Category Archives: Drawing

TO IMPROVE YOUR ART WORK, COPY YOUR MENTOR’S!

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Copy THE ARTWORK OF OTHERS TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN ART WORK!

In this video I discuss the fact that public schools didn’t prepare us to learn art (big surprise right?). The fact that there are rules in every creative field like writing, dance, music and yes – even sports… Why then do we often fail to apply the same rules to the visual arts? From public school through college many students report that they were never taught concrete rules to help them find the boundaries that focus their creative energy into successful drawings and paintings. In the video I give advice on what I think you should do, like copy your heroes to improve the quality of your own visual art.
No wonder so many students and artists are looking to FolioAcademy.com and analyze their favorite artist’s or mentor’s  artwork for tips and help.

HOW I USE PROCREATE TO DRAW ON MY IPAD

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Watch the art lesson video below for iPad tips with Procreate

In the video below, artist Will Terry, shows you how he’s using the Procreate app to make drawings for his children’s books, iPad apps, personal and professional freelance work.
He loves the Procreate app! It allows him to make high resolution drawings that he can email to his desktop and paint in Photoshop. No more running out of paper. No more pens, not having a pen, running out of lead, no more pencils, no more books, no teachers dirty looks.
Will can take his work anywhere and he can go through the entire drawing refinement process without the use of a scanner or tracing paper.
“It has made me much more productive, I can do finish work anywhere”
Will has been known to work at the doctor’s office (not as a doctor), in meetings, waiting in the car (well he is married), on airplanes, at conferences and more. He just has to remember to take enough work with him when he leaves his studio.
Enjoy the video…
To learn more about illustrating or how to paint in Photoshop, or how to illustrate children’s books, or many other great art techniques, visit FolioAcademy.com.

My Art is For Babies ?

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My 9 year old (my baby) said my art is for babies

I will admit that I am trying to appeal to a younger audience since I illustrate children’s books. Some times I have to hit the cute button a bunch of times before it looks right. (oh how i wish there was a “cute” button) So in response to my son’s accusation I wanted to see if I could still conjure something up from my junior high days of drawing sculls in the margins of my tests.


Yup – still got it.

I did this doodle out in the car while my wife did some shopping. I showed it to my youngest child, my 9 year old – he thought it was “totally bad” meaning good of course – score one for the old guy. Oh – and I fooled around with it in Photoshop to add some mood.

PROCREATING! ER UM…CREATING IN PROCREATE

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I created this image using Procreate on my iPad – I love this app!

Link to FolioAcademy.com Digital art tutorials

I just got back from the SCBWI Southern Breeze conference in Atlanta. I was being entertained by Dianne Hess (editor at Scholastic) as she gave her speech – an inside look at her company. I have to draw to listen so I was on  my iPad using “Procreate“. It’s my go to program for creating all of my sketches now – I love the screen rotation feature and the larger file sizes. Oh yeah – and I’m still only using my finger. I find it fascinating that it bothers people that I won’t go out and drop coin on a stylus. It bugs my students, friends, and strangers that I meet – like the guy who sat next to me on the plane. “You know you can buy all kinds of styluses for that device,” he informed me…I just agreed….by the way it strengthens my resolve to run sans stylus with each criticism.

A special shout out to Elizabeth Dulemba for inviting me to speak, being a great host, running an awesome conference, and being a great illustrator. I met so many cool people down there – too many to list but you know who you are! I hope to be able to get down there again sometime.

Why Does My Artwork SUCK? Why Most Adults Draw Like Children

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“I would do more art but my art sucks.”

I hope that doesn’t ring familiar to any of our readers or followers here, but I have heard this and similar complaints quite a bit over the years.

Anyone can be an artist. Especially you!

Anyone can learn how to draw and how to paint. “Even me?” Of course you. It doesn’t matter if your not gifted, with tons of natural drawing ability, most of us aren’t. (And we HATE those who are. Well we don’t hate them, some of them are my best friends, but we are often jealous.) Like anything else, it takes study and practice. It helps to enjoy it however and the sad thing is, it is hard to enjoy it when you suck at it, so then it’s hard to practice, and then it’s hard to improve. It can be a vicious cycle of procrastination.

Do you ever wonder why most adults draw like children?

It’s because they stopped drawing while they were children. It’s not because you need to be gifted, or blessed with some amazing ability to draw and paint. It is simply because most adults stopped drawing while they were still children. If you stopped drawing at the age of six, you are probably still able to draw like a six year old. So if you want to draw better, draw more. If you want to paint better, paint more.

Why does my art suck?

Why does my artwork look like a child drew it? No wonder I stopped drawing when I was six years old, I was drawing like a six year old.

A lot of children play piano better than I do. Do you think that since I’ve never studied or practiced piano, that that would have something to do with it? Of course it would. Why do I play piano like a five year old?  I believe that with the right instruction and practice, I could learn it, and if I wanted it, and enjoyed it, I would do it.

