life drawing one

Midterm Portfolios ~ Spring 2011

2011-02-24T12:16:00.000-06:00

Midterm Portfolio

Due:
Thursday, March 3 (ART 301-002)
Friday, March 4 (ART 301-001)

For your midterm portfolio:

Choose your ten best drawings from the class so far.
Include at least some drawings of different lengths of time (30 seconds, 60 seconds, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.)
If you do not have a high-quality digital camera, check one out from the Robert Swanson Learning Center or from the Visual Resources Center.
Photograph your drawings.
Photograph your Maniken from the following points of view: 1) Posterior [head to mid-calf], 2) Anterior [head to mid-calf], 3) Lateral [head to mid-calf]
Photos should be in focus and cropped (show only drawing, not wall, floor, or drawing horse, etc. behind the drawing).
Photos of Maniken should be taken with a plain black background. I will have a piece of black fabric up in the Life Drawing room for you to use for this purpose.
Correct the photos for exposure and contrast--not too light, not too dark. You can use Preview or Photoshop to do this.
The black background for Manikens should look black and plain. If it doesn't, darken photo by reducing exposure on preview or Photoshop.
If you do not have a flickr account, create one.
Create two sets on flickr: 1) Midterm Drawings, and 2) Midterm Maniken
Post your chosen 10 drawings to the set "Midterm Drawings."
Post your three views of your Maniken to the set "Midterm Maniken."
Title each drawing (something simple like "Drawing 1," "Maniken Anterior," will be fine.)
Post a link to your flickr account in your Midterm Blog Post. This link should be the first item in your post and should be at the top of the post (in other words, make this easy for me to find).
Your Midterm Blog Post will serve as your blog assignment that would normally be due Sunday, March 6 (so it will be due 2 - 3 days earlier, depending upon which section you are in).
In your midterm blog post, write a 300 word minimum reflection of the first half of the semester. Example questions to consider: what have you learned so far, what changes have you noticed in your drawing skills, what do you understand about the figure that you didn't coming into the class, what do you hope to learn in the second half of the semester, what haven't we covered in class that you would still like to, etc.
Include at least one image with the post.
In your reflection, refer to some specific parts of the drawings in your portfolio. For example, "I learned how to correct the length between the rib cage and pelvis, as you can see in 'Drawing 4.'"
Before the midterm portfolio due date, make sure you have caught up on all blog posting and commenting.
Your portfolio will be graded upon the quality of your 1) drawings, 2) maniken work, and 3) blog.
For a good example of a midterm portfolio and blog post, click here. Requirements were slightly different, but the reflection and flickr account set up basics are well-done.

spinal erectors and abdominal muscles

2011-02-07T19:54:00.000-06:00

Muscle Assignment #2
due:
Friday, Feb. 12, for 301-001 and
Thursday, Feb. 11, for 301-002

quadratus lumborum,
vol. 5: pp. 60-61
make sure you build both triangles of this muscle.

external obliques,
vol. 5: pp. 78-79
pay extra attention to the digitations along the rib cage. each point should land on a rib.

rectus abdominis,
vol. 5: pp. 72-73
indicate navel and tendinous inscriptions.

Muscle Assignment #1 (due Monday, Feb 7 [301-001] and Tuesday, Feb. 8 [301-002])

spinal erectors

spinalis
-cervicis, vol. 1: pp. 94-95
note the space here between the spinous processes and the transverse processes--the muscle is on the spinous processes, far back on the dorsal surface

-capitis, vol. 1: pp. 96-97
note this muscle's relation to the nuchal ligament and remember that ligament on your maniken is already there (the plastic behind the cervical vertebrae on your manikens)

-thoracis, vol. 1: pp. 98-100
same as the cervicis--look at the space between this muscle and the surface of the rib cage. keep the muscle away from the surface of the rib cage.

longissimus
look at how all these sections twist together, like three pieces of a rope

-capitis, vol. 1: pp. 106-107

-cervicis, vol. 1: pp. 108-109

-thoracis, vol.1: pp. 110-111
look here at how rounded out the thoracis is from side to side, also how there is space behind it, how it doesn't glue itself to the rib cage. also make sure to build the lumbodorsal fascia.

iliocostalis
this muscle is similar to longissimus in how its pieces twist
-cervicis, vol. 1: pp. 116-117
this segment appears to come out quite far. this appears this way because it is wrapping next to the longissimus, not really sticking out in space.

