blackUnicorn.org

I was fiddling with a different technique, and I’m not...

Sun, 05 May 2013 17:40:11 -0700

I was fiddling with a different technique, and I’m not sure it makes all that much difference in terms of either saving time or the final product. It is a little softer than I usually leave final pieces, and I don’t know how I feel about that. Either way, it came out looking cute, and I’m glad I tried it.

Working on a thing with red pandas.

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:10:00 -0700

Working on a thing with red pandas.

In which we learn about some of the texture options in...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:08:46 -0700

In which we learn about some of the texture options in Illustrator and go a little nuts…

Pela-king Self-assignment: Draw a pelican, don’t take too...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:04:26 -0700

Pela-king

Self-assignment: Draw a pelican, don’t take too long. I took longer than I meant to.

Some spring on my deck

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:45:11 -0700

Some spring on my deck

Tofrography

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:40:30 -0700

Tofrography

Well, I caught the dreaded cold that’s been going around,...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:33:08 -0700

Well, I caught the dreaded cold that’s been going around, so it took me the better part of a week to get this pattern done.

(check out my California Poppy Pattern iPad folio on Zazzle.com)

Motivational alligator currently doing what he does best under...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:13:56 -0700

Motivational alligator currently doing what he does best under my ancient wacom flap. Might be related to this guy.

dresdencodak: kalidraws: Today I gave my students a quick...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:27:54 -0700

dresdencodak:

kalidraws:

Today I gave my students a quick presentation on some of the basic considerations for composition, which I am now sharing with you! I’ve given them separate talks about color and tonal value/contrast, which are also super important compositional concerns. (I’ll be sharing those presentations too once I properly format them)

I personally love learning about different compositional techniques. It’s fun to think about the ways that the brain views & sorts images, and how we can trick it into feeling a certain way or looking at certain aspects of an image first! It’s easy to fall into compositional ruts (which I am also guilty of) because a lot of art gets by with mediocre, though serviceable, compositions. If you can generally understand what’s happening in an image then it’s generally fine. However, it’s the truly great compositions, where everything in the whole image has been considered and ‘clicks’ together, that bump up an illustration to a visual slam dunk. NC Wyeth is one of my favorite artists for this reason: his compositions are rock solid, varied based on the image’s intent, and always enhance the mood or action he is depicting.

For extra reading, some online compositional resources that I’ve found helpful or interesting include:
Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis (download it for FREE. Such a great book all-around.)
Gurney Journey (check out the “Composition” tag, but really everything he posts is great)
The Schweitzer guide to spotting tangents
Cinemosaic (a blog by Lou Romano with some truly WONDERFUL compositions captured from various films)
Where to Put the Cow by Anita Griffin

Happy composition-ing!

A solid breakdown of the fundamentals of composition, complete with examples!

Been working on this a little today.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 21:18:05 -0700

Been working on this a little today.

I ordered a bunch of stickers of my own designs from Redbubble....

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:45:11 -0700

I ordered a bunch of stickers of my own designs from Redbubble. These little guys, having pretty much bought me my iPad, get a place of honor on the back.

You can check out my Redbubble shop here.

Tiny owl (about 3 inches high)

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:18:55 -0700

Tiny owl (about 3 inches high)

Question: when will Veronica start posting new work again?

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:43:52 -0700

Question: when will Veronica start posting new work again?

undefeated-ladies: Lotte Reiniger (1899 – 1981): Creator of...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:12:23 -0700

undefeated-ladies:

Lotte Reiniger (1899 – 1981): Creator of the Oldest Surviving Animated Feature

The third oldest animated feature, and oldest surviving piece since Argentina’s Quirino Cristiani’s work was lost, was created by German animator Lotte Reiniger. Long before Walt Disney, her work animating wooden rats for ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin’ in 1918 got her accepted at an experimental animation studio, and five years later she was approached to create a feature-length animated film, ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed.’ Reiniger crafted the film by manipulating silhouette cutouts. Though it at first struggled, with the support of artist Jean Renoir, the feature made it to Cannes and subsequently critical and popular success. Her work also inspired the recent “The Story of the Three Brothers” animated sequence in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.’

Read More

We Have Winners! EDIT: I have just send a gentle nudge to two of...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:15:00 -0800

We Have Winners! EDIT: I have just send a gentle nudge to two of you.

theqimera
charlyvonkarma
coulduseawishnow - your blog has been deleted! Please contact me by the 8th to claim your pins or I will choose another winner.

Send me an ask with your addresses by March 8th and I will get your buttons in the mail as soon as possible. If I don’t hear from you by then I’ll do another drawing on the 10th for whichever are left.

