Successful Shapes

SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE

Success in shape making primarily comes from the use of a variety of Large, Medium and Small shapes.

- Peter de Seve

Predictability and uniformity is dull, even to drawing and design. When a Design is composed of too many large shapes, it is empty and bland.  when a design is composed of too many small shapes (such as small detail) without enough large shapes to balance it,  the design is chaotic, confusing and exhausting.  Variations in shape sizes and groupings creates a dynamic and interesting design. Great character designers have mastered this principle and use it to direct their viewer's gaze and impressions.
 (if you want to see a cool scientific explanation of how our mind deals with different groupings of sizes check out the Gestalt principle as explained by Sam Neilsen)

DOMINANT MASSES

Reduce each character to a simple graphic shape with an instantly recognizable silhouette, and distinct from each other.

Looking at the Aladdin style sheet, we can see each character reduced to a basic shape that provides an easy, immediate read

look at each character's Dominant Mass

Each character has one mass that the rest of the design “hangs off”—the Genie’s chest, Jafar’s shoulders, the Sultan’s belly etc. Again, it’s all about a quick graphic read.

 "Gestures “start w/ the body, the body is the foundation upon which all the appendages are attached Are dependant upon for positioning. if you locate the body, gesture-wise, you have somewhere to connect the neck, arms, legs, eliminating the need to shift the foundation because you built the kitchen too far west.” -Walt Stanchfield 

Check out Nico Marlet - He is a master of all of these principles.  look at his work and see if you can spot it. [Note how the characters are primarily comprised of a few strong shapes; a dominant, which usually dictates the primary action line, just a few subordinates and an accent or two. The small details are all laid in well after the character is fully constructed]. Marlet varies grouping of shapes, making the big shapes REALLY big, and the small shapes TINY!. sometimes he even skips the medium shapes to emphasise the Big and small shapes.