-thoracis, vol. 1: pp. 118-119

-lumborum, vol. 5: pp. 62-63
remember this is in book number five. it will also connect to the lumbodorsal fascia.

the concise book of muscles

2011-02-06T14:31:00.000-06:00

A great resource for muscles. Click here to view on Amazon.

The Concise Book of Muscles, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Chris Jarmey (Author)

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 2 edition (August 12, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1556437196
ISBN-13: 978-1556437199

prometheus entries due friday

2011-02-06T13:09:00.000-06:00

I encourage each of you to submit one to three pieces to Prometheus, UW–Stout's fine art and literary publication. Entries are due no later than Friday, February 11. You can drop off your work (2D, 3D, Photography, Video/Installation) in the Furlong Gallery Thursday, February 10, and Friday, February 11.

Find submission rules and entry forms at the Prometheus website.

Furlong Gallery hours are:
10-6 Mon thru Fri & 12-4 on Saturdays

Foundation Drawing Section Z: ANATOMY- TRUNK

2011-02-05T17:21:00.000-06:00

Another great resource blog:

Foundation Drawing Section Z: ANATOMY- TRUNK: "The strength of all figure drawing comes from a mixture of formal skill and anatomical knowledge. Understanding the human body, interior as ..."

visible body

2011-02-05T17:17:00.000-06:00

A student subscription to visiblebody.com is only $17.95 for a semester. It's well worth the price. I highly suggest it.

fine art fundamentals

2011-02-05T17:13:00.001-06:00

This blog is EXCELLENT. It's got a great list of anatomy resources for artists. Bookmark this one!

assignment

2011-02-05T17:08:00.000-06:00

The Spinal Erectors clay building assignment is posted under the "assignments" link on the Pages Tabs at the top of the blog. Click here to access it.

new student work

2011-02-05T17:03:00.000-06:00

Gesture Drawing, UW-Stout student work, Daniel Kanitz, Fall 2010

I have posted new student work from Fall 2010 under the "student work" Pages Tab at the top of the blog. Check it out!

gestural expression

2011-02-05T16:57:00.000-06:00

gestural expression

Experienced artists, even before they ask themselves, "What does the subject look like?" ask,

"What is the subject doing?"

That is, how does the arrangement of the major parts of the figure, the flower, the lamp, or the landscape allude to movement? What suggestions are there in the subject of directed energies coursing through its forms? For virtually everything we see implies some kind and degree of moving action. Such actions are inherent in the subject's formation and structure. The gentle curve of a tree limb or a human one, the forceful thrust of a church spire or a schooner, the graceful spiral of a staircase or a seashell, all these suggest moving actions–types of animated behavior; in other words, they all disclose some kind of gestural expression.

–Nathan Goldstein, The Art of Responsive Drawing, Chapter 1, "Gestural Expression," page 3.

image:Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669), Saskia Asleep, Pen, brush, and ink, 13 x 17.1 cm, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. I, 180.

Here is a link to Chapter 1, "Gestural Expression," from Nathan Goldstein, The Art of Responsive Drawing.

The link will direct you to the blue drive.

The username and password are the same as your UW-Stout email.

Click here to get the chapter.

blog expectations & requirements

2011-02-05T16:53:00.000-06:00

toothpaste for dinner

Life Drawing I students,

I went over the objectives and expectations for the blogs during the first week of class. This post is a reminder of where you can find that information again.

You can access it throughout the semester at the top of the blog on the Pages Tab titled, "blogs."

The link is here. Please read it over again. I have updated the requirements for commenting and the dates on which that begins.

It would also be a good idea to go over in your mind the reasons I'm asking you to create a blog for this course, which will give you an idea of how to approach your posting and commenting each week.

Life Drawing I ~ Spring 2011 ~ Blog Lists

2011-02-05T16:33:00.001-06:00

Both sections of ART 301 ~ Spring 2011 have been set up in the side columns of lifedrawingone.blogspot.com.

The blogs are ordered by most recent post first, which means the person who has posted most recently has his or her blog listed at the top of the column.

