Sheep/Goats

Today I am getting caught up on my scanning. Here is the goat/sheep homework from the Bovine section of Joe's class. I did these drawings at the Natural History Museum. The NHM is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. Some people don't like it claiming it's too dark and cold. I love it there especially the new mammals section.

Basic Cartooning 1 - Emotions

I went to my first Basic Cartooning Class at the California Art Institute in Westlake. I was surprised the school was in a dumpy old building. I thought it would have more presence. I am taking two classes there: Basic Cartooning and Drawing from Imagination. The Drawing from Imagination Class was postponed last week. It will start next weekend.

Here are my notes from Tom Shannon, the instructor, he was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting. He worked for Disney a lot.

The mouth is an emotionally indicator. Eyebrows help indicate emotion.
The eyes are the thermometer of what kind of character. The eye is complicated in cartooning it is reduced to a graphic symbol. The lines around the eyes are useful tools.

The chin can hlp indicate character.

The nose helps turn the head. It doesn't indicate emotion but it does indicate direction (where the head is pointed). Every nose is different. The hair moves away from the head. Different chin lines can help define the character. Cartooning is an abstract art.

It's easier to draw the head as a basic circle because it's easy to move. All you have to do is move the nose. Make the circles round and don't draw very dark. Draw right away it keeps you from "white paper syndrome."

You can do anything in a cartoon. Age can be shown by hairstyle. Remember when you are cartooning you have a lot of power you can literarly move mountains. When drawing a hat connect it to the head. The mustache is a vehicle to wrap around the head.

Look at your drawing as a whole. Try to move the pencil around. Keep a generalized notion - like a conductor or an orchestra. Don't focus on one thing.

1. Gesture, Pose

2. Emotional, Facial

3. Construction of Character Itself

4. Background (credible platform for the character to be standing on)

Balance throughout drawing and remember to keep having fun

This is an exercise we did in class about trying to take an emotion from a small level to a high level.

Birds - Eagles/Hawks

I drew these birds a couple of weeks ago for Joe Weatherly's class. I wanted to use an eagle one of the central characters of the Hymn of the Pearl.

How to Get to India with the Monsoon Wind

I am working on my final project for Communication Sketch. I wasn't able to go to the final class because I had to work. This is what my final looks like so far. I am going to finish it even though the class is over. I wish I had already finished and had gotten to the last class but I had to work until midnight. I am struggling with the fact I am going to get a bad grade from the class because I didn't turn in my final even though I know it doesn't matter because I already have an MFA and I am only taking the class for myself. But after years of being trained that grades are important it's hard to shut that part of myself off.

The project is about using the Monsoon winds to get to India. It is loosely based on the Barbarikon chapter of Hymn of the Pearl



These are some rough color layouts for the final that I did the week before but didn't have time to scan. I like the top one the best.

Material Showcase

These are some studies I did for the "Material Showcase" Assignment.

This is the final from my material showcase assignment. It's based on a line drawing I did in Ed Li's a couple of years ago.

Working on the Barbarikon Section

Trying to work on the section of Hymn of the Pearl that takes place at the docks at Barbarikon. Doing it in my Comm Sketch at Art Center as part of the "How to . . " assignment. I am showing "How to get to Indian using the Monsoon Winds"