by Christopher Hart | May 10, 2013 | Blog old
If you’re a lawyer, you’ve got to have a degree. If you’re an electrician, you have to be certified. If you’re a therapist, you need to act like you have a degree.
But an artist needs no official piece of paper to prove his worth, only his portfolio. How many clients are going to ask what the artist’s GPA was, or whether he or she did enough community service.
So, why not blow off formal training and skip art school?
That would be a misreading of the professional landscape. Let’s explore why you may want to consider art school, point by point.
- You will be competing against other artists who have completed art school, and all of the course requirements, which means they’ll be well versed in the fundamentals. In addition, their progress will increase steadily over years, with continuous input from the accomplished pros who are their teachers. In other words, their portfolios will be tough to beat. Their work will have that polished look of someone who has gone to art school. This gives clients a feeling of confidence when hiring an artist.
- Who says you have to wait until a client asks if you’ve gone to art school? If you wait, the question may not come up. Put it out there. If your competition fails to mention their background, then you’ll have the advantage. You’re the one with the “formal training,” which is generally how clients put it. On the other hand, if your client mentions that they, too went to art school, you had better mention it as well, so as not to give them the advantage.
- One great aspect of art school is that the teachers are all artists. This isn’t true of other fields. Film schools are loaded with film professors who have never shot a film or have even been on a film set. English classes are profuse with teachers who have never published a book. But by having real pros as your art teachers, you will get career guidance that matters, rather than academic theory.
- Drawing is solitary. While you labor away, putting in the long hours at the drawing board, art school will provide you with a network of others who share the same passion. Friendships have a way of turning into lifelong contacts that are mutually profitable after graduation. Think about it: whom would you rather hire, Joe Blow, or the guy you sat next to in art class, who could fulfill the assignment perfectly?
Is art school an absolute requirement? No, it isn’t. There are ways to get everything you need from supplementary education, and from a liberal arts education. But that, my friends, is a topic for another blog.
So today’s take away is this:
“Art school can be a valuable asset.”
See You Soon,
Chris Hart
Your Cartooning Sherpa
by Christopher Hart | Apr 29, 2013 | Blog old
When others offer art criticism or fashion criticism, they usually only talk about the weak points in your art, or your taste in ties. Okay, I’ll concede on the ties, though why I can’t wear my Muhammad Ali tie to a formal affair still baffles me. Here’s my secret: Recognizing your strengths is even more important than figuring out where you need to improve.
Yes, this is heretical point of view. But so was Copernicus’ idea of the solar system. And by the way, Copernicus was a heck of a good cartoonist.
He could have made something of himself if he hadn’t wasted all his time with that “earth revolves around the sun” stuff!
When you focus on your natural strengths, you improve faster. Why? Because you have a natural facility in that area. It helps you to overcome inertia, because you see results faster. And since you see results faster, that in turns inspires you further. This lifts your skills, though somewhat unevenly. That’s when it’s time to address your weaknesses.
By lifting your level in the area of your strengths, you can then turn to your weaknesses and attack them from a higher level, which allows you, once again, to improve faster. This approach also helps you set higher goals for yourself, because you will naturally want to bring your weak points up to the higher level where you’ve brought your strong points.
Focusing exclusively on what needs to be improved is like flagellating yourself, except that it’s not the Middle Ages, and you probably aren’t walking in a weird procession. https://www.247locksmithfinder.com/residential-locksmith
The question is, how does one recognize his strengths? Everyone – every single aspiring artist – has certain things that they draw better than other things, or they simply have an easier time drawing certain subjects. Perhaps you have a tough time drawing hands, but you like drawing eyes. You’ve just discovered a strength. In the beginning, you may want to focus more on headshots than full body shots.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. But artists who are in demand are desirable because they excel at something. They specialize. They’re known for doing something better than other people. So here’s the takeaway for today:
No one ever got famous by concentrating solely on their weak points.
See you next week!