Please run down the column for your section (301-001 is on the right and 301-002 is on the left). Let me know if I need to correct your link or if I accidentally missed including your blog in the list.

How to Add a Blog List to My Blog

student blog lists and commenting

2011-02-05T16:21:00.001-06:00

Please read this entire post carefully and let me know if you have any questions.

This post contains links to the lists of student blogs for Spring 2011. On these lists you can see each student in each section of Life Drawing I for this semester with a link to his or her blog as well as the title of his or her blog.

You can also access this information throughout the semester on the Pages Tab titled "student blog url's/titles" at the top of the blog. (here).

I have color-coded the lists. The colors represent the different blog "small groups" for the semester. These small groups relate to the commenting part of your blog work.

You are expected to comment at least once per week on the other two members of your small group (in other words, you need to make at least one comment on each of the other two students' blogs that are the same color as yours in the list). These comments are in addition to your regular weekly posting of your 300+ word and one-image reflection. You may comment on any previous post done by your other group members.

In order to leave a comment on a blog post, what you typically need to do is click on the phrase "0 [or however many there may be] comments" at the bottom of a post. That link leads to a page where you can type your comment. Some bloggers may choose to moderate comments before posting them or making them public, so be aware that your comments may not show up immediately.

For those of you with four members in your group, you only need to comment on two members' comments per week, just alternate members you make comments on so you are commenting as equally as you can on each other member's blog.

You need to start leaving these comments beginning next weekend, at the latest Sunday, Feb. 13.

Link to ART 301-001(MWF 10:10 - 12:10) List of Student Blogs (Names, URL's, Titles of Blog)

Link to ART 301-002 (TR 2:30 - 5:35) List of Student Blogs (Names, URL's, Titles of Blog)

syllabus • spring 2011

2011-01-25T07:42:00.002-06:00

Life Drawing I • Spring 2011
Micheels Hall 287

ART 301-001
Monday/Wednesday/Friday • 10:10 am –12:10 pm

ART 301-002
Tuesday/Thursday • 11:15 – 2:20 pm

Amy Fichter
Associate Professor
Applied Arts 306B

Office hours:
Mondays, 12:10 pm – 2:10 pm
& by appointment
ext. 5335
fichtera@uwstout.edu

Final Exam Dates:
Friday, May 13, 8:00 – 9:50 am (ART 301-001)
Friday, May 13, 2:00 – 3:50 pm (ART 301-002)

PreRequisites
Students must have completed Drawing I (ART 100) and Drawing II (ART 200) before participating in Life Drawing I (ART 301).

Course Objectives
Through participation in Life Drawing I, you will:

•Understand and use a structural approach to drawing
- Perceive three-dimensional form and translate this form to the two-dimensional picture plane

- Comprehend a subject’s planar make-up and correctly prioritize primary and secondary planes

- Use a linear, as opposed to painterly, approach to drawing the figure, including value

• Develop a working knowledge of artistic anatomy through lectures, drawings, and clay modeling
- Draw a structural representation of the human figure utilizing long axis, cross contour, and muscle attachment lines

- Demonstrate anatomical understanding through drawing anatomical landmarks

- Build a convincing and well-crafted clay model of the muscles important for drawing

• Refine your mark-making skills and ability to make and understand how line creates a sense of space on the picture plane.
- Practice gesture drawing and contour drawing separately, in order to, ultimately, achieve a synthesis of the two

- Become aware of your own kinesthetic sense and its ability to teach yourself about the body and about drawing

• Communicate effectively about the drawing process via writing, blog posting, image sharing, class critiques, and one-on-one critiques with the instructor.
- Keep a class blog that will serve as space for posting images, text, responding to other students, and reflecting upon your learning in the course

- Be responsible to yourself and the other students in the class for having meaningful class discussions and becoming better artists through those discussions

Evaluations & Expectations
• I expect you to complete:

- In-class drawings. (30%)
- Homework drawings. Homework will be graded on the quality of the drawing and the demonstrated understanding of the topics covered in that particular assignment. (25%)
- Assigned clay building on your Maniken, both in-class and for homework. Maniken assignments will be graded on the quality of clay building, accuracy of form and attachments, and completeness of work. (25%)
- Blog assignments/weekly reflections. (20%)

Field Trip
There is a mandatory field trip for this class. The date will be announced within the first few weeks of the semester. You must make arrangements with other professors and/or work obligations to be gone from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm on this day. Please email me the names and email addresses of other professors you have on that day and I will send a note for you. I can also give a hand-written note if necessary. The only cost of the field trip for you will be food.

