The Smurfs was a BIG part of my cartoon routine as a kid. By no stretch of the imagination were they a favorite of mine, but I did enjoy the show and I had plenty of Smurf toys, Smurf sheets, and a stuffed Papa Smurf that survived 25 years until it was, ahem, mistakenly given to my dog as a chew toy.
I've mentioned this before, but you'll notice that a lot of my contributions to the sketch challenge will be swipes. Of course, I'm drawing them myself; but I'm still re-learning how to cartoon. So, while I try (mostly in vain) to re-learn anatomy and composition, swiping poses for these characters really helps. I make no excuses, and want to be as upfront as possible about it.
My Papa Smurf is based (swiped) from a pretty popular image of the character that, I believe, is by Peyo. But, the addition of Gargamel to the pot was my idea, and I thought it was funny. I penciled the piece and then used an ink brush for the finishes. I've also been fooling around with digital coloring and trying to find a style that suits the way I draw and I am comfortable working with. I don't know that I was successful with that here, but I am satisfied with the result (at least for now).