Children have an advantage when learning art.

They don’t care if their art looks like a child did it. So they don’t get frustrated as fast when it doesn’t turn out. Their moms and dads are more likely to post their work on the fridge and compliment their little heads off too. You won’t get that from family and friends and critics at your age. But we adults can take criticisms and we can also learn.

So get started, don’t worry where you are, but look where you’ll be.

It is a new year and a great time to resolve. Get a sketch book and a few pencils and start now. When you draw something and it sucks, and if your like me, a lot of it will, especially if you are as critical of your own work as most of us artists are. Take your sketch book with you and draw. When you are wondering what to draw, don’t worry about making some master piece, just draw. Copy the dishes, the cel phone, the tires while you are in the waiting room at the tire shop. Draw the magazine rack while your in the Dr’s waiting room.

Warning! Don’t draw the people there, they will want to see your work and then wonder why a full grown artist, with a sketch book and every thing, is drawing like a twelve year old. Doodle, work on your line quality, draw a few circles with a template if you want, then decide on where the light is coming from and model (shade) them into spheres. Copy other artists drawings. Have fun with it and keep learning.

sketch of spheres and a light source.

Draw some circles then model them. Render them later when you don’t know what to draw.

And oh yeah, don’t scribble out the “bad ones” in a fit of rage just because you don’t love ’em or they don’t turn out perfectly. They are just sketches, they’re not your children, so they don’t have to be perfect. Don’t tear out the pages that you hate, yet. Every year or so, go through and take out the ones you do like and compile them into you real sketch book. That’s the sketchbook you’ll let people browse through and wonder why YOU are gifted with such a wonderful,  natural ability.

Resolve to improve your art skills

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Happy New Year! A good time to Resolve to improve your art skills.

Female artist at drawing board

This is a good time to wish that last year you would have resolved to improve you art. And if only you would have made a plan, and stuck to it. Why? Because wishing you did that last year might motivate you to do it this year. Today is the day. It’s a New Year (well tomorrow it will be) so do it now. But what if it takes a long time? What if I do something that doesn’t turn out to be all that great? What if I decide in a year that I don’t want to be an artist, can I go back? What if I get so good that I become famous and then I am forced to leave my home and move to Hollywood?

These are all good questions, except the last three. The fact is, you will be a year older in a year whether you improve your art skills or not. I believe that you will feel better about yourself and the year 2013 if you will have done it.

making New Year’s resolutions,

You probably know that it does little good to just resolve to do better, or state that you will improve. It is best to decide exactly what you want to improve, do, or accomplish, and then make a step by step plan of action to reach that goal. It is also good to give yourself some deadlines for each step. A goal without a deadline is just a wish.

Here are some not so good, examples:

“I will paint a portrait and it will actually resemble that person.”

A worthy goal, but what steps would you take and when?

“I will sell a piece of art work.”

Ditto.

“I will complete an oil painting by march 1.”

Better, but not specific enough.

“I will paint en plein air six times this summer.”

It fails to define Summer, is September 22, the deadline? Can I start as late as Sep 21 and cram? Do I have to wait till June 22, to start? It said “this Summer”.

Here is a mediocre example with a good start: one we should all consider implementing:

Chalese sketching

“I will draw daily, at least five days per week in my sketch book for at least ½ hour for the entire year.”

Now here are some good examples:

“I will paint 12 paintings this year. By painting at least one painting every month. I will design each painting in the first seven days of each month and I will apply paint in the second week. I will start even if I don’t know what I am doing. I will not get discouraged if it is ugly. January I will start with something simple, like a cube and or a sphere. Feb I will paint some onions or fruit, and progressively work toward a more challenging subjects.”

Now we’re talking. There are specific goals, and some step by step actions to take with deadlines.

“I will design, draw and paint a painting of a cow for my mom who loves cows, by mother’s day. Mother’s day is on May 12 this year so I will start now. I will research cows and styles of painting and drawing. By Jan 31 I will find some great cow pictures for reference or to copy. (Mom doesn’t care if I plagiarize and I won’t tell her if you won’t) By Feb 28 I will draw at least 20 cow sketches using said reference. By March 31st I will have at least two drawings laid out on canvas to paint. By May 1 I will have finished one painting and I will finish the second, since the first one may not be good enough for mom, by May 12th, 2013. On mother’s day after everyone has given mom the usual flowers or box of chocolates, I will present my painting with my signature at the bottom, she will look at it and ask, “Did you draw this?” and I will say, “yes, I painted it too, happy mother’s day mom, I love you,” and she will cry, just a little, and I will feel wonderfully happy. Then I will write down my goal, with deadlines for the next piece I will do. I will sign this little contract and read it that I have made with myself and I will read it every day”.

Now that is a goal with a plan, and accountability.

Happy New Year, and good luck with your goals and resolutions this year, and by the way, you don’t have to set your goals on New Years Day, so if you come to this blog late, feel free to get started. TODAY!