Friday, April 30, 2010

MAN! I feel like a Woman!



Thats the song that was playing when I did this group caricature of my client, Alison and her team members at a recent gig at a Posh Senior center in Manhattan recently. I loved the faces so much that I took photos went home and worked on it some MORE! LOL!!! I didnt go TOO far with the exaggeration, but managed to get a result that I was pleased with. Composition wise, I thought the pic worked better with just the ladies but since the guy is also part of the team I had to include him. I think the caption fits!

Gotta love PHOTOSHOP! LOL! I did each pic 8x11 and then arranged them together. working this way enables me to focus on each individual pic without worrying if they're all going to fit, like I would at a gig.
Im spending a LOT more time with getting a more accurate likeness and did a LOTTA drawing on each face until I could pretty much do it from memory. I saw Jan Obdebeek doing this method and if it's good enough for Jan, it's good enuff fo' me!

Believe it or not, these were drawn with a regular old fashion... dare I say it...SHARPIE MARKER!!!!!! and not my usual Tombo or Pitt, which ran outta ink!!!

TEACHING ART COURSE AT HUNTER COLLEGE

Hey Surfer Fans! If you live in the NEW YORK Area, are a fan of this blog, and always wondered, "how does he DO that???" Now here's your chance to find out How eye Dew whut I Dew.

Starting in June, Monday Nights, I will be teaching at HUNTER COLLEGE a course entitled, WHAT EVERY ANIMATOR NEEDS TO KNOW (What Flash cant Teach you) In this course you will be learning MY approach to sequential art, character design and development, caricature and most of all how to THINK like an animator. Registration is happening NOW so go to the link listed below to guarantee your seat!


http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ce/pressroom/announcements/new-courses

What Every Animator Needs to Know (What Flash Can't Teach You)
Flash may have enabled animators to make great movies and faster and more cost effective and does a lot of great things- except the one thing the animator needs. It can't teach you how to draw! This course not only teaches you how to draw as it relates to animation, but also how to think like an animator.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

IM BACK!!!!! .....sorry I left for so long...






I took some time off

Now Im Back

CLOWNING PEOPLE LIKE THIS!!!!!! LOL!!! ENJOY!

Friday, April 02, 2010

GET OUT YA HANKIES AND YOUR NASAL SPRAY!


IT"S SPRING!!! SO......Im SPRINGING!!!!

Sa quan's Artwork





While visiting my mother in law, the other evening, her 8 year old nephew, Sa Quan, seemed especially exicted to see me. This was really unusual, because "Say Say" as we call him, would usually be upstairs playing the Wi or some other video game. "Uncle Elgin, Uncle Elgin, I want to show you some pictures I drew!" he exclaimed, carefully talking the folded sheets of paper out of his bookbag. "He's been wanting to show you this for a while," chimed in Mema, (that's my Mother in Law) and as he proudly handed me his stack of papers, I was already prepping my mind for the customary, "that's nice, keep it up!" response that you give children at this age as not to discourage their progress. I was confident that I was going to see "typical" eight year old drawings of monsterously distorted figures that had to be identified by the child or you'd be hopelessly lost wondering what you were looking at.

Boy was I wrong!

Instead of the customary "that's nice," response, I found myself gawking and asking him,
WOW! DID YOU DRAW THIS??????? Followed by my next question, DID YOU TRACE THESE????? which was followed by a final question: ARE YOU SURE????
His answers were
YES
NO
and YES
His Grandmother who watched him draw these little masterpieces verified his story, and I must say I was and am impressed.
The kid certainly is a lot more talented than I was at his age.
Now although these drawings are COPIED form one of his Pirates of the Caribbean Coloring books, and not created out of his imagination, I would have to say that the kid has that RARE remarkable ability that you MUST have if you're going to be a good artist, namely, He has learned how to DRAW WHAT HE SEES NOT WHAT HE THINKS HE SEES

This ability to limit the interruption of the interpretive left side of the brain in a skill that few adults EVER master. and although his efforts are not "photorealistic" I can actually tell who the characters are just by looking at them.
Would you believe I never taught him how to draw a straight line? I look forward to teaching him a lot of em now, just to see how much he can develope. In fact, Im even creating a blog for him entitled, Sa Quan's Artwork just so he can stay motivated as so I can chart his progress. I encourage you to follow along, who knows WHAT he might come up with!