Attendance
It’s important that you are in class—for access to the model, to hear comments I make, and to experience drawing in a studio setting. The class happens because all of you are here working together.
Let me know via e-mail if you can’t make it to class.
Rely on your classmates to show you drawings and notes you may have missed.
After 3 absences, your grade will be lowered.
After 7 absences, you will fail the class.

Grading Policy
Your grade will be based primarily on your final e-portfolio in which you showcase your learning over the semester and best examples from the class. This e-portfolio will include gesture drawings, long drawings, images of your maniken, and written reflections.

A mid-term e-portfolio will be graded to give you an idea of your standing in the class at that point.

Your grade will also be affected by such “subjective” qualities as these:

1. are you present?
2. in mind as well as body?
3. open to suggestions?
4. helpful in class discussions?
5. awake during lecture time?

For most of the semester I am your coach/advocate. I will encourage, support, and challenge you in order for you to become a better artist.

During midterm and final grading (and in other critique sessions), my role shifts from advocate to judge. It is then my job to give you a fair and accurate gauge of where your work and class participation fit within the standards and expectations of the university and of the larger art & design professional community.

Save and document all your drawings from the semester.

Materials
Newsprint 18" x 24" or 24” x 36”
Canson "Biggie" white drawing paper (Biggie pad) 18” x 24” or larger
Strathmore drawing pad, 80 lb. (24 sheets, I think) *OPTIONAL
Drawing board
Clips
Charcoal/Charcoal pencils
Conte/Conte pencils
X-acto knife with extra blades
Sandpaper (medium grit)
Pencil sharpener
White plastic eraser
Clic eraser (refillable)
Masking tape
Clay tools

1.    Paring knife [http://www.amazon.com/NorPro-Norpro-923-Paring-Knife/dp/B000HEFC3O]
2.    X-acto knife
3.    Kemper ribbon tool [http://www.dickblick.com/1/1/42395-r2-kemper-ribbon-tools.html#photos]
4.    Cutting board [http://www.tiger-cub.co.uk/epages/es109259.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es109259_shop/Products/301081]
5.    Flower clay roller (kemper) [http://www.nationalartcraft.com/images/sub-0625-02.jpg]
6.    Clay gun (kemper) [http://www.nationalartcraft.com/images/sub-0625-03.jpg] *optional

Atlas of Human Musculature in Clay (volumes 1 – 5), Jon Zahourek, ed. Kenneth Morgareidge, Zahourek Systems, Inc., 1994.

In addition to the texts, each student will be checked out a half Maniken for his/her use during the semester. The Manikens are property of UW-Stout Instructional Resources Services. You are responsible for the Maniken checked out to you. If any part of the Maniken is missing, lost, damaged, etc., the student will be financially responsible to replace it through IRS.

Videos
World Famous Lectures on Artistic Anatomy & Figure Drawing
Robert Beverly Hale

Lecture 1 Rib Cage 78 Minutes
Lecture 2 Pelvis 81 minutes
Lecture 3 Leg 74 minutes
Lecture 4 Foot 72 minutes
Lecture 5 Shoulder Girdle I 77 minutes
Lecture 6 Shoulder Girdle ll 68 minutes
Lecture 7 Arm 76 minutes
Lecture 8 Hand 80 minutes
Lecture 9 Head/Skull 80 minutes
Lecture 10 Head and Features 97 minutes

These are available for checkout in the library.

Art Education Artifacts
The course objectives of this course meet:
• Wisconsin Standard 1: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches.
• UW Stout School of Education Domain 1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy.
• Wisconsin Standard 9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner.
Portfolio Artifact: best work as determined by student and professor
• Art education students will be required to reflect in writing on this artifact.
• Art education students will be required to upload papers and digital images of their studio works into their e-portfolios.

field trip scheduled

2010-10-08T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Life Drawing I field trip for this semester will take place on Tuesday, November 23.

We will leave from the Loading Dock area of Applied Arts at 9:30 am (come early to get a good seat on the bus!).

