The Drawing Club

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

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42 The Drawing Club

(Text)

Chapter 3: Concept and Story

“Storytelling” is a word that is used a lot at The Drawing

Club. It has little to do with how many head lengths tall a

figure is or whether the anatomy is correct. It’s about what

you are trying to say with your drawing.

The Bride of Frankenstein, charcoal pencil on paper, John Musker

When you are learning how to draw, you usually first tackle

fundamentals such as observation skills, proportion, and

perspective, for example. With experience, you become more

confident and comfortable with the basics—and ready for more

advanced concepts such as storytelling.

I always tell my students that learning to draw is a lot like

learning a new language. You start with the basic structure and

a limited vocabulary. You know what you want to say, but you

aren’t sure if you are saying it correctly. With a lot of experience

and trial and error, you might get to the level where you are

speaking fluently. This means you are no longer worried whether

you said something correctly. You are really only thinking about

the content of what you are saying. That’s where storytelling

comes in.

For the many experienced artists who come to The Drawing

Club, it is all about storytelling. They feel comfortable in their

ability to draw things correctly. What’s fun for them is looking

for opportunities to say something more with the pose than just

copying it.

Watching these folks draw makes me think about professional

musicians in a jam session. Everyone knows how to play the

song; the fun part is improvising and changing it in the moment.

For example, we could be drawing a fashion model, and to make

her look even more elegant, we give her an extra-long neck and

even longer legs. Her hands are drawn to make elegant shapes

no matter how they might have been posed in real life. The

direction of her eyes and her facial expression can make us

imagine what she might be thinking.

Or maybe we are drawing a tough action character. To make

him look even tougher, we use a big sloppy brush so the marks

are more aggressive and unpredictable.

In this chapter, we will look at several examples of good

storytelling. In each case, look for what the artist was trying to

say, and think about how that is different from just looking at a

straightforward photograph of the pose.

I always tell my students that learning to draw is a lot like learning a new language.

You start with the basic structure and a limited vocabulary.

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

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43

(Text)

“Storytelling” is a word that is used a lot at The Drawing

Club. It has little to do with how many head lengths tall a

figure is or whether the anatomy is correct. It’s about what

you are trying to say with your drawing.

The Bride of Frankenstein, charcoal pencil on paper, John Musker

Watching these folks draw makes me think about professional

musicians in a jam session. Everyone knows how to play the

song; the fun part is improvising and changing it in the moment.

For example, we could be drawing a fashion model, and to make

her look even more elegant, we give her an extra-long neck and

even longer legs. Her hands are drawn to make elegant shapes

no matter how they might have been posed in real life. The

direction of her eyes and her facial expression can make us

imagine what she might be thinking.

Or maybe we are drawing a tough action character. To make

him look even tougher, we use a big sloppy brush so the marks

are more aggressive and unpredictable.

In this chapter, we will look at several examples of good

storytelling. In each case, look for what the artist was trying to

say, and think about how that is different from just looking at a

straightforward photograph of the pose.

I always tell my students that learning to draw is a lot like learning a new language.

You start with the basic structure and a limited vocabulary.

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

#175 Dtp:204 Page:43

001-144_41057 2.indd 43 24/4/14 7:28 pm