1/25/2014

When I was studying animation, the more rendered drawing style wasn't something I got to explore as much; it's impractical to animate highly rendered figures with soft lines and shaded forms, so I had to adapt to drawing with clean lines, and exaggerate proportions, attempting to create well-balanced designs that had that elusive element: appeal. Honestly, I never had any confidence about my work in that style, which is one of the many reasons I abandoned my artistic ambitions  in favor of production.

At CalAcademy the other day, I was participating in a demo of an educational program designed for students, in which we had to analyze and sketch a specimen, as a scientist would sketch something quickly--to record basic details in their field notes. I had so much fun drawing my skeleton specimen, that I brought the picture home to put on our fridge, like a proud schoolkid.

Skull of unidentified African mammal, 1/10/14 - Graphite on Paper

I realized how much I miss creating art, and that--since I'm not drawing for animation anymore--there's no reason to chain myself to the traditional principles that made it such a chore for me; though having learned them I can apply those concepts to [hopefully] continue improving my skills.

So here's me, back to sketching for the sake of sketching--and exploring a theme that will surely be recurrent as I move forward... ;)

Corgi, 1/25/14 - Col Erase on Watercolor Paper

Thanks for reading!
-S