We will then head to the Walker Art Center, be there from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, and then travel to the Bell Museum of Natural History on the University of Minnesota campus.

We will be at the Bell Museum for two hours. While there, you will complete a drawing of one of the specimens. They have many wonderful taxidermy animals, skeletons, bones, and a few live animals.

We will head back to Menomonie at 3:30 and plan to arrive here between 5:00 and 5:30 pm.

Please make arrangements with other faculty and employers so you can be gone from 9:30 am - 5:30 pm on the 23rd.

I will send out an email to other faculty members letting them know why you will be gone, but you should notify them as well, and make up any work you will miss before we go.

homework assignment: cross contour of shell

2010-10-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

Shell Homework #1

Drawing is due Tuesday, October 19.

Drawing should be executed on Stonehenge or other high-quality drawing paper such as hot-press watercolor paper.

Color of paper: white or any light neutral

Minimum size: 22” x 30”

Optional size: 30” x 40” and/or 38”x 50”

We will use at least four sheets. Buy at least five sheets, so you have one to practice on, especially for ink work.

CROSS CONTOUR

1. Point of view: shell should be positioned with a diagonal long axis from front to back (one end should be obviously closer to you than the other end).

2. Draw the entire shell – be conscious of how you are using the page. The shell should take up as much space as possible on the page without being cropped.

3. Sketch shell out very lightly, indicating large forms in space and arranging details such as projections and spirals.

4. One line at a time, trace the form of the shell up, over, around, down. Follow every nook and cranny as if it were part of a landscape. Exaggerate all movement.

5. No outline. Edge is going to be implied your cross contours.

6. Every cross contour line you put down should be different than the one before and after. All organic form varies over a given distance.

This includes spaces between lines as well. Vary the amount of space between lines so they are not regular/machine-like.

7. The drawing should take 5 – 6 hours. Work SLOWLY.

8. Start light.

9. Value of line can change to be darker in front and light in back (atmospheric perspective). Do this as you draw – not something you add at the end.

10. Use charcoal, conte, or pencil versions ofeeither. Hard and sharp.

11. Plane changes: each cc line to change direction at least once. This indicates a plane change.

clay assignment #2: abdominals

2010-10-08T11:41:00.000-05:00

abdominals
(due Tuesday, October 12)

quadratus lumborum,
vol. 5: pp. 60-61
make sure you build both triangles of this muscle

external obliques,
vol. 5: pp. 78-79

rectus abdominis,
vol. 5: pp. 72-73
indicate navel and tendinous inscriptions

visiting artist

2010-10-01T11:01:00.000-05:00

Pins, 2006.

Sterling silver, steel, magnet wire, and electronic components, 1.5 x 7 x 4.5 inches.
Kinetic: eighteen steel sewing pins strike the wearer on the neck and vocal tract as she speaks.

Visitng artist Erica Duffy-Voss will give a presentation about her work on Monday, October 4 at 10:30 am in Applied Arts 210.

Duffy-Voss teaches in the Metals area at the University of Northern Iowa. She will be showing a four-screen video installation "stutter" in the larger of the Furlong Galleries October 4th - November 12.

While the Installation that she is exhibiting is video, her work is quite diverse, and her presentation will include metals, video and sculpture. Her website:

Erica Duffy-Voss

blogging questions

2010-09-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

If you are having difficulties with blogger, or are wondering how to accomplish certain actions on your blog, you can check blogger help.

For example, find out how to post a picture.

You do not need to "follow" other students per se. Although you can. Following is mostly about using a Feed Reader (such as Google Reader). If you follow someone, their blog updates will show up in your Reader so that you are notified whenever they post something new.

What you do need to do is to make sure as the semester progresses, that you are commenting on at least one other student's blog (from your section of Life Drawing I). You will need to comment at least once on every other student's blog during the semester. You are responsible for keeping track of whose blog you've commented on.

To comment on someone else's blog, first find a blog either on the left or right column (labeled art 301-001 ~ fall 2010 [right column of blog] and art 301-002 ~ fall 2010 [left column of blog]).

Then click on that blog, browse through that person's posts, find something that sparks an interest or question in you and then click on the link that usually says "0 comments," or "3 comments," etc.