I’m including an extra pin because I had some gift certificate money to burn and I thought you guys might like it :)

expressivegesture: How to Draw the Head from Any Angle Andrew...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:09:39 -0800

expressivegesture:

How to Draw the Head from Any Angle

Andrew Loomis’s approach to drawing the head. It’s a great method for drawing the head from various angles. By Stan Prokopenko

Ooh, this looks to be an interesting and educational series

vondell-swain: have you ever thought about owl skeletons i sure...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 23:43:00 -0800

vondell-swain:

have you ever thought about owl skeletons

i sure had not

Note to self, for future reference: take a good look at those ridiculous eye sockets and remember that owl eyes are fixed. They have to turn their heads to look in other direction, so anytime you are drawing an owl giving the side-eye you are wrong.

beefykunoichi: rufftoon: e1n: storyshots: Drawing from...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:00:13 -0800

beefykunoichi:

rufftoon:

e1n:

storyshots:

Drawing from films

Drawing from films is a ridiculously useful exercise. It’s not enough to watch films; it’s not enough to look at someone else’s drawings from films. If you want to be in story, there’s no excuse for not doing this.

The way this works: you draw tons of tiny little panels, tiny enough that you won’t be tempted to fuss about drawing details. You put on a movie - I recommend Raiders, E.T., or Jaws… but honestly if there’s some other movie you love enough to freeze frame the shit out of, do what works for you. It’s good to do this with a movie you already know by heart.

Hit play. Every time there’s a cut, you hit pause, draw the frame, and hit play til it cuts again. If there’s a pan or camera move, draw the first and last frames.

Note on movies: Spielberg is great for this because he’s both evocative and efficient. Michael Bay is good at what he does, but part of what he does is cut so often that you will be sorry you picked his movie to draw from. Haneke is magnificent at what he does, but cuts so little that you will wind up with three drawings of a chair. Peter Jackson… he’s great, but not efficient. If you love a Spielberg movie enough to spend a month with it, do yourself a favor and use Spielberg.

What to look for:

Foreground, middle ground, background: where is the character? What is the point of the shot? What is it showing? What’s being used as a framing device? How does that help tie this shot into the geography of the scene? Is the background flat, or a location that lends itself to depth?

Composition: How is the frame divided? What takes up most of the space? How are the angles and lines in the shot leading your eye?

Reusing setups, economy: Does the film keep coming back to the same shot? The way liveaction works, that means they set up the camera and filmed one long take from that angle. Sometimes this includes a camera move, recomposing one long take into what look like separate shots. If you pay attention, you can catch them.

Camera position, angle, height: Is the camera fixed at shoulder height? Eye height? Sitting on the floor? Angled up? Down? Is it shooting straight on towards a wall, or at an angle? Does it favor the floor or the ceiling?

Lenses: wide-angle lens or long lens? Basic rule of thumb: If the character is large in frame and you can still see plenty of their surroundings, the lens is wide and the character is very close to camera. If the character’s surroundings seem to dwarf them, the lens is long (zoomed in).

Lighting: Notice it, but don’t draw it. What in the scene is lit? How is this directing your eye? How many lights? Do they make sense in the scene, or do they just FEEL right?

This seems like a lot to keep in mind, and honestly, don’t worry about any of that. Draw 100 thumbnails at a time, pat yourself on the back, and you will start to notice these things as you go.

Don’t worry about the drawings, either. You can see from my drawings that these aren’t for show. They’re notes to yourself. They’re strictly for learning.

Now get out there and do a set! Tweet me at @lawnrocket and I’ll give you extra backpats for actually following through on it. Just be aware - your friends will look at you super weird when you start going off about how that one shot in Raiders was a pickup - it HAD to be - because it doesn’t make sense except for to string these other two shots together…

Since I’ve had people asking me about storyboarding and how to learn it or what exercises to do. Emma Coats tells you all you need to know in this post.

Reblogging because it IS a very useful exercise! You can even do it as a warm up drawing exercise before you start the day. It will get your brain (and hand) in the right mindset.

Incredibly useful.

Brilliant idea. Might just do this with E.T. sometime soon…

cumbertrekky: Benedict’s heartfelt speech in today’s Cabin...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:08:59 -0800

cumbertrekky:

Benedict’s heartfelt speech in today’s Cabin Pressure (Yverdon-Les-Bains) . Beautifully written by John Finnemore and stunningly performed.

Must admit my eyes filled with tears at the end of the speech.

A speech for everyone who struggles to do something they love.

Some sketches from the other night. I don’t really know...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:16:00 -0800

Some sketches from the other night. I don’t really know why random people in my sketchbook always end up Vulcan.