Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Jeremy The Stalker/Shapes

Finally starting to get some energy back- feels GRRREEAT (like tony the tiger there) after a MONTH of ridiculous bed-ridden-ness. Still a lil' bit of a cough and cold but c'est la vie, the show must go on.

Anywhere I go, especially within the last couple years, I always bring a pen on me: a regular BIC blue pen, a sharpie, a Micron, a brush pen, whatever I can find before I leave the house. Most of the time there's a sketchpad involved, but not exactly necessary.

More recently, I've started a people sketchbook. Now, yes, I've drawn people for a lil' whiles now- probably 5-6 years now of drawing people- but I'll let you in on something: I haven't been comfortable drawing people until about a year ago.

Why then, have I been drawing people so long? Because as a freelance illustrator, it is important, ESSENTIAL, to be able to draw as much around you as possible...and those things/objects/animals/beings that you are most uncomfortable with...those are the ones that ironically people may request from you and you don't want to lose out on a commission because of inability to draw...right?

REALLY, asides that big business factor, it is of my own personal philosophy the more you understand of the world around you- true understanding of proportions: of relationships between this shape and that shape- the patterns of life collective- the stronger you'll become as an artist....and the better your art will improve.

Any pro will tell you, its all about the studies.

Back to  me and my uncomfortableness with drawing people- carrying my drawing weapons with me has been part of the practice of honing my skills- any chance I get at drawing people- I draw them: whether at a cafe, at a restaurant, at a bookstore, sitting in a park, etc...NOTHING is better than live practice- especially when drawing people- to understand the different characteristics of a face- to render "personality"- nothing is better than watching and studying the real thing.

I've gotten pretty good at finding good seats wherever I go and "stalk draw" people- below is a video of my latest endeavors- eating lunch at Whole Foods I drew a guy near me drinking a beer (you'll see him briefly in the red shirt with blonde hair) and a cashier to my left side (you won't see him in the vid)




These are quick renderings- and what you don't see (and won't be able to unless we put a camera in my glasses or on my forehead...i'm totally up for it if anyone can do it!) is me taking quick references of these guys - quick glances to gauge what I will emphasize and what I will simplify

I believe there's good in both quick drawings of people and SLOW drawings of people- both have benefits in defining technique and understanding of the shapes that make up a person's face

As a good friend of mine was quoted saying by his lovely wife, "It's all about the shapes".  Simplifying the complex structure of any object and building it back "from the ground up" in your style is one of the essential skills of an illustrator- of an artist!

THIS is why I love drawing people so much now- before I didn't see the fun in drawing people and only considered drawing people as an exercise that I needed to do.

Once I truly realized the potential creativity that lies in the redefining/"re-designing" of a person via cartooning or caricaturing, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.

Below is a sketch study I did of a model and an actress who I found well, pretty damn attractive. They are drawn in a new cartoon style I'm using- one of a few I've been studying through an influence of a variety of other artists' works and redefining and adding to my own techniques. You'll see that the live drawing style I used is very different from the very fluid drawings below- the sketch study below was done with more time and precision - both the quick style of the video and the style of the drawing below are ones I value equally.






With all that said, I think its time to wrap it up for today, so I'll leave you with this- there's NO other way to kept better at something than to practice, practice...aaand practice.

....or sell your soul to the devil, but I think you'll have a better time with the aforementioned.

Okey dokey, til next time, take it easy!

-JTA

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