– Christopher Hart
by Christopher Hart | Apr 25, 2013 | Blog old
There are two big-time problems cartoon drawing beginners run into. And they’re big, mainly because they don’t realize it’s a problem. All the instruction in the world won’t help if you don’t correct these two bad habits, which are, believe it or not, among the easiest to fix.
One is drawing very lightly with short, feathery strokes of the pencil. The other is to draw with very slow, deliberate and clean lines. Both of these will get you into trouble, especially with the Cartooning Police. But I’m going to show you the way to avoid getting a cartoon violation.
When someone draws in short, feathery strokes, they are trying to be very careful to avoid mistakes. Alternatively, when someone presses down on the pencil very hard, making sure to keep a clean, tight line, they are being very careful to avoid making mistakes.
What do these two people have in common? Besides, leaving coffee rings on their drawing pad, they are attempting to avoid making mistakes, which is a big mistake.
These two beginners’ line styles look hesitant and lacking in confidence. It results in stiff, lifeless drawings. But it’s also wrong from a philosophical standpoint, and this brings me to the takeway for the week:
It’s a Mistake to Avoid Making Mistakes
If you look at the rough drawings of the pros, by and large, they’re a mess. There are over-drawn lines, smudges and eraser marks. Why? Because they know that the energy and vitality of drawing comes from loose, bold and flowing lines; and that somewhere in the morass of sketchiness, lies the kernel of a “keeper.” In fact, often, I will look at a very sketchy rough I did, and see a few lines, which were drawn without much thought, that could be extracted to create an interesting character. I’ll focus on those lines and erase the rest of the car key replacement services.
By trying to avoid making mistakes and attempting to do a final drawing the first time, you denying yourself choices. Draw boldly. Draw over the lines you’ve already drawn. Erase until the paper screams Uncle! Don’t deny yourself anything. Except for cookies with partially hydrogenated palm oil in them. Those, you’re better off denying yourself.
See you Next Week
Chris Hart
by Christopher Hart | Apr 23, 2013 | Blog old
Here’s a common problem all of us have experienced, which only seems to happen when we really, really like something we drew: We run out of room on the page to complete our drawing.
Even as I type, I can hear the sounds of groans emanating from fellow artists coming through the computer. You know the scenario: you begin to draw a character. The head turns out great. You continue downward. The torso and arms have just the right pose. You keep going. You’ve drawn the legs well proportioned.
Now you get to the feet, and — Nooooooooooooooo! The page ends at her ankles. Her ankles! Anywhere else, and you could pretend that you meant to do it that way. But any 4th grader in art class can tell that you messed up this drawing.
Well dab your dewy eyes and put the box of tissues back down. In the next sentence, I am going to give you the can’t-fail-always-works solution to the problem.
Here’s what you do: Before you actually draw a figure, lightly sketch a “Height Line,” and you will never, ever have this problem again. A Height Line is not a Line of Action. It doesn’t represent movement. It’s just a vertical line, the length of the character you want to draw.
For example, if you’re planning to draw a person in a room, you would begin the Height Line at floor level, where you want your character to stand. Draw a line, from the floor up to the point at which you want the head to appear. The taller the character, the longer the Height Line will be. Keep your character in proportion to the rest of the elements in the picture. For example, you might want to bring your character’s Height Line to within 3/4ths of the length of a doorway. Alternatively, you can use the vertical line to “stack heads,” in order to make your character 7 heads tall, for example. Or simply use your gut instinct to choose the level for the height.
But what happens if you should forget to do that, and cut a character off at the ankles again (oh, trust me, this will happen). Not a problem. Take another piece of paper, and place it adjacent to the one that has the cut-off drawing. Place the extra piece of paper where the figure was cut off, creating more drawing space. Make sure that the two pages touch exactly, with no gap, and no overlap. Don’t leave a scintilla of space between the two pages. Next, tape the pages together on the reverse side – the side that does not have the drawing. If you were to tape side with the drawing, the tape would add a subtle layer, and this thickness causes a shadow when scanned.
This solution takes the frustration out of making this common mistake, and allows us to make different mistakes! Well, such is life. We’ll tackle all of it, together.
