The New Adventures of Figure Drawing! *dramatic theme song*

Well, the new semester has started and I'm starting to get into some sort of place in the world of illustration. Sorta. We just started our new projects, and I just got my portfolio filled with cartoon animation crap blown to bits. It is quite literally a "whole new world" compared to Computer Animation.

So I haven't done figure drawing work in like......a year and some....I'm a tad rusty. Not to mention I can admit, that the Illustration students are taught a different style of figure drawing than the animation students were. The animation students were taught a lot about gesture, the figure as represented by motion....and often times that stuff was very linear looking. I was used to composing the figure and stuff like this, way back in freshman year 2 years ago:



(Not the best example I have, I admit....but...you get the idea.)

But, seriously, I got tossed into this figure class....most of the kids, because they're fresh out of freshman year and thusly still pretty well oiled at figure work, and, their focuses in illustration are long, detailed poses that are less linear, motion based, more, "painting the figure" by laying down value and light instead of composing using line and then value-ish ala animation...so my stuff got blasted my stuff out of the water by most kids there. But I have a feeling I can work my kinks out quickly so long as I have these classes, ya know? That, and I'm going to join the figure drawing club that's here, so I can....get more practice......more practice until I go insane doing it!





I also have a still life class, but currently my work there is locked up in the studio where I have the class....maybe I'll take my camera to school tommorrow so I can give a WIP in this journal just for shits and giggles.

But man. I love figure work. It's fun...even if I ain't the best one out there, I want to be. Seriously, you want to know the sort of artists I admire? Freaking...like....Simon Bisley:








Or hmm....Glenn Fabry is similar to Bisley too:



(Same character, different artist....it's Slaine from 2000 AD....Bisley and Fabry are both British comic book artists....)





Oh, and of course, let's not forget about the original, Frank Frazetta.....





You get the idea. It's a tough thing, depicting dynamic, meaningful illustrations....but I intend on giving it my all to get my work to this level by the time I graduate.....because I want to. Not what he said, what she said. Because I WANT TO. And that's the best inspiration of them all. >)

Later, my folks....I still have homework to do and I have an 8:30 am class. >_>