Rad Sechrist: Emotional shapes

I didn't make this up, it's something that has been done in production design both in live action and animation for a long time. It's a lot of fun to play with. Here is how I used it in a recent comic.

Mark McDonnell: "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" 02

Hey Guys,

Here is an all new video which is the SECOND of my How To Draw In Your Sketchbook that I'm calling the "MAC Sketchbook Sessions" for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. I do get a lot of questions of how I go about drawing in my sketchbook and what I'm going for. The fact of the matter is that ANYTHING is possible, so I find it's best for me to attack a certain area of focus. That focus could actually be a great many things, so trying to be specific to me is a great help to ease the 8 MILLION things that could be drawn. In my current "lunchtime" sketchbook, I am focusing on design but using different approaches with marker to capture the right color I'm going for.

This video is again an over the shoulder view of my flipping through my second of many personal sketchbooks and giving commentary. I hope it's enjoyable.



All my best,

MAC

Florian Satzinger: Work In Progress

I thought it would be nice to show a work-in-progress piece again. I, for one, am always very interested in others' processes. Well and here is another one of mine:

Florian Satzinger: Volume

This is just a quick post here on the fly to show how I usually keep track of the volume/form of a character.

Update for a better understanding what I mean with this here: By drawing a kind of a box around the character and then placing lines from the trunk, horns etc. towards the ground and panels I get a feel for the perspective of various parts of the character.

Mark McDonnell: Marker Rendering (Part 01 and Part 02)

Here are two new videos that are PART 01 and PART 02 on the topic of MARKER RENDERING for the Animation and Entertainment Industry. These videos talk about how and why markers are such an important medium to use in the quick paced world of the Animation and Entertainment Industry. Whether for a concept design project or for sketching on location, here's some tricks and tips.

PART 01:


and

PART 02:




All my best,

MAC

Rad Sechrist: Head construction

There are a million ways to construct the head. Try mixing and matching as many different approaches as you can, and see what works for you. There is one thing that unifies all approaches. In the end, when you finally put your lines on top, you have to have good design principles.

Florian Satzinger: Toon Gravity

To give my characters better balance and weight I developed a tiny motorpunkish machine and placed it safely underground right under their feet.


All jesting aside, it's a kind of "meta-help" to me. Like an invisible marionette puppet master who's drawing down the characters. The machine illustrates the gravitational pull. The characters get more contact with the ground and stand (to my mind) like trees do. This here is not actually a proper drawing technique but more a "meta-thinking" thing. Technique is not everything - good drawing is also a matter of "meta-control" and playing a little I guess. Have I confused you enough already?

By the by, there is a brilliant post about "thinking around the form" over at Drawn!: CLICK HERE (opens in new window)

Before I forget... shall I post the drawing and colouring process of this fat motorsuit here as well before I archive this piece? Interested?

Update: Here's the entire process from start to finish...

And this is where the inspiration and colours came from:

Source: Modern Mechanix Blog

Leighton Hickman: Painting Parker

My goal during the first sitting is to establish the drawing structure using accurate colors and shapes.

This is my initial lay-in:



First I painted a light wash of the average skin in light, keeping very abstract and loose but defining the overall head placement. I started defining her facial structure by finding the corner of the eyes, then sketching in the basic landmarks of the face. The shadow side of the face was receiving a soft overhead cool fill giving it a slightly greener hue, whereas the shadows on the light side of the face were receiving a warm bounce from the models skin. From there I found the bottom of the nose, muzzle, and chin. I indicated the placement of the cheekbone with a little local color also found in the bulb of the nose and chin. Finally I indicated the placement of the ear and further defined the head by sketching in the shape of the hair, neck and clothes with a few simple brush strokes.

The hard work put in during the lay-in will make completing the painting merely a matter of pushing and pulling at values and modulating hues.



I began this sitting by brushing in a background color to help the shadow side of the face turn. From there I indicated the shape of the lips and ears and began refining the flesh tone on the light side of the face. It was important maintain the redness in the cheeks and bulb of the nose compared to the desaturated yellows and purples in the surrounding areas. I also made sure to keep the greatest contrasts around her left eye to create an emotional focal point.



Here I finally acknowledge the third light source in the image: a low cool rim light I placed behind the model in order to add interest to the shadow side of the face. I indicated the brows and refined the eyes paying attention to the established perspective. In order to frame her face better I brushed in the hair behind the models ear. It’s also important to note that I began paying greater attention to edges at this point by squinting down to see which edges are sharp and which ones are lost.




I focused mostly on my highlights and darkest darks here, trying to capitalize on the established forms by increasing value contrast. The highlights along her cheekbone, brow and eye add a finishing spark to the image that brings it to life. The final stage of the painting is where I refine details: adding anything that’s missing and removing anything that shouldn’t be there.

"Parker"
9”x12” Oil on Linen.

Mark McDonnell: Tonal Drawing 02

Here's a new video that is on the topic of TONAL SKETCHING. I classify it as "Non-Traditional" use of tone. Both Direct and In-Direct lighting was used to tell the best story telling elements within in entirety of the character/drawing.

Above is the final image done during this video. It was about an 8-10 minute drawing.

Best to everyone,

MAC

Florian Satzinger: Drawing And Colouring The Fat Bird

Nine times of ten, my whole drawing and colouring process has just 5 steps:

I put up a small version of the fat bird's PSD file for download (zipped). So you can check out how I have it structured. Just click on the image below:

Octavio Rodriguez: Making faces out of shapes....

Here is one of my methods to quickly knockout some shapes for faces. 

First I'll start to draw a bunch abnormal circles, as below:

Then use those shapes as the foundation:

To make these rough sketches:

Here's another example, just a little more dissected:)

Draw some shapes:

Draw the accents for the face (nose, hair, ears, etc...)

Ending up with this final result:

This process I find helps to keep you loose and also keeps it fun as you discover shapes you wouldn't normally create.  Because your focus is on the specific details from the beginning then looking at the overall design:)

Rad Sechrist: Drawing from memory

This is a good exercise. This was done from life, but it's also good to try it from a photo. Look at a photo for 30 seconds and try to remember a few things and then draw without the photo. The nice thing about using a photo is you can look at it again and check how well you did.

Louie del Carmen: Visual Illustration

Here are some ideas on how to improve visualization in a philosophical and hopefully, practical way. Drawing starts in our minds and it helps to always be in that mind frame even psychologically.