(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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001-144_41057.indd 35 24/4/14 6:46 pm34 The Drawing Club(Text)
The model takes a break every twenty-five minutes, so by
7:30, people start walking around to see what everyone else is
doing. This is the part I love, because while everyone is helping
themselves to the cookies, chips, soda, and coffee I have in
the back, I see the animator talking to the illustrator and the
character designer talking to the fashion illustrator. You can see
and hear the melding of ideas. As the evening goes on, and from
week to week, you can see artists from all different disciplines
and backgrounds influence each other’s design decision making.
Learning design isn’t just about doing what someone tells
you to do. It is also about being in the right place with an open
mind. Keep your eyes open, and pay attention to what is going
on around you. Some design is considered good because its
elements are set and timeless and relevant to the problem it is
solving, but sometimes the challenge is to keep rethinking how
we design by doing something different and learning from those
around you. Sharing and accepting new things keeps us moving
forward and allows us to experience the excitement of seeing
new things happen.I also think it’s important to give the artists enough stuff to
design with. From the beginning at The Drawing Club, I always
made sure we spent the time to create appropriate sets for the
models that matched the mood of the character. The lighting
needs to create strong compositional light and shadow shapes.
Even the color of the light source can play an important role in
setting the mood or period and can become a design element.
As I watch some of the illustrators, comic, and background
artists draw, I might see them compose entire scenes and not
just draw the figure. They are composing in a box, designing the
whole scene like a painter. They bring this sensibility with them
because at work they might be designing and composing for the
TV or film screen or comics page.
I think the drawings in this book are evidence that all of these
design ideas can work together in different forms. That is why I
try my best to keep the format at The Drawing Club flexible. Our
workshop starts at 7 p.m., so most of the artists swing by after
work. Any design issues that might be relevant at work can be
ignored at The Drawing Club. Once we start, you can see people
relaxing and settling into drawing the character.ExEr C isE:Carving with lines
When I was in art school, my friends and I would marvel at
how some of our instructors drew with such beautiful thick-to-
thin lines. We’d look for formulas to help us to understand how
they did it. Outside of learning to sharpen our pencils carefully
with an extra-long, sharp tip, we came up empty. When we
asked them, typically we would get answers back such as,
“Do ten thousand more drawings; then we’ll talk.”
The message was clear: There are no formulas for this, much
like there is no formula for a master violinist to find his perfect
tone. You develop it over time through practice.Danger Girl, colored pencil and yellow highlighter
on newsprint, Jim WheelockSafari Hunter, colored pencil and yellow highlighter
on newsprint, Jim WheelockThe Huckster, colored pencil and yellow highlighter
on newsprint, Jim WheelockEdward Scissorhands, charcoal pencil and watercolor on paper,
George Stokes(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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35(Text)
The model takes a break every twenty-five minutes, so by
7:30, people start walking around to see what everyone else is
doing. This is the part I love, because while everyone is helping
themselves to the cookies, chips, soda, and coffee I have in
the back, I see the animator talking to the illustrator and the
character designer talking to the fashion illustrator. You can see
and hear the melding of ideas. As the evening goes on, and from
week to week, you can see artists from all different disciplines
and backgrounds influence each other’s design decision making.
Learning design isn’t just about doing what someone tells
you to do. It is also about being in the right place with an open
mind. Keep your eyes open, and pay attention to what is going
on around you. Some design is considered good because its
elements are set and timeless and relevant to the problem it is
solving, but sometimes the challenge is to keep rethinking how
we design by doing something different and learning from those
around you. Sharing and accepting new things keeps us moving
forward and allows us to experience the excitement of seeing
new things happen.ExEr C isE:Carving with lines
When I was in art school, my friends and I would marvel at
how some of our instructors drew with such beautiful thick-to-
thin lines. We’d look for formulas to help us to understand how
they did it. Outside of learning to sharpen our pencils carefully
with an extra-long, sharp tip, we came up empty. When we
asked them, typically we would get answers back such as,
“Do ten thousand more drawings; then we’ll talk.”
The message was clear: There are no formulas for this, much
like there is no formula for a master violinist to find his perfect
tone. You develop it over time through practice.George Stokes draws with beautiful lines. He told me that
when he draws, the line going down feels a lot like skiing down
a ski slope. You glide along, feeling the snow under your skis,
and when you turn, you feel extra pressure as you carve your
way down the slope. The feeling is intuitive after a while be-
cause you find a rhythm moving from one turn to the next. Major
turns feel like anchor points in your drawing as you change
direction with a dark line. Light lines feel like when you are
effortlessly gliding quietly between turns.
Take a close look at George’s drawings, and look for the
rhythm he has in his lines. Use a hand-sharpened pencil with
an extra-long, sharp point to try carving your lines through the
turns. Remember, this takes practice.Chapter 2: Why Is 2-D Design So Important?Danger Girl, colored pencil and yellow highlighter
on newsprint, Jim WheelockEdward Scissorhands, charcoal pencil and watercolor on paper,
George Stokes(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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