You will then be able to post your own comment. Ideally, the other student would then offer a response to you--even something simple such as, "thanks for your comment."

Blogging is a way to build a community of readers and writers, a way to connect beyond the classroom.

I will spend most of my time looking at the blogs when I grade portfolios. During other times of the semester, my assistant (a graduate student) reads them every week and gives me a report to let me know how you all are doing--if the posts are long enough, thoughtful enough, if you have posted a good-quality image, etc.

Structural Life Drawing with Gary Geraths (Otis College)

2010-09-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

why life drawing

2010-09-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

this article is reposted from Vilppu Store

Why Life Drawing?

"Analyze the model, don't copy the model"

Never Underestimate the Power of
Life Drawing

Master teacher Glenn Vilppu muses on the importance of life drawing in animation.

By Glenn Vilppu

This article first appeared in Animation World News, June 1, 1997.

It always comes as a bit of a shock for students and artists preparing portfolios for animation industry positions that, almost without exception, what the studios first want to see are figure drawings from life. They don't want to see caricatures, cartoons, or copies of the studio's characters. They want traditional, classical figure drawing.

Why traditional figure drawing?

First, let us look at what skills are needed in good animation drawing.

At the top of the list is the ability to communicate movement and personality through drawing. By using simple lines an artist should be able to give a figure a real sense of life and individuality, not just an action pose or stereotypical expression.
Next on the list is to be able to draw three dimensionally, to make the characters feel like they are not only individuals, but that they exist in a real world.
Since the characters we create and work with are products of our imagination, the animation professional has to be able to draw from his imagination.
Next on the list is the ability to consistently draw the same character using the same forms, proportions and details in the particular style that has been set for the production.

As you can see, the list is asking for a high level of skill, and we haven't even touched on imagination, story telling and inventiveness yet.

Modern Renaissance Drawing

So, how do you know an artist has these skills?

Figure drawing has been the standard measurement of an artist's skills for hundreds of years, probably from the moment we first started capturing the living world around us. The Renaissance artist was judged by much the same standard as the animation artist is today. The great masters of the past were first story tellers. They had to be able to create figures that the viewers could empathize with so that stories were brought to life with a sense of realism and believability.

"Animation drawing is, in essence, the closest thing we have to classical Renaissance drawing today."

The Renaissance artist primarily created figures to fit an ideal of perfection using simple volumes to construct figures. The constructions of Raphael are no different than many model sheets you see for classical animation. In traditional drawing, this is referred to as plastic drawing, or "using synthetic forms". This allowed the artist to create fantastic imaginary worlds peopled with figures, in the most part, drawn from imagination.

The beginning compositional sketches of all artists are more similar than they are different. The goal is the same, to capture the sense of the abstract total. A compositional notation by the Mannerist artist Tintoretto would fit in quite well with rough layout and story sketches from our current major studios. The artists of the past are the inspiration and yard stick of quality that we still use.

To draw the human figure well from imagination you must first be able to draw the simple forms of construction -- the sphere, box, cylinder and cone -- from memory, in any position and combination. The famous Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens said that "you can draw anything using a sphere, box, and cone." These simple volumes are the foundation of good figure drawing, and are the fundamental tools of figure construction. These "tools" not only help you to draw the figure from imagination but to see the forms of the model.

"A portfolio will almost automatically be rejected if the figures inside do not have a clear sense of volume and unambiguous space based on model observation."

Form and Technique

It is important to understand the difference between animation drawing and drawing for illustration.

As I have already mentioned, in animation we draw almost exclusively from imagination, and hence need to be able to construct a figure from the mind's eye.
In illustration, the artist will generally acquire a model or use photographs to work from if needed. The illustrator also only needs the one particular view that he or she is going to use. As such, the training tends to develop a strong ability to copy a model as well as different techniques for communicating the image.

In my Figure Drawing for Animation classes, I am continually telling the students that we don't copy the model. We analyze the model.

As for technique, the animation artist must focus on describing form with as little individual technique as possible. An animation is a collective work from many artists. Each artist's work must blend in with the direction of the total production and not draw attention as an individual style.

Gesture sketch by Glenn Vilppu

Of course, another reason for requiring a degree of skill at human figure drawing is that a lot of animation is based upon human characters. The ability to change real forms into animation forms requires knowledge of the former.

