When I read the script I focus on: How does the character feel, but also how he uses subtext in his expressions; If he’s scared, does he show it, or does he hide it, how does he relate to his environment. If he’s big, does he feel big?
Kumpulan tulisan yang menarik, mengandung info penting, dan menginspirasi saya.
When I read the script I focus on: How does the character feel, but also how he uses subtext in his expressions; If he’s scared, does he show it, or does he hide it, how does he relate to his environment. If he’s big, does he feel big?
It all started with a several piece of artworks. Not an ordinary one, but the “mind-blowing artwork” from Todd Harris, Goro Fujita, Sam Nielson, and other ‘sick’ people.
They just showed off their superb skill of rendering (2D in particular), using Photoshop or Corel painter, and created a very inspiring artwork.
Todd Harris :
Goro Fujita :
Sam Nielson :
These people has opened up my mind about a beautiful thing called “lighting”. Lighting has become one of the most important aspect in film, video game, animation, and of course, illustration. Thanks to them! (Don’t forget to visit their blog! Totally recommended).
A simple sketch can be transformed into a gorgeous masterpiece when we are able to put the lighting in a good and right method. It is all about composition, atmosphere, light deflection, reflection, light source, and many more!
I need to improve my understanding of lighting more!
I found this useful article from Tom Richmond blog. A humorous illustrator who inspired me by his statement, quote, and tips. Especially about caricature. I need to learn a lot from these people. They have successfully passed the test about endurance, never ending practice, and always improving in art and illustration industry. I hope this article also inspired you with a positive thoughts!
Enjoy.
Q: I’m enthusiastically working through your book. Aside from enjoying the art and fantastic tips, I’m really interested what you said about it taking 500 faces to really get the nuances of caricature / portraiture.
So to fully understand…. maybe naively so, I have set out to draw 500 faces. I really want to at least begin to recognize all the subtleties you mentioned… and to overcome some of the challenges I’ve faced while drawing portraits. A friend of mine said that it takes 1,000 attempts at a particular activity to beome an expert. My goals isn’t really to become an expert (a half expert is fine with me) so much as to further my own art and to help me grow as a hobbyist.
What else would you recommend artists do to grow and become better at achieving a likeness?
A: I think you are mistaking the difference between caricature and likeness. Here is the quote from the book to which this question refers:
The Mad Art of Caricature, Page 12:
In caricature, the old adage of “practice makes perfect” has never been truer. The ability to see doesn’t spring up overnight, and I often tell eager young caricaturists they have about 500 or so bad caricatures in them before they start noticing the subtle things that hide inside the ordinary face.
By the term “see” I am talking about not necessarily the ability to DRAW or to capture a likeness, which can be done without any exaggeration. I am talking about the ability to observe and notice the things about a face that makes it unique—the things that a caricaturist is going to want to exaggerate to create a caricature as opposed to a portrait. The “500 or so bad caricatures” I say a new caricaturist has in them is not about improving drawing skills or capturing a better likeness, it’s about developing your eye to notice those unique things through the simple medium of observing and then drawing what you observe. Of course the act of drawing over 500 caricatures will also improve an artist’s drawing skills as well as their observational skills as it pertains to simply seeing the facial features that a likeness requires be accurately drawn immensely, but it’s the development of the ‘eye’ to which I refer in that quote.
Additionally, those 500 drawings are not a threshold wherein drawing number 501 is like some switch was suddenly switched on and an artist’s drawings suddenly become successful. I actually use that number with my new theme park artists as saying that is about when they stop fighting with the tools and medium, start getting comfortable in the chair and faces start to look different to them as things jump out that previously went unnoticed. It is still an ongoing process, and at the end of the next 500 drawings, number 1,001 will look very different than 501 did as long as they continue to apply themselves.
Now, as to your actual question about what else (besides practice) an artist can do to improve their ability to capture a likeness…
Nothing. There is nothing else besides unyielding dedication and sheer, unrelenting observing/drawing that will help an artist become better at getting a likeness. Studying and incorporating different techniques are important, and can help an artist along the way, but there are no shortcuts. No amount of studying, reading, watching videos, listening to lectures or other sources of information on drawing can replace the act of drawing and what that does to your ability to make your eyes, hand and brain work together. It’s like swimming. You can read about how to swim, you can look at diagrams of the action, you can watch videos and have classroom instruction in swimming. Until you actually get in the water and start moving around, you will never be able to swim.
That is advice nobody really wants to hear, but it is the absolute truth. Talent is only part of the recipe. The most talented artist in the world would not be more than a mediocre artist if they never bothered to work at developing their skills. Modest talent with enormous work ethic and determination will beat out enormously talented but lazy artists every time.
