I've been thinking a lot about drawing recently after seeing a post about a book* by Tom Bancroft, which I promptly ordered with my addicted to books trigger finger. It made me think about the teachers and classes I've been apart of since I was young, and how one is influenced by these people.
At the start of the book there's a brilliant introduction, by Tom and a foreword by Adam Hughes; they both talk about the passing of knowledge down from their mentors to them, and from them to us. It's an enlightening few pages, and definitely worth buying the book, just for that advice alone.
I've been lucky enough to have found a couple of people, so far, that have really influenced my work and only afterwards do I realise how much they have helped. If you have that kind of relationship with someone at work, home, school, or wherever you may be, then definitely don't take them for granted. You might not realise it right now, but they may be a huge influence over your whole career.
I also believe negative experiences are a necessity, as they teach us
what not to do, how to approach things later, how to be better, and to spur us
into the positive!
I've also (somehow) managed to be on the other end of the spectrum (a little bit). I used to run an extra life drawing class at university, as part of a society, where each of us would help the other members with our stronger discipline. For example, there were lighters teaching the rest of us what they knew about lighting, and then riggers, modelers, matte painters and so forth. I'm mentioning this because, if you have this opportunity, grab it by the horns, as learning as a group, and sharing the knowledge you have, only helps you to understand it even more!
Anyway, time to stop babbling, I just wanted to mention a few things that I had picked up along the way (in no particular order, unless stated :P)
1. No one line is a bad line.
- Always learn from your mistakes and triumphs, I also keep a back log of my old work, it's a useful reference to see how far you have come.
2. Comparing - Negative Space
- This I started to notice in life drawing and portrait classes. My mentors would always be telling me to compare the distance between the heels of the feet, the elbow to elbow, the top of the ear to the eye, and this can also be employed using negative space exercises. Both of these can make you see proportions in a totally different light, it's a bit like looking at a drawing upside down and noticing something that sticks out.
3. Reference
- From a young age my Dad tried to convince me this isn't cheating, and it really isn't! There's no way you can create things without some kind of influence, or my favourite word inspiration. This also relates to animation, there's so many things you might end up animating, you always have to study first.
4. Look where the line is going
- Now this line was from a book I read (I think) but i'm not sure which one. I'll be sure to reference it as soon as I find it. Instead of finding the line, whilst you draw, have a look where you imagine it might end up, rather then just diving in and hoping for the best. It's a really interesting exercise, let me know how you find it.
5. Feeling, questions and shape
- This was mainly drummed into me at
Alex Woo's crash course gesture lecture. As the life model stood there, he'd ask what is this pose to you, what is it saying, how do you feel, what's the story? Shape was also equally as important, as everything is really just made up of shapes, and different shapes can really portray different feelings. When I hear someone say "ooh I can't do hands, they are so hard", (I've said it to myself in the past too) I now tend to think that is just a mind set, as they are just another shape, made up of other shapes. I suggest that pick a subject you think may be harder then another and concentrate on it for a month or two, you see them in a whole new light!
6. Anatomy
- This clearly is studied in most fine art courses and probably more prominent for modelers (super detail wise). But recently I took part in a sculpture workshop, where we built up the human anatomy from the inside out, we studied all the bones and how the muscles linked together and where they sat. I didn't realise how much it would effect my drawing, but after the course had finished I coincidentally went to a life drawing class, and I suddenly could see why a certain muscle was in a certain place, and what it was doing, and it made much more sense how the body was holding itself, it was a massive eye opener. I completely recommend a anatomy sculpture class, plus it's really fun!
7. Practice
- Theory is great, it is great to research the greats, and different techniques, but ultimately you need to practice as often as possible. Try even just setting aside 10 minutes a day to do a little doodle, maybe on your commute or at lunch time. Practice, practice, practice!
Anyway, these may or may not be relevant to you, but I thought I'd share them nonetheless. I hope they were useful. Maybe you can share your won list of tips you've picked up along the way? ....For now, you can get your face stuck into some great links, courses and books:
LINK DUMP:
My friend wrote a piece here about Drawn to Life (a must have!) on Splinebomb.com:
http://www.splinebomb.com/book-review-drawn-life-walt-stanchfield/
An interesting article in setting up
your own art education for 10K
Searching for the perfect pose
How to draw lively loses SPONGEBOB!
Character Design boards
Perfect Posing
Eye direction
Expanding your mental toolbox
http://markpudleiner.blogspot.com.es/2012/12/dragons-lair-2-john-pomeroy-drawings.html
http://pinterest.com/backtohell/reference-for-animation/
http://pinterest.com/cristinadandu/animation/
Dynamic Poses - a great source of reference if you can't make Life Drawing class this week
London courses/groups:
- The sculpture class tutor I had:
Patricia Barker, and there's a class on soon!
-
Candid arts life drawing
-
Adrian Dutton life drawing
Online:
Storyboarding for $10!! by Leo Matsuda - a story artist and Walt Disney Studios
Great drawing/anatomy books:
*
Character Mentor
Force
Drawn to Life
Vol 1 &
Vol 2
The Figure in Motion
Remember to always keep inspired.
