With the goal of becoming a better "vector artist," and just better at digital illustration all around, I have been doing a lot of personal (not for work/client) illustrations. I quite enjoy it, and have tried my hand at a few styles of illustrating that were new to me as well. One of the styles that I am particularly fond of, is creating "chibi" illustrations.
The term "chibi," is derived from Japanese language, and it means
small or
little. Within the culture of anime and manga illustration, it specifically refers to the drawing of a character in an exaggerated form, most often small and or in child form, with a large head and large eyes. Illustrations in this style are sometimes referred to as "super-deformed." See
Wikipedia's definition of chibi.
Though I do not consider my own "chibi" illustrations to be anime or manga, I do use the term "chibi" to define them. Most are in the typical ratio of chibis or super deformed chibis, that would be head to body ratio of 3:1, but not all. Simply put, in this showcase, are some of my "illustrations of people and characters with big heads and little bodies" :)
"Audrey Hepburn - My Fair Lady" © Lauren ThompsonFirst in a series of Audrey Hepburn as Eliza in "My Fair Lady" illustrations that I am going to create, so stay tuned! Mouse drawn in PhotoShop, all vector. No raster, blur, or PhotoShop styling/elements.
"Ariel Chibi" © Lauren ThompsonI like the colors in this, but I received a comment that it does not look very much like the Disney Ariel that we all know and love, and I had to agree. Hence, I have started working on a new Ariel illustration, again, stay tuned... Mouse drawn in PhotoShop, no raster, blur, or PhotoShop styling/elements, all vector (except for the background which I did raster & use a plug-in filter).
"Claudia the Child Vampire" © Lauren ThompsonClaudia from Anne Rice's novel and feature film, "Interview with the Vampire." Her appearance somewhat was inspired by the look of actress Kirsten Dunste, who played the charactr in the film, namely her super tight ringlets. Mouse drawn in PhotoShop, all vector, some brush tool used.
"Material Girls" © Lauren ThompsonWhat can I say about this? I was simply compelled to create this, my vector rendition of the infamous 2003 VMA appearance of Britney Spears, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera. Mouse drawn in PhotoShop, All vector; no raster, blur, brush or PhotoShop styles. This would be an example of chibi's that are not super deformed or true to definition; they are chibi with exaggerated proportions, but to a lesser degree.
"Laila Does Lolita" © Lauren ThompsonLaila, the pink and yellow haired chibi girl, is my OC (original character). Here she is in a "Sweet Lolita" styled fashion. Mouse drawn vector in PhotoShop, vector with some brush tool and other elements used.
"She Likes The Dark" © Lauren ThompsonLaila my OC again, in a look that she is more comfortable in, "Gothic Lolita." All vector made in PhotoShop, no brush, blur, PhotoShop styles.
I hope you enjoyed viewing these, I sure enjoyed illustrating them! View more of my digital creations on
deviantART and
flickr. I would love to hear your thoughts on them, so please do leave a comment below. Thanks!
From blond to banana, web designs in beige and creme live up to conjured definitions making a sweet and soft sight on the eyes. This is a color scheme that gets quite a fair amount of use in the web designs of the present, and doesn't seem a fleeting trend. 
I have just launched 
