Inktober 2024: Humanizing Objects to Create Metaphors

Here’s a new tip for your #Inktober ideas.

There’s a technique for creating metaphors that involves humanizing objects.
'Humanizing' doesn’t necessarily mean adding faces, arms, and legs. It can also be just a small detail.

This means you don’t need to humanize the entire object—you can humanize just one part of it.

Now, why should we humanize an object?

There are two main reasons:

When we add a human element to any image, it becomes much more interesting to your audience, because when there’s a person, it means you're telling a story.

The second reason is that by humanizing an object, we can often describe characteristics of a person through that object.

Even if the image seems completely absurd, we can always create a story around that absurdity, which gives meaning to the situation we’re drawing.

I hope these tips are helpful and that you can use them in your upcoming #Inktober2024 drawing ideas.

Thank you,
Dario Paniagua
Visual Thinkers Coach