Jangan terburu-buru menanggapi kata “Indonesia” dengan pesimistis. Jangan terlalu cepat mencondongkan hati pada hal-hal negatif saat mendengar nama bangsa kita disebut. Karena nyatanya, bangsa yang besar ini masih sangat mulia. Masih bermartabat. Masih ada harapan. Yah, kalau melihat berita-berita hari demi hari, memang yang ada hanya kriminalitas, korupsi, dan degenerasi moral. Itu bukan hal baru lagi. Bangsa ini memang sedang berupaya bangkit melawan semua hal menyedihkan tersebut. Tapi, daripada lelah pikiran, lelah otak memikirkan semua itu, mari kita melihat apa yang bisa dan telah dicapai oleh beberapa ‘mutiara’ Indonesia yang tersebar di seluruh dunia, secara langsung maupun tidak langsung, mengusung nama besar Indonesia.
1. Lakon Animasi (http://www.lakonanimasi.com/)
Pertama melihat cuplikan singkat animasi karya tim asal Solo ini, saya hanya bisa berkata, “Maafkan saya, karena terlalu sering menilai jelek karya anak bangsa.” Karena pandangan itu luntur kala menyaksikan karya mereka di http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvxpbR4pFs8 (Pada Suatu Ketika), betapa berbakatnya anak-anak Indonesia menghadirkan visual efek yang tidak kalah dengan film-film luar negeri, sebut saja Transformers.
Dengan konsistensi dan mengembangkan ide original seiring waktu, saya yakin, Lakon Animasi kembali bisa dikenal lebih luas oleh dunia internasional.
2. Enspire Studio (http://enspirestudio.com/)
Didirikan oleh dua artist visual effect yang menempu ilmu dan pengalaman di luar negeri, Enspire Studio hadir menambah warna dunia animasi di Indonesia. Trailer singkat animasi mereka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZzDUOm56Uk (The Escape), menyita perhatian saya karena suguhan kualitas rendering, efek, dan terutama pencahayaan dan bayangan begitu memesona. Benar-benar tidak percaya semua ini dihasilkan anak bangsa!
3. Griselda Sastrawinata (Dreamworks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUXYSZ_tfm8
Salah satu alasan kakak perempuan saya, Abe, tertarik bergelut di dunia animasi adalah karena wanita yang satu ini. Griselda hadir menghiasi daftar animator berbakat Indonesia. Sehingga perusahaan sekelas Dreamworks pun mempercayakannya posisi visual development artist di seri Shrek 4. Kini, ia masih terus berkarya dan bahkan mengajar ilmu komunikasi visual di kampus almamaternya.
4. Caravan Studio (http://caravanstudio.com/illustration & digital painting studio)
Tidak hanya di dunia animasi. Kita merambah dunia ilustrasi dimana Caravan Studio tetap eksis mengibarkan karya-karyanya yang istimewa. Daftar perusahaan yang menjadi klien merekapun tidak sembarangan, sebut saja Hasbro, Capcom, LEGO, dan Sony Online Entertainment.
5. Wanara Studio (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wanara-Studio/127043507349726)
Mereka adalah rekan saya di jurusan yang berbeda, saya Desain Interior, mereka Desain Grafis. Dan setelah menyelesaikan studi di ITB, mereka berempat Bima Nurin Aulan, Dian Effendy, Habibi Putranto, dan Sweta Kartika. Secara konsisten terus memperkenalkan tema wayang yang menjadi ciri khas Indonesia, Wanara Studio saya percaya akan kian besar dan maju.
Lima tokoh kreatif di atas hanyalah sebagian kecil dari sekian banyak potensi luar biasa Indonesia yang belum dibahas disini. Masih ada Rini Sugianto, sang animator Tin-tin. Masih ada Chekydot Studio (link) dan lainnya.
Semoga artikel ini memberi semangat pada kita bangsa Indonesia, bahwa masih ada harapan. Masih ada yang positif dari bangsa ini. Untuk saya pribadi, saya berjanji juga akan terus mengembangkan diri dan suatu saat ingin membawa nama Indonesia kian harum di mata dunia lewat karya saya. Doakan 🙂
Saya memang sudah mengetahui site keren ini http://www.conceptroot.com.. tapi saya mau membagi nya dengan teman-teman yang sedang terus mau belajar dan mencari inspirasi di dunia digital art sama seperti saya 🙂
Jadi, bisa lihat link ini dan nikmati tiap karya sambil mencari tahu bagaimana cara membuatnya.
Kalau saya, saya selalu coba mempelajari hal-hal berikut tiap kali mengunjungi site ini :
Selamat mengunjungi situs ini dan menikmati dan mempelajari semua hal yang bisa dipelajari dari tiap karya spektakular tersebut 😀