[Mozeman]

We're going to start slow to get everyone up to speed. Those of you who are more experienced, consider this a warm up excercise. For the newbies, this exercise may be daunting, especially after you've tried it first hand.

Your assignment is to grab a sketch book and pencil (or pen for the brave) and go to a public place with lots of people doing things. Malls are okay, parks and zoos are better.

Your day of sketching should yield as many pages as you are comfortable with, but you will get a lot more out of this if you force yourself to fill about 10 pages.

OBJECTIVES: Things to keep in mind while you sketch.

1) Speed. People will probably not pose for you, so you must draw quickly. The purpose of this is to force you to leave out the detail. You should try to capture the ENTIRE person, not just their hands or bodies or heads. The WHOLE figure.

2) Accuracy. Do NOT use your imagination. If you cannot complete the sketch before the person moves, then move on to the next one. Believe it or not, you will get faster. Leave out the details at this point.

3) Story. Be sure that your sketch communicates a clear idea. Ideally, you want your drawing to tell a story in a single image with as few lines as possible. Avoid ambiguity. Anyone reviewing your portfolio will recognize "cheating" right away, ie. leaving out a hand or foot. Complete your sketches as much as possible. Communicate. At the very least, your subject should be DOING something.

4) Silhouette. Try to give your character or subject as clear silhouette. In animation we refer to this as "pushing" the pose. If you shade in your drawing as a silhouette, you should still be able to tell what the figure is doing.

5) Energy. Keep your lines loose and do not get mired on single line or detail. Your sketches should be fluid and in motion. This is not to say that your subject will always be moving, but it should look alive. The first giveaway of cheating from a photo or imagination is overworking the lines and the details in a sketch. Don't do it. You will not learn anything this way.

Post your sketches in increments of about 5 or 6 of your best. Or point a link to a page with more. Comments are encouraged, but please keep praise-only posts to a minimum, since little is learned from it .

Given the time constraints of those on this list, I'll try to keep this thread at least on the first page. But it may be some time before most of you are able to get out and sketch. Please try to make time for this, however, not just for this excercise, but on a regular basis. Devoted practice is absolutely necessary if you wish to pursue this kind of art as a career. Those of you who simply make excuses about not having time, no employer is going to care if you "just didn't have time" to gain the skills you need.

I have posted an example of a couple of sketches out of my own sketch book. These were done in a matter of seconds and are not meant as great works of art. But I get a lot out of it. It keeps me loose and on my toes.

Good luck.



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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[Mozeman]

I hope he doesn't mind, but I am taking the liberty of posting Tanis' sketches that he sent me. This is from his first life drawing attempts I think.



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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[pst]

I went to a soccer game for about 15 minutes, and here's some of my sketches.





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pSt [email protected]

[Affected]

I had to cut my session short because of two reasons: The people left, possibly because of the second reason, the weather was getting menacing.

Next time, I'll try to get more definite shapes.

[tanis]

Don't worry Mozeman.. I don't really mind.. and here's today's fast after work session.. some dudes from the garden outside my house and a friend of mine who paid me visit (he plays guitar), so I abducted him to pose

[Lange_Pisang]

Uhm...I have a (maybe stupid) question...
Is it also good to draw things that are on TV? I have a big television...and there are always slow programs here were people walk around and stuff...like those demonstrations...

Otherwise, I'll just draw my classmates...however, I hate it when they come looking at my sketches and ask what I'm drawing...
I find it not really a fine condition to draw stuff, I prefer to be alone when I'm drawing...

[El Caseron]

Can't we post a new forum for drawing lessons? Would be cool, 'cause you can look them up very easy. In this new forum could everybody who thinks that he knows more than a newbie post some tipps and tricks.

Thanks for attention!

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Millencolin rocks

[Mozeman]

Lange,

I don't recommend television for a couple of reasons. For one thing, if it's a tape you can pause, slow down the action, etc, it allows for cheating. For the other, if you can't pause, the subjects are not likely to be on screen long enough for you to really be able to capture them.

The exception might be for animal reference, in cases where you can't get out to a zoo and need a particular animal for study.

