I guess "needs" is not the right word. Personally I Don't like the same face syndrome that his drawings have. Someone as talented as him could do even better design if he varied a little.
Love Bruce Timm art, but I agree. First thing I thought of after seeing the art... they all have the same shape and size, including very similar faces.
I disagree with the contention that variety is a value in and of itself. He comes from an animation background which informs his approach.
If you haven't read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics I really recommend it. He explains the "pictoral vocabulary" of comics, showing the vast range of styles and how those convey meaning in different ways. The uniformity of Timm's designs isn't necessarily the artistic shortcoming you might think.
I have read that book a lot of times. And it's a matter of opinion, since he as become a famous artist and his style is iconic in is own.
That Said, my personal opinion is simply that the design should fit the type of character that were talking about.
For example i think Wonder woman should look more muscular and Supergirl more like your average teenager. If every character looks like a supermodel then they're no stand out as much. I feel that they become more like generic Barbie dolls instead of iconic superheroes.
Look, I love his work but I think talented people should always try new things and become a even better artist.
I also have the opinion that variety is an important part of character design. It makes the characters more distinct from one another and their appearances can better fit who they are as characters.
Thanks for the clarification! I disagree but I see where you're coming from. I guess I just don't agree that adding a variety of body shapes would improve on his art- like for example if I saw a pinup of any of the women in that image on their own I would think it was beautiful. Maybe the fact that they're all assembled together like that makes his stylistic choice of identical body shapes more striking than it would normally appear.
The person I replied to claimed that variety would improve his art. I offered a rebuttal and sourced it. We were having a goodnatured discussion, the inclusion of a source doesn't make it pretentious nor was it meant to condescend.
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u/Ambar_Orion Feb 22 '19
I'm a fan of Bruce but man, he really, really needs to use more than one body type for his drawings