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Who's this Jim Lujan character? Security!!!
The Animation GetDown at Geeks Comics in Whittier California was a total blast We had a full house and the cartoons were awesome! I’d like to thank the following people for helping make the 2010 Geeks Animation Getdown making the Animation Get Down a success, Jim Lujan, Gracialla Rodriguez, Steve Sievers, Dahveed, Scott Essman, Kevin Cross, Nuvein Foundation for Literature and the Arts
Enrique Diaz and Renato Aguirre. Who I believe has the coolest last name I’ve ever Heard. I’m Just sayin’.
Sal Felix the owner of Geeks Comics.
Sal Felix the the owner of GEEKS Comics provided us with the wonderful venue and refreshments! Geeks Comics the best place to scratch your comic book itch! 6747 Greenleaf Ave. Suite A ,Whittier, CA 90601. 562 – 696 – 9393
My lovely Wife Hortencia completes me.
My wife the lovely and vivacious Hortencia Aguirre for providing candy grab bags for the audience and her expert photography service!
Thanks to my Brother Ricardo for showing up! Is it just me or do we look like….
This means something.
I’d also like to thank everyone who attended the show.
- What a great time!
What should mindset as an artist be?
I say you need to be enthusiastic, passionate and dedicated. Most importantly you must have the love. If you don’t love drawing, I mean really LOVE IT! You won’t last. Sorry. Look, creating art is hard. You must love your art enough to get through the tough times.
In the art world you’ll encounter mainly 2 types of negative people. Douche Nozzles and Dumb Asses. How do you spot who is a “Douche Nozzle” and who is the “Dumb Ass” depends on who you ask. One person’s “Douche Nozzle” might be another person’s “Dumb Ass”.
It sometimes happens that when a person disagrees with us, we want to label them either an uppity “Douche Nozzle” or a Lowly “Dumb Ass”. They are too stupid to see things “our way”. Or, they are too stubborn and “uptight” because they refuse to appreciate something we admire. But are these people really a Douche Nozzle or a Dumb Ass?
Everyone entitled to an opinion.
It’s how you express it. Be polite and gracious that’s all.
How to hold your pencil when you draw.
Some useful pencil wrangling tips!
2 Books that are Man vs. Art required reading.
1. The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaïdes
THEE BOOK!
This is a must for anyone serious on learning how to learn to draw. Get it? This book teaches you how to approach your study of drawing. This book is a solid beginning and only for for the dedicated. NO POSERS! Do the exercises, the best you can but more importantly draw. Draw everyday. Some will complain, “Awe man it will take me years to do this!” What do you plan on retiring your pencil the day you learn how to draw? It doesn’t take years, it takes a lifetime of hard work to learn how to learn to draw.
Chuck Jones followed it, as well as Shamus Culhane who wrote the next book.
2. Animation from script to screen by Shamus Culhane
No. B.S. approach to making cartoons!
During my internship at Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1994 my first Animation Mentor Dave Zaboski recommended this book by Shamus Culhane, and it was a blast! Shamus animated the famous Pluto and the Flypaper sequence and “Honest John” Foulfellow the fox and Gideon the dopey cat on Pinnochio. He worked at Warners and UPA and is considered a master. He makes it possible to learn animation from a book. Covering every aspect of film animation, from basic mechanics to giving creativity full play, and including writing, recording, acting, dialogue-even how to mange an animation studio of one’s own, Culhane fulfills the promise of his title-”from script to screen. This book contains more than 130 illustrations, graphic exercises, and sketches for an honest hands-on experience for the novice.
Man vs. Art animated promotional video.
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Drawing is a skill ANYONE can learn whether or not they possess “natural talent”.
And I do mean anyone.
Yes. Even a guy like Bernie Lipshitz.
Bernie Lipshitz Rookie Artist at large.
If you are serious about learning how to draw, there are a few things you need right off the bat.
The desire to to learn, education, patience, dedication, and most important of all,
you need tons and tons of practice!
Before embarking on your lifelong quest to master drawing, you must be aware of what I call ” 5 unavoidable truths of being an artist.” If you can’t accept ALL of these, perhaps you should try something other than art.
Let us face up to what to many, is “un-face-up-to-able.”
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH #1
Never underestimate how dopey we all can be.
You are going to screw up.
Repeat. You are going to screw up both royally and often. It’s part of the process. Don’t beat yourself up if your drawing of Marylin Monroe looks more like Marylin Manson. Chin up! A good artist quickly learn to recognize his mistakes and learns from them.
Avoid being too self-critical. No one can be as good as Michelangelo on Monday morning at nine am their first day as an artist! It will take time for you to develop. Which brings us to the next truth.
