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3 reasons why you the ARTIST must simultaneously be your biggest pimp and worst critic:

1. No one cares or will ever care as deeply about your art as you do.
2. Only you can make choices that define and propel your art.
3. You know your business best and what’s best for your art.

It’s All About Love

No one else but you takes your art  home and dwells upon it  at dinner, in the evening, during the wee hours of the morning or when you wake up.

It is sheer passion, intensity and  insane drive that separates Artists from hobbyists.  When all is said and done, the artist is the master  of their artwork.

You truly have to “get it” and have it “within you” to succeed in art when it’s “you” who encapsulates the brand.

This takes love, time, dedication and a willingness to look at your art from all angles to improve upon areas that are in need.

A good understanding of the fundamentals of drawing will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals as an artist!

The 5 P’s of drawing.

Proportion:

The ratio between the three dimensions.  It is very important to get proportion correct if you are doing a representational drawing. Even the untrained eye can point out a proportion problem.

Placement:

How large or small and how far away objects are is called Placement.

Perspective:

The point of view the artist has chosen and how it  relates to the horizon line is called perspective.  Once this viewpoint is chosen it must be followed throughout the drawing.  In other words you can only have one viewpoint for your perspective to be correct.

Planes:

Surface appearance as defined by light and shadow.  Every change in tone is a  new plane.  So those closet to the light are the light planes, those farthest away are shadow planes, in between are half-tone planes.

Pattern:

The deliberate arrangement of the tones of your subject.

The Five C’s of Drawing:

Learn It, Love it, Live it.

Conception:

The rough sketch or thumbnail of an Idea.

Construction:

Establishing your forms in space following the model or from knowledge.

Contour:

The outline and edges of forms in space in relation to your POV.

Character:

The sum of all things that distinguish one subject from another.

Consistency:

Having all of your elements working together and following the same direction or logic.  Plus the ability to reproduce successful drawings and knowing why you can.

In the podcast I mentioned some books you might want to get.

How to draw comics the Marvel Way!

This book is a great way to start.  If  you look past Stan Lee’s blabbing, you can really learn alot from John Buscema’s presentation of drawing fundamentals.

Must have book!

The Five C’s of Cinematography.

A great book for Storyboard and Animation  Artists.  It’s old school, but also mandatory for any film maker to know.  Good tips that can be applied to drawing and painting as well!

another must have!

Fun with a pencil by Andrew Loomis.

This is a great fun book that has been out of print for a long time.  If you click the pick you can download a PDF version.

click the pic for a pdf of this cool book!

Remember, practice!  Study your fundamentals! Then practice some more.

One more thing!

Check out my interview on the Ghettomation Podcast with Jim Lujan and Kevin Cross for some more insight to the process of drawing and cartoons!

This time Man vs. Art is on the other side of the microphone!  You’ll dig it! Good times!

Mad Man Raul!