[Jost]

I know what it takes for a picture to be cute, I know how to use some of the visual cues but I can�t seem to bring it to tangible realities in my mind. I know cute originates as a visual cue that makes us care for infants. I invested much time and practice developing cute creatures but I can�t say for sure why some features on my characters are cute and some aren�t but the whole is cute.

There is a wide industry out there for cute, from WB to Disney and a great deal of anime all depend on cute as a major draw to their animated features. But I never hear any art discussions on the subject. I still struggle with the concept today, I think putting large eyes will make my creatures cute but other lines and features get destroyed from the oversized eyeballs. It�s mostly hit or miss and I try again erasing and redrawing and I wish I had a more to go on before I change the anatomy of my subjects.

Eric

Cute:
Attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
Obviously contrived to charm

Prettiness:
The quality of being appealing in a delicate or graceful way

Quaintness:
Strange in an interesting or pleasing way

[antx]

I would say proportions and certain shapes make it. A character doesn�t necessarily need big eyes to look cute. Look:



Here it's more the big head and the position of the ears and the eyes (the whole face actually) on the head that make it look cute.
Try this: think of a baby and an adult and compare the proportions of certain parts and in the whole. Perhaps draw the baby and exaggerate the proportions that are different. You might end up with a baby that has a big head with the face in the lower part of it, so that the forehead seems very big. Or compare a baby cat with a grown one. You will see that the proportions and positions have a big impact on the cuteness.

http://www.lugie.sk/obrazky/zvierata/kote2.jpg <- cute
http://de.geocities.com/ueliraz/katze.jpg <- not that cute anymore

I also think that convex shapes tend to appear more cute than concave ones. Round and smooth things as well rather than sharp/pointy and hard ones.

Another thing with eyes is that, if the lower lids are a rather straight line and the upper lids are like an arc, then they also tend to appear cute. If you then turn them upside down they tend to look evil. Look at some girls you find cute (cute! not just pretty), quite some really have that. And look at evil creatures in comics. They ofthen have them upside down.

[stacy]

I remember years ago, when I was reading lots of ethology, reading about a study on this very subject.

What it all boils down to is... ROUND and TOP HEAVY!

A baby's face is round, it's eyes are round, it's pudgy cheeks are round, it's little button nose is round, it's chubby body is round, the segments of it's chubby little hands between the joints are round and it's head is very large for it's body.

The same applies in the animal kingdom. Even critters that aren't pudgy, like say, lizards... the head is too big for the body and it has big round eyes.

I know that's not a very artsy analysis, but it is a Niko Tinbergen-ish point of view.

To an ethologist, that's what triggers the "Aw, isn't that cuuute!" reaction. ...ROUND features with a BIG HEAD...

[see]

what about that ?

[AndyT]

Wow ... good thread, especially the definition of Quaintness. Didn't know that.
I think it plays an important role in the areas that you mentioned as well.
Maybe more than cute.

Check out the sketchbook by Robolus if you don't know it already.
He is amazing at achieving both ...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10852
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[Jost]

convex, round, top heavy, big head I shall try that now...

Moments later

My attempt, keeping those idas in mind

http://www.pg.150m.com/cute.htm

Additionally I subconsciously tilted her head and made her look upwards.
The looking upwards is submissive and non-threatening, and as for tilting her head, well I know it looks cute when dogs listen for a noise.

[stacy]

Oh, how cuuute !