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH #2
You must dedicate a significant part of your time to practicing how to draw.
If you aren't making funny noises with your mouth, you are not drawing HARD enough!
People always ask me, “Raul, how do you get to Disney ?
My answer. ” Practice.”
Every single artist has at least a zillion crappy drawings within him or her. The sooner you get them out of the way or “exorcise” them the better. Get it? I myself am already on my two zillionth one.
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH #3
You must learn to accept criticism from EVERYBODY.
Ignore the douche nozzles!
You must learn to accept criticism from EVERYBODY.
Always accept a critique with a smile and a thank you. Even if you think the critic is blind or high.
It’s up to you if you follow up on the criticism or not. Arguing with a critic is like arguing with a drunk. Pointless. Use logic not emotion to determine your reaction. That’s being a pro.
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH #4
Competition between artists is a waste of time.
Don't waste energy on being competitive. Be the best you can be.
You feel jealous towards your artistic rival, your Lex Luthor, because he just sold a big painting, that you know sucks. A Unicorn running on a rainbow?!! In outer space?!!! Forget Lex Luthor! What the heck does he have to do with you becoming the best artist you can be? Competitive behavior is a waste of time. Use that energy on your projects! Besides, everyone has a different background, as well as tastes, and visions! We are all unique and special. Like little snowflakes!
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH #5
It's not the pencil that makes the drawing.
I hate to break it to you all, but in the early stages of an artist’s career, the quality of the drawing implement has little if nothing to do with the success of a drawing.
A rookie will get the same results
whether he uses a chewed up golf pencil he found under the couch.
or the $375.00 Porsche Design P3150 Collection – Black Leather Pencil. That’s right i said a Porsche pencil. It comes down to the skill of the artist wielding the pencil.
I wonder how fast this Porsche pencil can draw?
Eventually you’ll want a couple of decent wire-bound sketchbooks.
A good wire-bound sketchbook is essential for an artist!
This will help you keep organized and most importantly help you chart your progress. At this stage you don’t need anything fancier. In fact I highly recommend you not buy any fancy pencils, pens, paper or leather bound sketchbooks. There will be plenty of time for that later when your Draw FU is stronger. You’ll be too afraid to screw up with the fancy stuff and it WILL affect your drawing.
Speaking of STRONG DRAW FU…
Back in my days at Walt Disney Feature Animation, a good friend of mine, The openly Canadian Supervising Animator Mike Surrey used a yellow #2 pencil to animate his scenes.
Here I am with Mike Surrey at the Walt Disney Feature Animation TARZAN Wrap Party
He’s the guy that gave us Timon, Clopin on Hunchback, Terk on Tarzan, Commander Rourke on Atlantis and Buck on Home on the Range. One of the most brilliant animators ever. He was my mentor for the four years prior to my working with Glen Keane. It was thanks to his teaching and patience that prepared me to be Glen’s assistant.
Mike is a great dude with a killer sense of humor, who was always willing to give me a few minutes to go over my scenes. He taught me how to approach animation with confidence! I found his lively and expressive drawings to be quite an inspiration! Yet he drew these Disney masterpieces with the same pencil you take the SAT with.
Mike Surrey Master Animator!
Here is a recent audio interview with Disney Animators Mike Surrey and Mark Henn.
PRX THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG: Disney animators talk to Andrea Chase
http://www.prx.org/pieces/43057-the-princess-and-the-frog-disney-animators-mark-h
Check out the 2D traditional animation demonstration Mike did here!
For those that don’t believe me about Mike’s penchant for Yellow number 2 pencils, check out what he’s drawing with in the vid.
During my 2005 trip to Europe I had an interesting encounter with a rookie or “rook” as I like to call them.
- This kid was determined to be an artist.
I was befriended by a German kid that was really interested in what I was doing.
The kid ran into me while I was sketching fellow passengers aboard this ferry on the Aegean Sea. We sat and talked for quite a while. IT turns out I was the deciding factor in his choosing to become an artist. I guess announcing his decision to me made it official or something. BTW His voice wasn’t as dorky as my ” dramatic reenactment.” But as you all know, here at Man Vs. Art, we like putting extra salsa on the tacos!
GEEKS COMICS PRESENTS:
ANIMATION GETDOWN 2010!
Everyone is invited to Geeks Animation Getdown 2010! I teamed up with my friends and fellow animation artists Jim Lujan, Graciella Rodriguez, and Scott Essman and we are are putting on a show! Sal the Owner of Geeks Comics in Whittier CA, has been kind enough to provide the venue! Once you watch our cartoons, you can’t unwatch them!
Check out the promotional video I made.
