Words of Wisdom
via Tulptorials:
1. Draw Now. Think Next.
2. Learn to be authentic.
3. Build luck and use it.
4. All painting is re-painting.
5. Create momentum.
6. Keep finishing.
7. Seek advice.
8. Take criticism well.
9. Work for good habits.
10. Draw through, not around.
Read the full text here.
Source: tulptorials.blogspot.com
The Drawing Script
This website is for artists looking to study photographs of different subjects.
Select one or more catogories below and press Draw!
Categories include clothed/nude figures as well as portraits and animals. It also has a greyscale option. Definitely something to try out if you’re in the need for some free figure drawing!
How To Improve Your Art
From ~Maidith on deviantART:
“How do I improve my art work?” is one of the most asked questions in art related forums, mainly regarding drawing and painting in any media. Because the question is recurring so often, I wrote the following tips that I still copy-paste in various threads.
You can apply these universal strategies not just to traditional and digital painting media, but most of them even to photography and collage.
- Look at pictures by artists you admire, and try to figure out things. How do they handle light and color? What edges are sharp, and what edges are soft? Why do they use that particular color there? What technique did they use? How did they work? The more you look at work of others, the more different kinds of styles and techniques you will see.
- Learn from the masters. Copy works you adore. Not for imitating the artist or showcasing your copy, but for the sake of learning. Don’t be shy, ask your favorite artist everything you want to know, such as “What paper do you draw on?”, or “How do you go about painting a picture, do you start with a sketch?”, etc. But be specific, don’t ask “how can I paint like that?”. And check the artist’s website, chances are they already have tutorials, a FAQ or step-by-step tutorials there.
- Challenge yourself. Never used a particular medium? Then buy it, no matter how poor you are, and try it out. Never drawn a still life? Do it. Never used that particular color scheme? Give it a try. At a certain point, when you are afraid of repeating yourself, you are on the right track to improve.
- Use reference. If you aim for realism, you can’t paint most things straight from your imagination. The old masters always made preliminary studies of life models, and did most paintings from life models too. For example, if you are unsure how to paint a head with the light source from below, look up a photo, or take it yourself, or have someone pose for it. It is worth every effort!
Stock photos from deviantartists can be a valuable resource also and provide inspiration.
- Draw from life. It’s probably the most valuable practice that there is. Sign up for a life drawing class so that you’ll be actually “forced” to do it. Believe me, it works wonders.
As for studying anatomy from books about figure drawing (Loomis, Bammes, etc.) a good exercise is to copy the body parts and figures in there and then trying to draw the same from your mind to see how much you remembered.
- Look up tutorials. Browse through the tutorial section and study the many different ways and media of the different artists. Also visit the websites of the great artists here - many have tutorials up there.
- Collect pictures. On my harddisk, I have different folders of fantastic art.
They are very inspiring to browse through and can give you new ideas in terms of technique. Whenever I feel uninspired, I look through my folders.
The images I’ve collected over time, mainly from Cgtalk.com, Deviantart, Epilogue, Artrenewal.org and many other websites.
Further Reading:
Why Reference is not a crutch
Useful resources
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Forums for those who want to learn
ConceptArt
Sijun
Here is another character Milt Kahl didn’t particularly enjoy animating, but as usual he pulled it off beautifully. There was criticism at the time why Madame Bonfamille in “The Aristocats” looked so realistic. This lady was eccentric enough to will her fortune to her house cats, so why not design her as a nutty old woman?
Milt’s response was that the story guys thought of her as a beautiful, dignified elderly lady, as did Ken Anderson. So he refined what they gave him, not changing the character’s concept.
In an interview Milt said that it doesn’t hurt to do your straight, realistic job once in a while, knowing that you will have other characters in the picture who are eccentric and more entertaining.
And of course Milt did pride himself for being able to do assignments like this one that called for careful realistic handling.
“Realism is not the problem, it’s the way (other) people do realism that’s a problem!” he said. via Deja View
Source: andreasdeja.blogspot.com
10 Things I Remember...About Procrastinating
“Ever hear of the three P’s? Perfection. Procrastination. Paralysis.
I used to start a piece needing it to be the best thing ever: perfection. It had to solve every problem of my portfolio development, it had to stimulate, it had to thrill, it had to make clients call me, it had to make women weep.
Below are a few things I’ve used over the years to forge ahead. Once in a while, after having put in tons of effort on other paintings, a new one pops out almost having painted itself, as the saying goes. These points will work for you. I promise, but you have to apply them. Don’t wait for inspiration. It’s fickle and unreliable.
And no, there aren’t exactly ten points here. Sometimes, we just don’t need that much to begin.
1. Force a deadline.
2. Seek stimulation.
3. Make it urgent.
4. Use fear.
5. Fail first.
6. Share the struggle.
7. Just begin.”
Read the full text here
Drawing the differences in ages
1. The size and angularity of the neck and shoulders: Babies start out with thick necks, but then by the time we’re 5 or 6 our necks seem to look pretty skinny (at least I’ve found it seems to look that way in drawings). Our shoulders, obviously, start out small and get broader and broader as we get older (this is more apparent in men than in women, of course). Also I made a conscious effort to make his shoulders start out rounded and get more angular as he ages. If I’d kept going, drawing this guy into old age, I would have made the shoulders start to shrink (and get more rounded again) as he aged.
2. The relation of the mouth to the chin: I simply made the mouth get further away from the chin as he ages, to give a feeling of a jaw that develops as he gets older. Also I made the jawline stronger and more angular with each successive age.
3. The amount of upturn in the nose: I made it turned up more in the younger drawings, and made it less so over time.
4. The size of the forehead: We have a bigger forehead when we’re young, and it diminishes proportionally over time.
5. The chubbiness of the cheeks: most of us have less fat in our cheeks as we age.
Source: sevencamels.blogspot.com
Source: sevencamels.blogspot.com
