Mark McDonnell: Figure Drawing's Importance for Posing

This is a recent magazine article I was hired to write and provide examples of on the topic of the importance of dynamic and exaggerated posing.

MAC

Sam Nielson: Painting Process, Part 2

At the end of my last post I said I'd describe the polishing phase in another post.
The polishing phase of your painting should be focused on resolving two questions:
- How will the viewer to respond to the subject?
- Where do I want the viewer's eyes to go?

The first question should be already answered in part, because once you've decided your light and color scheme you've already set some of the emotional content of your picture.  However, you can do things at this point to "plus" the emotions or ideas in your image.  Here's what he looked like in the last post:

My original idea was a grumpy Jedi---a character whose traditional role is civilized and restrained, but who is irritated nearly to the breaking point.  I lost the Jedi when re-drawing him, but I still want to communicate that he's dangerous and he's about ready to snap.  I don't feel like I'm hitting that note with the lighting, but I don't want to start over.

Having an image with the lighting effects in layers is really helpful at this point, because changing where the shadows fall is as simple as erasing part of a layer.  So I use a shadow over his eyes to get that film noir effect that makes him mysterious and dangerous without changing anything else about him.

Now is the crucial point of decision, where you can spend countless hours on things that don't matter if you're not careful.  So usually at this point I create a mental "heat map" of where my eyes move in the image.  I do this by sitting back and imagining that I'm seeing the image for the first time, and I pay attention to where my eyes go naturally.  Then, I mentally work out where I want my eyes to go instead.  This image shows the scribbly path my eyes follow at first, but also a more controlled, hotter path representing the way I'd like things to go.  A simple path or shape is the best!

At this point I flatten my image, because my process starts to become so chaotic.  For me layers are useful for laying the foundation but after that they're just a hindrance, unless I create them as need arises and then flatten everything soon after. 
So as I was saying, my process seems chaotic from here on, but it's not; because I'm using that heat map to help me prioritize my work and to dictate the highest points of contrast in the image.  The hottest area on my heat map is the face and the eyes, so that's where I start putting in detail.  I also darken the top of the head to create a frame and lower contrast around the eyes.  This will help them stand out even though they're in shadow.

Next priority is the hands.  People always notice the hands, especially in this case because they're part of the compositional path, so they need to look good.  I start filling in other details around the hands like the reflection in the liquid, because even though most eyes will follow the compositional path, giving the eyes something to explore in the "rest" areas makes your image feel rich and alive.  I also boost the contrast levels a little to deepen the shadows.

More detail and composition adjustments.  I pull out the blues in the dust cloud behind him to add contrast to that edge, but I'm careful to keep it subdued because this is a secondary path in the composition and not the primary one.  I also brighten the eyes a tiny bit so they stand out more.

Now the finishing touches.  I add a faint reflection to the tabletop, adjust the clouds a bit, and finish up the detail on his sippy cup (was originally supposed to be a futuristic mug, but whatever).  I decrease the contrast around his eyes a little and then put in some subtle edges of color along the compositional path for visual interest.

As I was writing this post I realized I hadn't done enough to suggest his danger (since he's not a Jedi now), so I went back and put in a couple scars and some wear in his clothing.  I'm not sure about those details yet, but that's why I usually wait a day or so before calling something done---because you sometimes make decisions that seem good at the time and later wonder what you were thinking.  Or at least I do.

Randall Sly: Observe, Trace and Study.

One of the ways I like to study, is by printing out a picture I like. I then take the time and trace over it.  Now at first this might sound like a big waste of time but it isn't.  Sometimes the mind seems to trick us into thinking a certain line or shape is different than exactly what you see in front of you. We sometimes see what we want to. So with having the added sense of feeling, of going over the same lines that are there, you are able to see and feel the shape, length, direction, thickness, rhythm of each line. You will start to feel the design. You are adding another sense while studying.  It's kind of like what a blind person would do when they touch things. They are using the sense of touch to see. Well when I trace over a picture, I get that added help of seeing by feeling the drawing as well. My drawing skills grew when I started doing this. So don't be embarrassed to trace over things, you will learn a lot.

The next thing I do is make sure I am studying good art.  There is a phrase that says "Garbage In Garbage Out".
Meaning... if  you are looking, studying or around bad stuff (in this case art) you will absorb it naturally, and then when you put pencil to paper that is what will come out.  You can only produce what you know.  So if you would like to be a great artist study great art work, be surrounded by it. Study just the good stuff.

One more thing... Glen Keane once said "if you are drawing a blank, or are having a hard time drawing a certain thing, then it is because you have not studied it enough". You can only draw what you know. Sadly there is no magical dust (believe me I have tried searching for the stuff) that will make you a better artist. The fruit of great art comes from the roots of studying, observation, and hard work.

So for people like me that have a hard time drawing hands this is the type of (Great) artwork I would printout, trace, study, and observe. 

Rad Sechrist: studying

Guest: "I'd love to see the best way to maximize practice. Say you sit down for a couple hours each day study: where do you focus? How do you make it stick?"

Here is how I learned to draw. I put on an animated movie and pause it and try to figure out how to draw it. this is still something I do almost every day for about an hour. For figure drawing, I take out a master drawing and do a master copy on newsprint. I also do studies from comics. I find it easier to do studies from art. For me (and this is just a very personal opinion) drawing from life, or from photos is like taking a test. You find out what you need to study more of and you go back and study artist to figure out how they handled things, then you go and take the test again. If you only ever draw from life, you run the risk of just repeating the same mistakes over and over again and never improving. there are pros and cons to this method. At first, your drawings will be very unoriginal, but eventually you can break free and develop your own style. The other side of the coin is to be very fresh and original, but not "technically" as good of a draftsmen (never study). It's a very personal decision that each artist gets to make and I don't think one way is better than the other.

Rad Sechrist: Question by Robert

Robert asked, " I'm just in high school, and I was wondering what I could do to possibly prepare myself to become a storyboard artist."

Personally, I never went to school for it, but if I could go back in time, I definitely would have. It would have saved a lot of time and work, and it just sounds so awesome to be surrounded by students excited about art and animation. Art Center in Pasadena and Cal Arts are both great schools. If you are able to get into Gobelins in France, that is, in my opinion, the best school for animation in the world. Another good school is Sheridan in Canada. Other than schools, just study films and break them down shot by shot into storyboards. that's a really good way to learn. After you learn, studios have training programs where you can get in and learn on the job. TV also has something called a storyboard revisionist. You can basically just show up to any studio with a portfolio of storyboard samples and they will usually call you back and give you a test. Doing the test for the job is actually a great way to learn. I did several test for studios before I finally got a job. every test, I would take to someone in the industry and ask them to look at it and I would try to make less mistakes the next time. that is sort of how I learned to storyboard. Try it, make a storyboard portfolio and drop it off at Nickelodeon.