"You cannot draw something if you don't know what it looks like."

Consequently, an animation candidate's figure drawings must show a fair degree of human anatomy comprehension.

Problems while drawing from a human model, bring into question not only the artist's understanding of the figure, but also the ability to be able to follow a model sheet. As humans, we are so tuned into the subtleties of our forms that a high level of skill and development are needed by an artist to create forms that may seem childish. In fact, this feat is often the culmination of many drawings of the human figure by a talented artist whose skills have been fully developed.

Of course, there are many exceptions to the above. We have all seen the success of characters created by artists with very little formal training. While our industry is better for these exceptions, I personally, would bet my career on my artistic skills while I tried to develop that next Saturday morning superstar. However, keep in mind that whenever asked a question about a particular drawing, my late friend Don Griffith, the former head of the Disney layout department, would first tell you what he would do, and then he would invariably shrug his shoulders and say, "Its your career!"

Glenn Vilppu teaches figure drawing at the American Animation Institute, the Masters program of the UCLA Animation Dept., Walt Disney Feature Animation, Warner Bros. Feature Animation and Rhythm & Hues Studios. Vilppu has also worked in the Animation industry for 18 years as a layout, storyboard and presentation artist. His drawing manual and video tapes are being used worldwide as course materials for animation students.

opportunities from UW-Stout Career Services

2010-09-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

uw-stout career services, career conference

You have all received an email from UW-Stout Career Services about the upcoming Career Conference (October 5 - 7). This is simply a reminder of that information.

Tuesday, October 5 - Game Design & Development

Wednesday, October 6 - Art (Graphic Design, Interior Design, Industrial Design, and Multimedia Design)
Art Education

How to identify employers looking for your major
Employers Interviewing On-Campus

UW-Stout students have also been invited to attend the Government Job and Internship Fair taking place on Friday, October 22, 2010 from 10 a.m. -3 p.m.

If you would like to meet with a Career Service counselor to discuss this or any other aspect of job searching please call 715-232-1601 to set up an appointment.

animation road show

2010-09-19T13:07:00.001-05:00

great animation blog, resource for those interested in animation

Figure Drawing Design and Invention by Michael Hampton

blind contour, continuous-line contour

2010-09-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

During the first full day of class (Tuesday, September 14) we drew from our seashells. The shells will serve as objects from which to work for homework assignments, especially since it is difficult to impossible to arrange life drawing models for homework. Shells make great Life Drawing subject matter: they are bone-like in their hardness and texture and in their concave/convex movements in space. They are also muscle-like in their spiral natures and fluidity. They are easy to hold and move around in one's hand while drawing, as to get a more three-dimensional view of the object.

We started the class with Blind Contour drawings--making drawings looking only at the object, not at the paper. The objective here is to learn how to ignore or subordinate the outcome of the drawing in order to concentrate on the object's form, to learn how to focus intently on the object as your eyes move across it and your arm and hand follow your eye's movement. The goal is not to reproduce a likeness of the shell, although if one observes the shell carefully and draws the contours slowly, there will be a sense of a shell, or a shell-like image on the page, even if it is not proportional or "realistic."

blind contour drawing of shell (30 minutes)

The second drawing we worked on was a Continuous-line Drawing of the shell. This time we could look at the paper as we were drawing, but still tried to maintain the careful focus of the blind contour drawing. The rule for this drawing is that we were to keep the feel of a single line moving across the shell and the page. We were to keep our drawing tool in contact with the paper at all times (or putting it back exactly at the point from which we removed it if our arms needed a break). The idea here is that you want to trace the shell's form constantly with your eyes and hand, not skipping over difficult or "boring" parts, but moving along every part of the shell, seeing the ins and outs of the form, and revealing that careful path in the drawing.

continuous-line contour drawing of shell (30 minutes)

Students met in small groups after completing these drawings to discuss the qualities and attributes of line in the drawings, and how line was functioning on the picture plane. They described such line characteristics as: value, thickness, angularity, curve, speed, precision, layering, etc. For each drawing, they also had to address the question: how carefully observed was this shell? and what gives that impression?

Getting Back to the Phantom Skill

2010-09-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

drawing by James McMullan

A New York Times article:

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