My job is storyboarding yet I’ve never really made a video talking about how to storyboard. There was a comment on left one of my Youtube videos that asked me to talk about it.
Without that comment, I probably wouldn’t have thought to do it.
During my down time on the Metro going home from work, I started creating some Sketchnotes concerning what I know about storyboarding. I’m thinking, once I’ve done a few of these, I’ll compile them into a pdf and give it away.
Anyway, here’s the first video I made on what I know about storyboarding:
If you want a copy of the page in the video before I’ve compiled it into a pdf, you can get it by becoming a Bronze Level Patron over on my patreon. It’s located here on this reward page:
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEOS – Reusing Your Own Drawings In Your Art
Reusing your own art is something that may or may not have occurred to you. Perhaps you’ve drawn something so well that you think it would be to hard to redraw so you trace it all the time.
Or perhaps you think that doing something like that is cheating and a “real” artist wouldn’t stoop so low as to do something like this.
The point is, is it okay either way? Is is true that pros do or don’t reuse their own art?
This week, I’m answering a question that doesn’t directly ask this question but leads me to talk about this stuff, anyway. Here’s what was asked:
“Luis you’ve given a good read here, it’s a lot more fun to read your lessons then some of the “vanilla” stuff elsewhere.
What I’d want from learning is a style quite familiar to anime/manga, so I imagine that’s a bit less then a true master (which would of course be level Da Vinci) my question is more of a statement, to the trained eye, how often does an anime/manga artist reuse lines and features for all their characters? just curious, it may affect my outlook when I’m at the stage to create my own”
And here’s my answer:
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Starting an observational drawing can be tricky if you haven’t drawn enough. There’s often way to much information and it’s tough to distill it down. Where do you begin?
This week I answer a question about this very problem. Here’s the question:
Hi.
Thank you so much for this! I really like the definition of drawing as Kung Fu. When I’m sketching from observation, I never know where to start, even after mentally sketching before I put pencil to paper. I worry about not starting at the most efficient place or the place with the most light. Any advice?
Thank you
I answer the question in the video below:
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If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – Drawing What You Want Rather Than What You End Up With
You have a image in your mind that you wish to draw. You sit down and begin drawing it. When you’re done, it looks nothing like the image in your mind.
Has this happened to you? Quite honestly, I think it happens to just about everyone.
It certainly happened to this person who asked me a question about it. Here’s what he asked:
Hey Luis! Firstly, this website is amazing! The lessons are entertaining and fun to do, and I’m learning so much from this. Thank you so much for making these lessons.
I have one little question, which is a little weird because my characters have some sort of random life of their own. I have an idea in mind, then start drawing it out, but then I suddenly start drawing something completely different from my original plan. Don’t get me wrong, they turn out to be alright, but I’m having trouble drawing from the imagination (which I know a lot of people have problems with) and getting the character I want. Do you have any tips or advice about this?
Sorry, I’m not sure if I’ve explained it very well, but thanks again for your amazing work!
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – How Much Practice Before You Get Into An Art School?
One way to get better at drawing is to go to an art school. It’s not the only way but it’s definetely one way.
Once upon a time I was going to take that route. However, I ended up taking a different path. Although I still took drawing classes I never went to an art college.
Well, I was asked about getting into an art school and how much skill you need just to get in. Here’s the question:
Love the work you have done here and I just had a question in mind.
Its been like 5 years since I drew seriously the last time and I feel like its almost hopeless to start again mostly because of personal problems. I’ve been into programming and 3d and I feel like I want to do more of the creative things like drawing/writing. I am planning to train myself up again before I restart my university plan in 2017. Would the time till then allow me to get into an art school if I really put hard work into this?
Thanks in advance!
My answer is in the video below:
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If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – How to Create Your Own Anime Characters
Anime is huge. The people who love it often want to be able to draw it too.
My daughter is obsessed with wanting to draw in anime style. I give her the best tips I can, which is to say, I send her to my drawing website.
This week I answer the a question many people have about anime. Here’s how the question went:
Hi I’m new and I just created my own website on googlesites it is called artforpros. I want to create my own ANIME character and need to know what should I do first I want to create a male and female. Have any ideas?
If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – Color Blindness and Making Art in Color
Color blindness is something I personally haven’t dealt with. Quite honestly, I don’t even know anyone who is color blind.
This week’s question is about color blindness and making art in color. It goes something like this:
I just discovered your website and I like what you have written very much. Your drawing style is charming. I have a question about color. Have you ever come across a colorblind artist? What does a person do when they don’t have natural color harmonizing skills?
In the video, I will attempt to answer this question. I’ve read and seen videos of artist who are color blind. Which I will link to below.
And also, knowing a few things about the foundations of color make me doubt color blindness is as bad a problem as it may seem.
Links Talked About in This Video
Colorblind artist debuts Disney collection in Sac:
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If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – How to Bridge Observational Drawing and Imaginative Drawing
I got a very long question conscerning observational drawing and imaginative drawing. Since it’s such a long question, let me get to it soe you can see what it’s all about:
I have a question. And it is a very hard question, nobody ever told me the answer, no one artist or teacher.
We have two principally different approaches to drawing. First – is the approach where we should make a drawing of the existing scene. We stand at one single point of view (or we have a nice reference image), the light is set up, we draw with a variety of technics such as sight-size, or triangulation, or evaluating control points with a pencil, or using camera lucida or simply by eye… And that is a very tight process, or maybe a loose live sketch… But we draw something that exists. We can stylise the elements, we can simplify them and sometimes we can replace some details, but in overall we are limited to that one point of view. Suddenly we realize that we can’t remember what we’ve seen and draw without a reference or staging.
