Each month we’ll be highlighting a new Dance Central fan in the Dancer’s Spotlight! These pieces will give us a chance to recognize some of our most dedicated and inspiring Dance Central community members, and give you a chance to meet your fellow dancers! We’ll talk with cosplayers, Fitness Challenge participants, artists, and more, so check back each month to see whose turn it is in the Spotlight.
Hi there! My name is Jeanette, though I go by JC around the internet. I’m from San Francisco and currently an Animation/Illustration student at San Jose State University. When I’m not busy drawing, I enjoy traveling, playing (N64) video games, and eating lots of good food.
Twitter | Tumblr | DeviantArt
It all started back in late 2011 when my friend invited me over to his house to play the first Dance Central. I was familiar with dance games like Dance Dance Revolution and took a few dance lessons years ago, so this game already sparked my interest. I wasn’t used to the arm coordination when I played my first song, “Evacuate the Dance Floor,” but I gradually got the hang of it. I was so hooked to the series, there were nights when my friends and I drove to the nearest Microsoft store and played it there. In 2012, I saved up enough money to buy an Xbox 360 and Kinect with Dance Central 2. Since then, Dance Central is one of my main workout sources.
I loved the character designs and enjoyed listening to their dialogues in the story mode; I could easily distinguish each of their unique personality. Because of it, I created fan art to not only improve my drawing skills, but to show my appreciation for the game. Ever since I made fan art for the Dance Central 3 countdown, I became more involved with the Dance Central community. There, I met many awesome and talented friends, all who I share my artwork with.
Plus, Angel and Bodie are my favorite characters so it’s fun drawing those two (as you can clearly see from most of the artwork I drew).
Sketching out small thumbnails helps me with my creative process; I get a general sense of what to draw and what I want to show. If I get stuck, watching movies and playing video games can give me ideas for an illustration or a Dance Central fan art. Sometimes my friends and I like to discuss the “What if” moments for our favorite characters, and that would provide me possible scenarios to draw.
I was a big fan of traditional mediums like colored pencils and watercolor, but now I’m trying to digitally paint more using Photoshop and a Wacom Bamboo tablet. My art style gets influenced from a variety of sources, such as art books for movies and games and illustrations shown on the internet. I’ve recently been inspired by artists like Pascal Campion and Shaddy Safadi.
Keep on drawing! It’s okay to make mistakes, you can learn a lot from your old work and move forward. The important part is just taking initiative.
Knowing my love for food (don’t worry, this is totally relatable), there is a memorable quote from a chef who said, “To cook good food, you must eat good food.” Same goes for art - if you want to draw well, you need to get inspired by all kinds of art. Some things to think about are: What are the artists doing that make their art successful? What are their creative process? Who are they influenced by? Don’t forget to use reference! It’s not cheating, but rather a creative tool to help you learn basic principles like proportions and perspectives.
Be ready to accept constructive criticisms, take notes and set reminders if you need to! Lastly, love what you do and know that you’ll have other artists and friends supporting you along the way. Understand that life as an artist may not be easy, but in the end, it will definitely be worth it.
Thank you Harmonix for creating this game. If it weren’t for Dance Central, I would not have made such wonderful friends and memories.
To those reading this: Be passionate, be kind, and always strive for your dreams. Happy dancing everyone!