The takeaway:
When all is lost, all is not lost!
See you next week!
– Christopher Hart
by Christopher Hart | Apr 21, 2013 | Blog old
I’m often asked if, as a professional cartoonist, if I actually draw the way I teach other people how to draw in my How to Draw Cartoons and Manga books. Okay, I’ll explain, but promise to keep it confidential, just between you, me and the internet.
What a person wants to know when they ask this question is whether or not I start with the basic shapes and guidelines, which are so plentiful in my books. In other words, is there some kind of secret shortcut I am using while, at the same time, trying to keep the rest of the proletariat from advancing.
Granted, there may be some paranoia in my interpretation of the question, but nonetheless, the answer may surprise you.
To explain, I first need to tell you how I teach. In a nutshell, I blend classical art training with contemporary styles of pop art in a way that’s easy to follow, which gives the reader a foundation. If you just teach style, without foundation, then the reader can’t take what he’s learned and apply it to other styles and characters.
I also developed a method of simplifying more advanced techniques, so that the reader isn’t forever vanquished to “Start-With-A-Circle”- Land. As a result, the artist starts to draw better, sooner, and creates more contemporary characters, which reflect the ever-evolving styles of manga and cartoons.
I have found that this not only works for students, but works for me, too. If you watch my How-To-Draw videos on Youtube, you’ll see that I start with a modified head shape, onto which I add the guidelines before beginning to draw the features. Is this mere habit, like going to the refrigerator every 20 minutes to see if there’s something new in there? (You know you’re really desperate when you check the frozen foods section more than twice.)
The basics always remain necessary. Cartoons and manga are mainly based on line work, without shading. That can make a drawing look flat. To compensate for the flat appearance, we need to emphasize rounded shapes and curving lines to create a 3-dimensional look.
So for today’s takeaway, I’m going to quote a wise friend, who once advised me in this manner:
“If you don’t leave the basics, you’ll never have to go back to them.”
See you next week!
– Christopher Hart
by Christopher Hart | Mar 19, 2013 | More Manga, Tutorials
Manga Eye Types
Here are some classic examples of manga eyes. Practice these so you can use the same eye-types when drawing your own characters.
Guest Artist: Diana Devora
Click the image to change to the next one in the series. Click Show Thumbnails to see small versions of all images.
[ngg_images gallery_ids=”99″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow”]
by Christopher Hart | Mar 19, 2013 | More Manga, Tutorials
Girl Chef
When someone falls, or trips, they don’t fall down, they fall forward. So be sure to draw her leaning, not upright. That will imply motion.
Guest Artist: Makiki Kanada
Click the image to change to the next one in the series. Click Show Thumbnails to see small versions of all images.
[ngg_images gallery_ids=”98″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow”]
by Christopher Hart | Mar 19, 2013 | More Manga, Tutorials
Fighting Robot
Before starting to draw the robot, first draw a very simplified version of the entire figure. Work from the general to the specific. This is especially important on complicated characters.
Click the image to change to the next one in the series. Click Show Thumbnails to see small versions of all images.
[ngg_images gallery_ids=”97″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow”]
by Christopher Hart | Mar 19, 2013 | More Manga, Tutorials
Chibi Witch
Her hat should be huge, which makes her look extra small, and adds fun to the image. Typical “witch” hair is long, and hers should be almost touching the ground.
Click the image to change to the next one in the series. Click Show Thumbnails to see small versions of all images.
[ngg_images gallery_ids=”96″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow”]
by Christopher Hart | Mar 19, 2013 | More Manga, Tutorials
Chibi Schoolgirl
To give her that “perky” look, draw her face in a 3/4 view, facing the viewer, but draw her body upright, in profile. Draw the little pink bear with a slightly confused look.
Click the image to change to the next one in the series. Click Show Thumbnails to see small versions of all images.
[ngg_images gallery_ids=”95″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow”]
If you’re a lawyer, you’ve got to have a degree. If you’re an electrician, you have to be certified. If you’re a therapist, you need to act like you have a degree.
