Saturday, February 28, 2009

In regards to "drawing."

A former student of mine in regards to drawing:
"How do you do it? I always think about it but...."
I thought this was such a great query I decided to take up an answer, for myself as well as anyone else. I've been reading Will Eisner's "Shop Talk" and my favorite parts are when the artists are talking about their process. Answering a question like that may also, I suspect, help me draw more, better or...something else equally influenced as a subjective and conditioned skill enforced by doing rather than thinking. I quote Jack Kirby,
"I find that you can listen to peoples lectures for an hour or two and learn nothing. You just do things the way you want them. You make your own innovations. It's one of the reasons I believe in people. I believe people are unique - not that they listen to others, just that they watch others. They watch for mistakes, they watch for good things, and then they take what they need."
My little one answer post became too long in a hurry. But here are my simple steps.

1. Figure out where you are going to draw.
This can be anywhere underneath the ceiling of your physical limitations. Basically, as long as the place is in accord with step 5.

2. Select a surface to draw on (or IN if you are drawing digital.)

3. Select media.
This can be anything, as long as it's in accord with steps 1, 2 and 5

4. Select what you are to draw.
This can be difficult! Be prepared! Make a list of things you want to draw...go down the list till something hits you.

5. Select time.
This I find is the hardest part and probably the most personal. It can be right NOW.
I am looking for and refining an optimal pattern. It goes something like this:
1 - 3 hours inspirational resourcing.
1 - 3 hours rough drafting, messing-around and warming up.
6 - 12 hours "hardcore" drawing, by "hardcore" I mean finishing, commissioned work, work in it's final stages.
Have I ever done this kind of day? I think I've come close a couple times in painting, but no, not really, it is just a theory. Usually I'll just settle for a few minutes of each, a half hour to an hour and a half for warm up works just fine and usually some really neat things happen, a lot of rough draft stuff comes out of that. I also like the game where I see how much time drawing I can "bank," like in my sketchbook, napkins, scraps of paper, foggy bathroom mirrors, dry erase boards etc. And I think all that practice adds up to something, what I'm not sure, like I said I mostly treat it as a game.

P.S. This is exceptionally subjective, based on personal experience and not a best practices promotion. But I try really hard to avoid trains of thought about...even as I write my mind shies from the matter...like, what is it all about? Does it matter if i do it or not? Blah Blah Blah...I can't go there. Questions of that sort, and I have enough of them without asking for more by following their tails, seem to lead only to apathy. Courage and faith are needed elements...one foot in front of the other...etc. etc.

I think that's it really.

the Dawg









Our dog. He is supposed to be a Rat Terrier.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Breezy




3 little illustrations. The title could also be "windy." My first contribution to "illustration Friday."

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Life Drawings from 2-25-09






Last nights batch of life-drawings. Slop and wash. I've been doing so much smaller work, in sketchbooks or on the computer, that it felt great to draw big and expressive again. The students always seem to get new ideas from watching these pieces come together. It felt really cold working, I think in about another 3 or four straight hours I would have warmed up and made something astounding....such is the pain of shorter sessions, and such is the need to warm up on your own before class, just for this reason I started off the term sweeping the studio before class and that helped. I noticed with just that slight practice of "sweeping the dojo" I was given an edge and the room felt good for everyone. - speaking of cold it snowed again last night. I woke at 3am and looked outside. Then I couldn't go back to sleep so I stayed up and read more of Will Eisner's "Shop Talk" A great great highly recommended read.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tele-God Tuesday Webisode 2

The Second Episode of The Fantastics:Tales of the Tele-Gods: Infestation.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Saturday, February 21, 2009

3 Valentines




Well...these are 6 days late. I think I showed one of these here on Christmas day (?) Here are three images out of a series of about 6 - 10, that I made 2 years ago and showed 1 year ago. For the most part about 5" x7", vinyl sticker paper on masonite with a little rickety box backing.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Handlers Episode 30

Episode 30 of "The Amazing Adventures of the Handlers" as time permits I will continue posting the continuing and past episodes of this unfettered juvenalia. It is another grand-sweeping adventure of horror, hope and hackn'slash.

For best viewing click on the full-screen option in the top right corner.

The Handlers 30

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tele-Gods Tuesday : Webisode 1

The first chapter of "The Fantastics: tales of the tele-gods: Infestation"
A crazy sprawling video/animation/psyche project that I have been working on for 6 years now...with a lot of help from friends. The website for the project is down...more info is forthcoming.

Stay tuned next Tuesday for Webisode 2!



Also soon I will have the DVDs for sale up here...
Chapters 1 - 4 available. If anyone is interested.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Casualties






Designs I did for a game...pretty dark and gruesome...but don't worry they are all sexless androids...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Head Studies- Life Drawing-2-12-09





15 Min Studies of the head. Yes the model really did hold the smile for 15 Min! The smiling face is one of the hardest.

-Reflecting back on these eight years later I would say I was too heavy on the jaw line -Nate 3-28-2017

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Messin around sketches for Hellas








Practice sketches, character interpretations, for a project involving "Hellas" an RPG that crosses genres of StarWars, Star Frontiers, Greek and Roman myth. Although I guess the pictures ended up less "greek" inspired and more generic. I did a couple of the poses twice to compare factors of time and technique on the same pencilled drawings. Which ones do you like best?