Smile!

from I Love You All Year Round

(Piggy Toes Press)

I saw this TED talk this morning about the importance of smiling.

If you have the time, watch the video at the end of this post. It says that there are studies that prove people who smile frequently live longer.

I hadn't really given it much thought before but I am a big smiler. I smile a lot. I even smile in my posts as I have a hard time writing and not ending it with a smily face. :o) (..see?)

This talk got me thinking how this can translate in our work as illustrators. I know we have to illustrate many scenes and have to be able to convey a whole range of feelings, so it is important to have samples that show this in our portfolios.

But I can't help to illustrate most of my characters smiling.

Maybe is an extension of who I am? Or maybe I just want to transmit that happy and warm feeling to an audience?

Either way, If you ask me, you can't go wrong illustrating happy characters.

People enjoy seeing others smile.

Doesn't matter if its a real person in front of them

or a couple of Jellyfish. ;o)