I am a professional illustrator, providing illustration for books, magazines, posters and (rock band) merchandize . I also storyboard for film, tv, video games and tv ads. Teaching is just something I enjoy doing. Just an attemp to give something back. Not everything I post here will necessarily work for everyone.
This week and the following classes , we will be looking at how to extend your skills of figure drawing to a wider canvas, incorporating backgrounds and how to ballance them.
Here are the photos from this weeks class.
As you can see, the composition here is very much central, using single point perspective.
Does this make for good or bad composition?
Does this give interesting composition or uninteresting?
And don't forget!!!
Tuesday 25th October – NO CLASS
- HALF TERM
Tuesday 1st November *The
day before my birthday. If you fancy joining me for a drink, I will be paying a visit to the vic, behind the Town
Hall.
Tuesday 8th November
Tuesday 15th November
Tuesday 22nd November
Tuesday 29th November
Tuesday 6th December – End of term pub outing if anyone is up for it.
Here is my adaptation for the breakdown of the hand that I learned from, How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way.
As I mentioned in class, part of improving your drawing skills is gaining an understanding of what it is you are about to draw. What can prove helpful, is simplifying the subject into more digestable information. The success of this method may depend on how you , as an idividual, absorb and interpret information. This may not be effective for you but try it out anyway.
As I demonstrated in clas, the palm of the hand is essentially, a sqaure shape. The finger can be broken down into three cylindrical shapes
If this method is helpful to you, try it out on other hand poses
During my early years of learning to drawing, Ithink I had a pretty good grasp of figure drawing. It wasn't amazing but it was solid enough to enable me to draw my favourite comic book characters etc reasonably well. However, when it came to drawing the hands and feet (especially the feet) I often struggled to achieve anything that didn't look wooden, disjointed, or deformed.
It wasn't until I saw Gil Kane's comic book work (I can't remember the actual comic, probably Creatures On The Loose) that I began to make a breakthrough.
Kane's work presented something different. As far as my comic book reading went, back in the 70's, it brought a new level of realism to comic book art. It wasn't until I stumbled across a book on anatomy, in the local library, that the penny dropped. Kane had obviously studdied anatomy.
At that time, I had a low paid warehouse job, stacking boxes but it meant I could afford to buy a book on anatomy if I didn't go to the cinema that week (you could go to the cinema for 50p back then) . This was the book I found in Austick's Book Shop in Leeds.
Human Anatomy For The Artist by John Raynes.
It turned my drawing around big time.
I couldn't say whether it was the best book out there I could lay my hands on but it certainly helped improve my drawing of the human figure, especially, the hands and feet.
Why? Because it gave me an understanding of the human form. Having an understanding of what you are attempting to draw, will enable you to achieve a more pleasing result. That and practice. It won't happen on your first drawing. Practice is the most important part of your development. If you don't practice, you will not improve. FACT.
Another book that helped with my progress, was, How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, by Stan Lee and John Buscema.
This book breaks down the details of anatomy into more easy to digest information.
In fact, not just anatomy,... guns, cars, planes, buildings....
It's a great book. Many professional comic book artists have learned to draw, or imporved their drawing, from reading book. It's still in print too.
John Buscema also has a very classical style. His figure drawing is very solid. He's a very good draftsman. A lot can be learned from looking at his work.
Kane, Buscema and Raybes are a few of the artists who helped me develop my drawing skills, as did Frank Frazetta and Jack Kirby, but you may find other artists and "How To Draw Books" that connect specifically with the way you draw.
Here are some more some books that you may find useful. DYNAMIC FIGURE DRAWING by Burne Hogarth
DRAWING DYNAMIC HANDS by Burne Hogarth DRAWING THE HUMAN HEAD by Burne Hogarth
FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT'S WORTH by Andrew Loomis
It probably has a different cover now as it has been reprinted many times
If you can find any books by Adrew Loomis, they will be well worth picking up.