As for your classmates, drawing them is a great idea. And if you want to work professionally, you will more than likely have to get used to the idea of drawing in front of other people. Better to learn it now.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[Affected]

One thing I do dislike is how people tend to start acting all unnatural if they notice you drawing them...

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Affected

Democracy is a lie

http://affected.xs.mw

[Mozeman]

Affected,

That's something to take advantage of. Draw their awkwardness and try to convey it on the page. Also, they tend to pose when they think you are drawing them. That gives you a few extra seconds.

One solution is to focus on kids. They move a lot and do some great action poses. Also, they don't tend to care or take notice of you.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[derPunkt]

Mozeman, if you don't mind me barging into your classroom, I'd like to say something.
1st, for some of you that don't know me, I am an art student, and I draw from life 5h/day, 5days/week, so I know what are the main problems.
1st I would recommend that you lose that "How to draw comics the Marvel way" technique. Why?
As it might be obvious that the bones are in that particular position, you are NOT actualy drawing from life (unless you are in Etiopia - uhm sorry).
DO draw a backbone bcoz it shows the line of action, but don't draw those little circles representing joints.

Just my 0.02$

[Joachim]

Hehe, I just don't want this thread to die just yet. It's time to sketch.



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Joachim
web: http://home.sol.no/~jbarrum/

[Lange_Pisang]

Some Classmates:

http://www.geocities.com/lange_pisang/A/School.jpg

[nori]

I went to the library to draw people. I found it really helpful. Some people were walking just to fast... I had to beat them to death with their own shoes..
I'd post my sketches, but I don't have a scanner

[Sedone]

Ahhh...the sweet boredom of suburbia.





[This message has been edited by Sedone (edited May 24, 2000).]

[Sedone]

That's some clean stuff, Micke. Now I must imitate you!

[Mozeman]

Sedone, please don't imitate Micke.

First of all, your stuff is good. At this point, your sketches are too ambiguous, I can really only make out one of them and even that one isn't very clear. But you've got a nice feel for the pencil.

Keep at it guys! I will be doing some more sketches this weekend. Anyone from Orlando? We're heading to the Animal Kingdom to sketch some people and animals. You're welcome to join us.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[Lange_Pisang]

Yep Sedone...

keep your own style...
And as I always say:

quote

Quote:

My style is the best!! It should stand alone!! So I kill anyone! ...Who tries to imitate it...

Just kiddin'...

[Fred Flick Stone]

micke, great work. You might even try holding the pencil sideways, like holding a chalk pastel. This will help you get more variation in your edges, make you less concerned with each individual component in the figure, and you might find that you can block out big areas of tone and get a nice dimensional effect.






The first image is two minute quicksketches,the second is one minute quicksketches, looking for contours and core shadows only...just a thought...

[This message has been edited by Fred Flick Stone (edited May 24, 2000).]

[Grift]

These are great excersises.. but it's something that I've always been pretty awful at doing. I should try and get out and get commited to it though--it's hard.. I've been trying to teach myself anatomy this summer, because it's something that I don't believe they teach very well in most art schools to freshmen.. and perhaps something that they should..

But I guess my question for Mozeman is--what do you consider more important in trying to learn the figure--life drawing or anatomy? Personally, so far as a student I've found that studying anatomy is helping my life drawing... but for some reason I think I'm doing things backwards.

Bah.. the quest for higher learning is so confusing :P

Oh--and thank you guys who are taking time out of your own schedules to try and teach people through this forum. This is extremely valuable to a lot of people..

Grift^

[Fred Flick Stone]

Grift, I don't know how your school is set up, but the two classes are intertwined, they can't be separated. To know the figure is to also know what goes on inside,i.e. the construction, and the mechanics, that is the anatomy class. The figure drawing class helps you identify those peices without comic bookizing them, i.e. bubble muscle dude, etc. Flesh smoothes out the divisions between the muscles, and it is difficult to see the independent components, unless the model is really cut, well developed.

Most schools dont even offer anatomy, and figure drawing as separate classes. So if you have them both to take, take them both, and as often as you can. 1 semester of figure drawing just wont do. It could take years before you really understand what is going on, and are able to translate it into a drawing or painting. Don't rush this process either, you could end up burned out. I've seen it happen too many times.