The second approach is the illustration. We build a drawing above a sketch, we construct objects as the combinations of simple 3d forms and 2d shapes, then make the outline, the shading, the coloring and so on… The drawing is stylised, and usually it looks like a cartoon. Technical drawing (with cross-sections and curves in perspective) is essentially the same, but it requires much more precision… But again, the principle is the same: we construct the drawing step-by-step from simple shapes up to the stage where even other artists sometimes can’t tell how the drawing was builded, because the final lineart or the illustration looks very complex and detailed.
I’ve seen a lot of artists who work perfectly from life, but they can’t do the illustration. Their work is called “fine-art”, they do exhibitions and sell their paintings for thousands of dollars, but they are unable to draw a dragon or Santa.
Also there is a lot of really good illustrators who work perfectly from imagination, they have their distinctive style, but… they make very poor life drawings. They use reference as the inspiration, but when they draw, it DOESN’T look like an object form reference image at different angle or with different light – instead, it just roughly reminds the same idea with similar textures… Not more. Life drawing is a pain in the ass for these creative persons, they usually hate borders and mandatory work.
There is A LOT of information for both matters (ranging from special ateliers, who teach sight-size method of drawing plaster casts, and up to Scott Robertson’s book “How to draw” or Neil Fontaine’s very huge and affordable course “Discover How to Draw and paint Comics”)
BUT! Nobody teaches how to build a bridge between two approaches. How could we fill the gap between drawing from life (or reference) and constructive drawing?!
I mean, how should I draw from life and analyse the reference material in order to LEARN the subject’s form for creative drawing WITHOUT a reference?
But if that wasn’t enough, once I answered the question, I go a follow up question that was just as long. It went something like this:
Quote: “So how to do bridge both? By practicing and mastering both skills. You learn the observation skill of drawing from life, but you don’t simply copy what you see, you reinterpret what you see using the formulas you use drawing from you’re imagination. … you draw what you actually see and try to understand what is happening there from your anatomy and construction studies.”
I am in trouble with this. It seems simple in theory, and it works more or less with a still-life (draw-through technique with simple or obviously constructive objects) or a figure drawing (anatomy schemes for doing better proportions and reinterpreting the whole shading). Actually it works well in the class or studio.
But… The trouble starts when reality comes. Let’s say, I need a decent tree for a composition. We usually are unable to find the right tree, which looks good in 2D projection. So we need to reinvent the structure of the drawing. I can’t apply any formula for such object because the formula doesn’t exist (or maybe exists in someone else’s brain).
The world is full of volumetric objects that are perceived in motion. What we really know about such complex objects is a range of conclusions and observations that are made from a lot of different points of view with various weather and light conditions. And THAT is the image of the subject in the mind of “non-artist” people. We know the subject, but a lot of that information is tactile, sound or whatever. But in order to depict the object, artists should establish the base form. When we understand the form, we can add everything: textures, small details, colour, shading, composition, storytelling and so on.
Any single point of view, any single reference image is lying to us – there is a lot of texture information, but it is extremely hard to understand the form.
It seems that I can’t get the formula out of life, it is necessary to creatively invent the formula which is believable, and for every new object there should be the new formula. HOW?!
As for the trees, the problem is how to interpret THOUSANDS of proportion relationships between leaves, not making a mess from the foliage. Also, how to reorganise tree branches in 3D space.
As for the iguanas, elephants, or snake’s head, or close-up view of the foliage, or flowers, the problem is that I simply CAN’T BREAK THEM DOWN on the simple shapes or constructive lines… because objects in nature are NOT simple. A head of a fly is not made of spheres or cubes or cylinders… Curved surfaces are everywhere, and it is necessary to simplify them somehow.
I don’t need the anatomically correct fly, also I am not going to be a botanist or guru of mammal’s anatomy… But I need the idea on how to invent the formulas based on what I see. Because three-four simplified curved surfaces would be enough for each individual detail, I just have to know the approach… How to make APPROXIMATE analysis of what I see.
I am sure, you understand what I am talking about. The speech seems complicated, but the problem is really fundamental. How Leonardo was drawing a swirls of water (or the backgrounds for his portraits)? How Durer was drawing a rhinoceros? How sculptors invent the curls?
In the end, THIS knowledge is a key to the so-called “visual library”.
How to redesign, reinvent, interpret the form on a basis of life drawing, reference images and observations? What is the methodology of this process? Not only regarding the figure drawing or technical drawing, but in overall? Any ideas?
So yeah, I made a video answering all this:
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If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
ART/VIDEO – How to Draw a Professional Animation Clean Up Line
You have a rough drawing, however your stuck. You want to clean it up but every time you’ve tried to tighten up a drawing, your lines are sketchy, or wobbly, or just plain ugly.
How do you get a clean lines? How do you make your line look great, clean, professional?
This is, therefore, a bit of a follow up to that post:
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If you liked this video and would like me to discuss something you think I might know about…
If you want to ask me a question about drawing that you might be struggling with…
If you want to suggest a character or drawing you’d like me to draw, feel free to ask or suggest away, either here on my comments or anywhere else you’d like to contact me.
Just be aware that my Patreon patrons get their questions answered first and they get to see the videos weeks before anyone else.
My job is storyboarding yet I’ve never really made a video talking about how to storyboard. There was a comment on left one of my Youtube videos that asked me to talk about it.
