Hey All! I hope you are having a fantastic winter so far! Some of the Alumni are in Los Angeles right now for their first winter and tbh, it doesn't feel like winter here at all! Beach anyone?
Anyways...
Today's post is about two events that were attended in the last week. One of the great things about LA is there are so many things to do in the industry and most of them happen right here in lovely So Cal. So if you ever happen to find yourself working down here, there is literally a major event going on a few times a week, you just have to develop a way to get your eyes and ears in the right places to be informed! Personally, for me, blogs, newsletters, networking, and just overall enthusiasm for meeting new people and seeing new things is what got me into all of it. So! Look no further, the first event of the week was *drumroll please*...
Rhythm & Hues!
On Hollywood Blvd, there is a restaurant called "Osaka". We arrived a little later than expected because of traffic and deadlines at work, but sure enough, in a little room, Jill Gilbert greeted us at the door (she is in charge of most of the major events in LA via One Plus Hub. SUBSCRIBE NOW if you are in the area, because this is where all your networking events for the year will be. She kicked off the night with some thanks and announcements, introduced some of the R & H VIPs, and then let us continue to a lovely night of meeting talented and well-known people. And did I mention how good the free sushi and drinks were???
So, I can't go into too much details about the night, however, I did meet two animation producers, and animation writer, someone who works for Sony, and an enthusiastic artist that could potentially be hired by my company in the future. Now, if I was lazy and decided to stay home, would all of this had happened? No. Get yo butt to an event and meet the people that will make your progress your career!
Ok, I'm done.
Not really. The next event, is the Gnomon Workshop: Babe Lab. I know some of you artists in APCG think you are exempt from all of this artsy fartsy stuff aka life drawing... NOT! Every artist I've talked to in the field has some connection to drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. in some way to keep their brain active and their analytical receptors fresh ;)
Life drawing can teach you so much. Even if you don't consider yourself to be "an artist", if you are in the business of games, mobile development, movies, etc. guess what! You are helping create something, and thereby making you (yes, even the programmers) artists! So rather than sitting here lecturing about it, I'll just cut right to the chase, and give you the awesome details of the night with Paul Richards. He has truly inspired me to draw, no matter where I am or if I'm in a class with a model.
So basically, he had Stacy (the model) up on stage with him, doing demonstrations and poses that supported his lecture. This was pretty awesome because normally (most teachers I've had anyways) the teacher just has a powerpoint or a lecture in their head, and will sometimes use some sort of visual, but this was a great way to show exactly what he was talking about. AND he even had little props that explained what he was referring to in 3D space. Some were arrows to show the axis and angle of the particular body part he was pointing at, stickers to explain the proportions of the body parts in relationship to one another, squishy props to demonstrate the interaction between soft and hard surfaces, and others were just visual sketches he had up on the projector to give you a more illustrated analysis of what he was saying. So awesome. Why can't the Art Department be more like this???
Some of the subjects he touched on (again, summary and paraphrasing- not quoting here):
-Create geometry in your mind, based on the axis that appears for each surface. If the torso is facing one way and the head another, define those figures in space as boxes or 3D objects that simplify what is going on. The Axis is a tremendous help when defining how the form will appear on 2D space, as long as you understand what is happening in 3D space.
-The foot creates a check mark. This is most apparent when the figure is wearing heels of some sort. Define those flat planes and just look for the check mark, and it will simplify how you approach the feet. Feel free to add your own heels to the drawing if she has her foot in a suitable for it, or you're drawing from your head.
-He noticed one day when a model was holding herself up, that the hand is a distorted version of the check mark. The thumb is the stiletto and the flat planes still exist. Something to think about.
-When defining the shape of the fingers, it's always important to define what side of the finger the nail is hugging. If you can answer that, it will define the planes of the hands and fingers a little clearer and help you portray the hand more accurately.
-When drawing anything on the figure, even if you are drawing from life, pretend like the figure was animated. Imagine a "frame" before and a "frame" and connect the dots by exaggerating push/pull, squash/stretch, anticipation/drag, etc. If her arm looks like it was come from one direction, drag the fingers behind as if the force of movement was defining the shape of her hand. Same for hair, and any other things you can think of that would make the pose more interesting. The sky is the limit!
-The head pose can tell you a lot about how interesting the rest of the pose will be. Look at pictures of people online and ask yourself if it's an interesting photo. Even the most graphic porn (!) can be boring and uninteresting if the head is straight forward. The straight on photos of someone taking a picture in the mirror are usually the least interesting. But there are still some fashion and advertising photos taken by amateurs that can demonstrate how important it is to avoid symmetry and straight on head poses. He bled into another discussion about silhouettes and how the composition of the photo is clear, so I'll explain that next.
