, ISBN 1-56971-258-1) is an excellent introduction to inking, both with brush and pen, but my copy dates from 1997, so it might be hard or impossible to find a copy today (unless it gets regularly republished, I dunno).

All in all, practice matters the most. Books are good to learn the basics, but you'll need to spend many hours behind your desk, inking, before you "master" it.

As for software: isn't CorelDraw able to emulate brush lines? I know there's software around to fake brush lines, just don't know the name of it.

I've got a cheap, small Wacom tablet (the Volito 2, probably the cheapest one around), and I'm very fond of it. I only use it to colour my handdrawn illustrations and it works wonders. If you're gonna use it to actually draw on it, you should buy a bigger and more expensive model, I guess.
 
Wacom are great tablets as wooz said, PSP XI can replicate most if not all art equipment.
 
"Emulate" is the word. No program works in the same way as traditional mediums.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top