Regis Loisel is a French Cartoonist who is best known for the series 'La Quete de l'oiseau du temps', written by Serge Le Tendre. He's also worked with Walt Disney Studios on 'Atlantis' and 'Mulan', and illustrated a version of the novel, 'Peter Pan.'
Loisel works in both grayscale (for planning) and colour (in the final images), but his line work is the same in each. The lines in the images above are gentle, and used for shading in the form of cross-hatching. The shading is also done with a light grey paint to plan out where things will go in the final image.
His character designs are interesting, as all his characters have defining features that set them apart. In the first image above, the four character are easy to tell apart because Loisel has given them different face shapes, with exaggerated features, such as the largest designed man having a straight posture and an up-turned collar, along with a recognisable profile to his face.
These images are in colours, which demonstrates the types of pallets Loisel uses. His style is very raw, and the colours match. They give off a natural and realistic aura. In the last image, which is from the illustrated version of 'Peter Pan' he drew, Loisel has added texture to the leaves, rusted metal and water. The line work is simple, so adding detail in the colours make the whole image more interesting.
The line work in the coloured images also reminds me of the style of Alphonse Mucha, which is outlined around edges thicker than the inside. This makes the character or subject stand out. The shading methods used are also similar. Loisel shades clothing to look like silk, and Mucha does the same. They each leave a tiny part of the clothing unshaded, which changes the texture of the fabric entirely.
They also draw hair similarly, putting more definition on the outline rather than taking over the interior with lines to explain the flow. They do this by shading with darket varients of the same colours, or analogous colours if the shading is extreme.
What I like most about Regis Loisel's art are the textures he manages to incorporate with colour. Something smooth is described with a small bit of shading a gradient, and something coarse is done with a rough brush and varying shades and saturations of the same colour.
Another thing I like is that his designs have weight to them, and don't feel overdone or fantastical. He manages to incorporate a sense of realism into his work, and that is something I would like to replicate. Another thing I would take away from his artwork and try for myself is diversity in physical traits. As someone who draws from the same formula, it's hard implement defining features on a character and still have them match the rest. I'd like to try and add a lot more variety to my artwork in the future.