The Drawing Club

(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook

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44 The Drawing Club

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Is drawing copying?

Just the other day, a young artist came to me with a question:

“Why do some artists hold up their pencil while they’re working

on a drawing and look at it next to the model, as if they were

comparing them with each other?”

Since I’ve taught drawing classes for quite a while, this is

an easy question to answer. Some artists are taught how to see

exact proportions or angles by holding up a pencil to look at it

next to their subject. They put a thumb on the pencil to compare

or translate observed measurements, or they tilt the pencil to get

the measurements of a gesture or angle. Their measurements are

then translated back into the drawing. This is one way artists

have been able to translate the 3-D world they observe to the

2-D surface of the drawing.

For example, if you are trying to get the proportions exact in

a head drawing, you could use this technique to find the exact

distance from the bottom of the chin to the base of the nose. You

can also find the correct head angle as the model leans his head

toward his right shoulder.

This totally makes sense, right? It’s a proven way to observe

and gather information for a drawing. Lots of great artists, past

and present, have used this technique because it works.

But here’s the thing: Most people don’t draw like this at The

Drawing Club.

For most artists at our workshop, the main priority is storytelling.

Overprioritizing accuracy starts to feel like copying when the

story is the main goal. Exaggerating and altering the pose to

make a better point with the storytelling is fair game.

When storytelling is your priority, you start your drawing

thinking about what the pose says to you and what you want to

say about it. If you’re drawing from a model, you immediately

look for ways to play with the design of the shapes to make a

tough guy look more formidable or a fashion model look more

elegant or any character look funnier.

Certainly there are different levels to this. In other words, one

artist might be altering proportions only slightly or stylizing the

folds in fabric to better communicate the character. Others might

turn the model’s pose into a cartoon character inspired by the

pose but in a completely different position. For example, these

drawings of a zombie character by Chris Deboda is clearly in-

spired by a specific pose, but he wasn’t just copying what he saw.

When some of my artist friends come back from vacation,

they show everyone the stack of watercolor paintings they did or

a sketchbook filled with drawings. The work can be captivating,

showing the people, places, and things they encountered. Each

piece vividly describes the enthusiasm they felt while there, but

the charm of the work usually isn’t based on accuracy.

Incorrect perspective or exaggerated colors don’t make these

pieces less appealing. More often, they make the artwork more

appealing because they express what the artist found so special

about being there in the moment.

For most artists at our workshop, the

main priority is storytelling. Over-

prioritizing accuracy starts to feel like

copying when the story is the main goal.

The next time you do a drawing, ask yourself: Do you copy

what you see when you draw, or are you trying to say something

about what you see? Are you judging the success or failure of a

drawing based on whether or not something looks exactly as you

saw it, or how it makes you feel? If you favor one way or the other,

try making a drawing with the other approach. You might find

yourself freed up and get some stronger ideas for your character.

Say you’re drawing a superhero. Maybe you celebrate a super-

hero in an epic way by using extra-bold shapes and colors. Or

maybe the hero looks like an idiot to you in a particular pose,

and it shows in your drawing because you make him look weak,

vulnerable, and silly in his costume.

As you look at other artists’ drawings, try to imagine what the

pose they were drawing from looked like. The drawings have

become records of what the artists were thinking in the moment.

Zombies, colored pencil on paper, Chris Deboda

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Chapter 3: Concept and Story

pose but in a completely different position. For example, these

drawings of a zombie character by Chris Deboda is clearly in-

spired by a specific pose, but he wasn’t just copying what he saw.

When some of my artist friends come back from vacation,

they show everyone the stack of watercolor paintings they did or

a sketchbook filled with drawings. The work can be captivating,

showing the people, places, and things they encountered. Each

piece vividly describes the enthusiasm they felt while there, but

the charm of the work usually isn’t based on accuracy.

Incorrect perspective or exaggerated colors don’t make these

pieces less appealing. More often, they make the artwork more

appealing because they express what the artist found so special

about being there in the moment.

For most artists at our workshop, the

main priority is storytelling. Over-

prioritizing accuracy starts to feel like

copying when the story is the main goal.

The next time you do a drawing, ask yourself: Do you copy

what you see when you draw, or are you trying to say something

about what you see? Are you judging the success or failure of a

drawing based on whether or not something looks exactly as you

saw it, or how it makes you feel? If you favor one way or the other,

try making a drawing with the other approach. You might find

yourself freed up and get some stronger ideas for your character.

Say you’re drawing a superhero. Maybe you celebrate a super-

hero in an epic way by using extra-bold shapes and colors. Or

maybe the hero looks like an idiot to you in a particular pose,

and it shows in your drawing because you make him look weak,

vulnerable, and silly in his costume.

As you look at other artists’ drawings, try to imagine what the

pose they were drawing from looked like. The drawings have

become records of what the artists were thinking in the moment.

Zombies, colored pencil on paper, Chris Deboda

(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook

#175 Dtp:204 Page:45

001-144_41057 2.indd 45 24/4/14 7:28 pm