-Avoid tangents. Simple? I didn't get it at first either. The worst thing you can do as an artist is make the definition of space unclear. If, from the perspective of the drawing, the boob meets the arm, which meets the leg, the eye has a difficult time immediately recognizing what comes first in space, and what is the furthest in space. Even if this is literally what you are looking at from your perspective of the figure in front of you, CHEAT. Drop the boob down a little farther, extend the arm out so it is more resting on the ground than right behind the leg, etc. Cheat it to make everything more clear. The best artists are the ones that see friction in the system and avoid it by using their artistic license and freedom of being able to draw whatever they like.
-Always emphasize highs and lows of the figure. If one arm is posed high than the other, exaggerate it. If everything is parallel, add subtle highs and lows to make it more interesting. Same with thicks and thins. There are thick portions of the body, and thin portions that create these tapers. Exaggerate them to make the figure more interesting (and less like a stick figure).
-When something is flushed up against another body part, think about what the geometry is underneath and treat the top geometry like it's paper and has no thickness. This will help you define the shape a little better. The contact will naturally mesh the two things together (unless it's two hard surfaces).
-If you are having a difficult time understanding a pose, or creating one, remember that appendages like to rest in corners. When an arm is on the hip, it is probably resting on the hip bone. When one ankle is behind another, it is probably resting on the Achilles Heel. When laying down, if one leg is up and behind another, her ankle is probably interlocked with the back of her knee. Some common resting places: the knee (back and front), the elbow (back and front), hip bone, etc. Watch people out on the street and find where else is a common resting place for certain parts of the body (even hair!).
-A good idea is to cast shadows for contact points to define when they contact each other. Also, certain body parts will bulge out when they contact another. Think about hard surfaces contacting soft ones and how they would interact. Exaggerate it. Also, contact points create pooches and creases. Kind of the same thing, but it depends on the contact points, again. Pooches are the bulging out, and creases are the cuts in (usually a bone sticking out farther than the skin can stretch- like the hip bone).
-When creating proportions that are not exaggerated to push away from realism, there are arcs that you can follow to define how far out certain appendages go. The neck will rotate down to the center of the clavicle. The wrist will come up to the top of the shoulder. The ankle will come up to the base of the hipbone. watch people extend and contract their arms, legs, and head to find more. There are tons! But ultimately, you want to make sure that when your proportions look off, create an imaginary arc from those points and see where they would end up if they were contracted and see if you are off by a few inches in your drawing.
-POV can make a pose more interesting or define a message you are trying to convey. If you split a figure down the middle, you can also create perspective by recognizing that the body is symmetrical by nature (usually).
-William Hogarth emphasized that there is beauty all around the body in the form of "S" curves (also called the Line of Beauty). Look for them in the figure and exaggerate them. Sometimes you must "connect the dots" and extend the curve to something other than the silhouette (say a shoulder blade around to the bottom of the buttocks), but they are usually there. Even if the tapering of the "S" is subtle, it's there. You just have to find it.
-In Life Drawing, it's apparent that the body posing for you, is not an apple on a table. There will be movement. Which is why it's important to capture the pose immediately with gestures and then emphasize what might not be there anymore. Never blame the model for moving something that you didn't draw in the first place. The beauty is there for a split second, and then could be taken away. Capture it early (angles, S Curves, planes, etc.), and use what you have to create something later.
-Connect lines from the extremes of the figure to create a silhouette/negative. You can define the whole of the figure with just a negative.
-"You have to REALLY TRY to fuck up the human design. Some of these photos are just BAD."
-Cranial Real Estate. There is only a certain area that the head will grow hair. Be aware of it, and allow that to define the position, thickness, and physics of the hair.
-A famous artist (I didn't catch the name) always emphasized a "3 Point Story" in his work. Adjective + Archetype + Action. Like a Sexy + Actress + Climbs the Rope. There's always a story to be told in his work.
Lastly, he suggested these books to be the best out there for improving your analysis of the human figure. Walt Stanchfield's "Drawn to Life" Volumes 1 and 2, and Force. I just got Walt's books in the mail this week, and I already own Force. Super stoked to read more about the human figure!
So, in conclusion, I wouldn't have learned any of this if I didn't go out to these events. The learning never stops, and the networking never stops. Until next time, I hope all of you enjoyed your Winter Break, and I look forward to the next post! If you have questions about anything I've discussed today, please feel free to email me!
Have a great weekend :)
