THE SIMPSONS NEWS – Increase Your Value as an Artist by Learning to Draw What You Don’t Like.

Simpsons Quote:

Homer: But every time I learn something new, it pushes out something old! Remember that time I took a home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?

Marge: That’s because you were drunk.

Homer: And how!

If there’s something you don’t like to draw as an artist, it’s very possible that there’s a simple reason why.

There’s also a way to actually start liking to draw what you originally didn’t like once you fix this problem.

On the show, as a Layout artist, you are often given assignments with things you simply don’t want to draw or don’t like drawing.  As a professional, you don’t always have the luxury of simply skipping over the parts you don’t want to do.

On this post, I’m going to be sharing with you what I did to start liking to draw what I didn’t like.

You can either watch the video or read the post.  The info is the same, only the post has a few example screenshots AND I added ANOTHER video of an example from an Miyazaki movie I didn’t mention in the video:

The Stuff We Tend Not to Like to Draw

I’ve learned to draw what I didn’t like to draw and by doing so discovered that I liked to draw those things.

And here the things artists usually don’t like drawing, mechanical stuff, stuff in perspective, backgrounds, buildings, cars…etc.

A lot of time, as artists, we just don’t like to do that because we see it as too technical, and rigid.

Ironically, that’s what makes it easy. Because it’s mechanical it’s a little more “mindless.”

How You Can Learn to Like It

But once you know how to do it well enough you find the things that make it exciting, gestural, and dynamic. Then it suddenly become fun.

But you have to actually get good really at it before you really start enjoying it. That’s part of the reason you don’t enjoy it, because it’s still technical and you haven’t found the “art” of it. Once  you get passed that point, when you finally start to get it, it start becoming fun.

You start experimenting more, and it become much more entertaining.

How I Learned to Draw and LIKE Drawing Cars

I’m going to give you an example, from my work life.

I used to be a Character Layout Artist and I didn’t like drawing cars. Car where a pain in neck.  They were no fun.  I wasn’t good at drawing them and it felt too much like a technical drawing when I worked on them.

One time I had to do a scene on one of the episodes (Realty Bites) where Homer and Snake where fighting on top of Snake’s car Little Bandit.  Little Bandit was like a convertible and then they had to fight on top of this moving car.

So I had to draw the car and I had to draw the fight scene.

I like drawing fight scenes, I always find them to be  a lot of fun. You get to be dynamic, and it’s really exciting. I wanted this section of the show. I wanted to do these scenes but they had a moving car.

Lucky for me, the A.D. (Assistant Director) of the episode was really really good at drawing cars. So much so that it was his hobby. He liked to drawing cars for fun. It’s what he drew in his spare time.

So I went over and asked him,  if he could give me some pointers. Just what is it that I should do when drawing a car? How do I make the process easier and faster?

He sat me down for about thirty minutes to an hour and gave me lessons on drawing cars.

One big take away from this lesson was when drawing cars, you should give them shocks. That way, the car’s wheels will stay on the ground, but the top part of the car will move a little bit.

Just that little tip was enough to expanded my mind. It was so perfect, because I could give the car gesture.

When you’re first drawing something, you’re usually drawing gestures. You’re usually drawing the power, the punch, the physics, and then you draw the figure around those elements.

When you gave the cars shocks, you get this extra element of physics and power you could add gesture to. Suddenly drawing cars became so much more fun.

I didn’t draw the cars perfectly, but I wanted to start drawing them.

Part of me always liked Japanese cartoons. I wanted to be able to draw giant robots, and machines like they do in those cartoons. Like that crazy car chase scene in Hayao Miyazaki‘s CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO. Brilliant BRILLIANT!

No computers used, ALL HAND DRAWN.

This sort of thing was was kind of driving me too (no pun intended).

The REAL Problem

This is when I realized that the reason why I didn’t like drawing cars is because I didn’t know how to do them well. Therefore I couldn’t find a thing about it that I liked doing. Once I did, then it was fun, and I didn’t mind it.

It became a fun challenge.

And in animation you don’t just draw one car. You have to draw, like, a billion different little cars and different positions, as they move though space. So I appreciated the lesson.

My Advice to You

If you have something you don’t like drawing, go out of your way to find somebody you can learn from.

Or just go out and do the things you don’t like to do, and FIND the thing that makes you like it. This will increase your value as a artist more. You’re probably not the only one who doesn’t like drawing that thing.

If you can do it and others can’t or won’t, suddenly, you’re more valuable. Everyone else is skipping out on that stuff  which means, YOU shouldn’t.

Alright I hope this is very helpful.

E-Mails and Comments

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This week I sent out an e-mail where I talk about the LOGORAMA Simpsons spoof I storyboarded.

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BLOGS – Simpson Musings 500

Want more Simpsons goodness? Then you should definitely go read the Simpsons Musings 500 blog.

Its a blog written by Chris Ledesma Music Editor of the Simpsons and it’s fantastic.

In fact, I don’t know how he does it but Chris is dropping all kinds of news and info on upcoming shows that I wouldn’t dare say.

It’s actually REALLY cool.  He lets you know what shows he’s working on, and explains the process as he tells you about the up coming shows that haven’t been aired yet.

I talk about old shows, he talks about new one.

AND he talks about the creation of the music for the show, which is fascinating.

I highly recommend it. Check it out.

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