Don't be frustrated with it, enjoy it. The learning process can be fun, and it should be, or you gotta ask yourself, why am I doing all this? Good luck..and keep arting...

[Grift]

Thanks Freddy..

I currently go to SVA--and the freshmen segment of drawing 'drawing from observation' is just that.. it *SHOULD* incorporate anatomical themes as well.. but the feeling I get from a lot of teachers is that they just stoped caring.

Not that they don't teach.. but they seem to lose their own personal direction in a corse entirely too frequintly. I've sat through too many classes at schools where the teacher literally does nothing and looks to their students to figure everything out on their own.. that is certainly one approach, but I suppose if that's the case than you're not really teaching are you

I'm not complaining too much though.. after all, fine arts is only part of my pation.. I want to be a CG Animater.. and I realize that any field is built on the basics.. so I'm trying to teach myself anatomy right now.. I guess I should get out there and sketch some real people now too, shouldn't I?

Thanks,
Grift^

[Mozeman]

I don't have much to add to what Fred said, but you should know what you're getting out of it.

In my field, internal anatomy is important, but not nearly as important generally speaking as knowing the functionality of the body as a whole - the synergy of the muscles and the form.

There are exceptions, of course. Glen Keane spent over a year dedicating himself to the structure of anatomy in preparation for Tarzan. He immersed himself in art, anatomical studies, and the human form. This kind of intense training is rare and rarely accessible to everday animation shmoes.

In summary, the more you know and are capable of drawing, the better off you'll be. I second Fred on that, take every class you can.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[Sedone]

Okay, I should've known better than to say that in an art forum Moze, I agree with you about how ambiguous they are. That's really what I meant by "imitate".

I guess I became too preoccupied with swooshing my pencil around the paper. "Ooh, look at the pretty graphite!"

Fred, great gestures btw.

[Mozeman]

I'm posting some drawings sent to me by Mikael Noguchi; he's having technical difficulties




These are very strong. Take a close look. Loose, energetic, accurate.

Critique: Could be looser and he's not drawing through the figure. It looks more contourish. He needs to continue the shapes to find the volume.

But very, very nice.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[micke]

Mozeman:Thank you for posting and the critique
It lacks volume, think it's mainly because
i tried to get it all down very
quick(did'nt want to leave something out)
So i tried only to get the basic
outline with only few inner lines.
This was a very hard and fun exercise.
Try to draw people while they're
walking is very difficult.
I tried to spot as many old ladys
as possible(they move very sloooooow)
Tomorrow at lunch time i'm gonna
try some more with another way of
doing it, focuse a little more of what's happening in the inner shapes.
Hopefully my FTP account
will be working by then
Thanks again! Really a big help

Sedone: Very nice!!

-Micke


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-Mikael Noguchi-

http://www.katode.org/noguchi/

[This message has been edited by micke (edited May 24, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by micke (edited May 24, 2000).]

[Joachim]

Fred, lovely sketches. You have some really beautiful pencil lines...damn!
I would love to see you doing some more typical movements from the street as well, less extreme poses.

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Joachim
web: http://home.sol.no/~jbarrum/

[Mozeman]

I second Joachim, Fred. I'd like to see what you could do with some gestures from life in some kind of setting. I'm sure it would be a great example for some of the guys here.

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Mozeman
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[email protected]
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"I like it rough..."

[Joachim]

-

[This message has been edited by Joachim (edited May 25, 2000).]

[Joachim]

Humh, well here's my first go at it. I don't really feel much good about these, but since I've said I'd post, I guess I'll have to .
These were made in matter of seconds, as those stupid people would never stand still. Me and Mikael have decided to draw cubes and things and do this all weekend. But,Mozeman (or anyone else), I would really really like some constructive critiscm before going for another sketch ride.

Damn, it's a long time since I've done life drawings now, I think I will post new sketches on this thread every day the rest of my life from now on, hehe .

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Joachim
web: http://home.sol.no/~jbarrum/