Drawings for Uni. Admission...

[magnusdeus123]

Hey guys . First post here . I wanted to see if I can get some critique on these sketches I've done , few of which will be put into a portfolio which will help me get into Uni. for studying Animation . I'd be really gratefull if you guys can give your honest opinion , and be clear about what needs improvement . I'm gonna be putting a few more up , but for now , what is your opinion on the following stuff;

P.S. : Sorry if posted in the wrong section of the Forum .

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2527061109_c1fabd7dfa_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2527061235_12be7e2fe5_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2166/2527881728_e119d56cac_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2527061533_7661266600_d.jpg

[magnusdeus123]

Cmon guys . I did not think it'd be that bad to recieve such a poor response :(

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2533866442_610aa8d848_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2533119667_3257b37ff8_d.jpg

[GNL]

Where is it that you are applying to?

[magnusdeus123]

Centennial College . Toronto .

[Art_Addict]

Not a bad start. If you're applying for an animation program it's usually important to show figure drawings. No need for fully fleshed out, finished drawings. More loose stuff. Quick gesture drawings in which you show an understanding of "animation" gesture, fluid lines, weight and balance, volume etc..

If you show that you have ability for storytelling that's a plus too. It never hurts to draw out a little storyboard in which you draw a scene. Nothing too complex, keep it simple but make sure it reads well.

I could give you crits on the hands but I'm not sure if it would be helpful for a future animation student. Hmm.. let's see what overlaps... : straight lines are a definite no-no.. make sure especially when drawing the human form all your lines are curved to some degree and avoid symmetry like the 2 lines in the first drawing that represent the arm. the 2 sides of arms, legs fingers etc... always taper. But you do that reasonably well already. Don't disrupt the continuity of form by abruptly changing direction. Curve into every change. Lines need to flow ! As an animator it's important to exxagarate, so when drawing models, every line you put on the paper should emphasyze the pose, the gesture.

Good luck

[Almighty Chris]

are most of these hands from life? If so thats good, colleges want to see that you can draw from observation. Also, even though you are going for animation, im sure it would be good to show some more fleshed out pieces to show that you can work dilligently.
What Art Addict said is so true that it bears repeating: Do some figure drawings and work on finding the line of action and using confident strokes that capture the gesture well.

[panchosimpson]

hey magnus, you're off to a good start, but work with more varied subject matter, not just hands. You should also attend life drawing sessions to have drawings of the full figure. As an animator, you need to have a solid understanding of the mechanics of good drawing, you'll need a very good understanding of gesture/action and also of three dimensional space, meaning perspective and visualizing objects/people as simple forms.

Your hands show that you're using construction, I see some traces of cylinders etc, that's good! But you need to extend the idea and realize that EVERYTHING can be conceived as a simple form.... think for not shape for now. So, try to visualize the palm of the hand as a box....not a rigid box, but one that is flexible. The important thing is to find the "corners" or major changes of direction in the form.

You also need to stress the idea of squash and stretch....every form in motion has an action/inaction side and you need to emphasize that in order to really show the action.

Like others have said, you should include a lot of quick drawings, because animators need to be strong, confident draftsmen. Be loose and "feel" the flow of the body. But, don't be afraid to include more finished drawings, it's not like animators learn to be quick and decisive overnight...spend some time figuring things out.

I have to disagree with Tom in terms of straight lines....Straights are an important element when designing your silhouettes in drawing and giving your figures "snap"...so learn to play curves against straights in your drawings....however, don't make the straights too obvious

http://bp3.blogger.com/_AmDyVMX2I88/RrHac8m1ZaI/AAAAAAAAADc/WA4TVy-zim4/s1600-h/easter+walk.jpg

study this work by leyendecker to see how a great designer uses straights vs curves in drawing (particularly the man)

Also check out the drawings by Karl Gnass and Glenn Vilppu, I've studied with Glenn and have friends who have studied with Karl, and they're two of the best draftsmen around...they've also taught at a LOT of animation studios

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=Columns&column=vilppu&offset=20
http://www.spiritofthepose.com/

Follow Glenn's advice on gesture, and look at Karl's for what the finished product should look like...remember think of basic forms, and always look for corners....if you're having trouble with this let me know and I can draw you some examples and email you some packets I got from my teachers (it might take me a few days I'm currently neck deep in work). Anyway, hope this helps

[Art_Addict]

Ramon : My comment on avoiding straight lines was limited to drawing the human figure. I never implied it wasn't useful as a designing tool. The body is organic thus full of life and energy and is designed to move. Straightness is found in architecture, tables, chairs,.. things designed not to move...

Btw... as much as I love old J.C, imho the figures in that illustration are pretty stiff.. :P

[panchosimpson]

Tom: I know what you meant, my comment was in reference to human bodies as well, the body is full of energy, and well balanced straights and curves add to that energy, straights have power and snap....they have to be used sparingly, but I still think they're useful. I just hunted down a Leyendecker quickly, and I suppose that one was meant to be more formal, but he uses straights in parts of his figures here too (mostly in the male...also straights and hard angles are associated with masculinity to some extent) and these people are anything but stiff

http://bp0.blogger.com/_zMsg9U8UoyM/RnWDLqOX31I/AAAAAAAAAa8/3IpYGUwZT7M/s1600-h/leyendecker+A.jpg

Design and drawing have a lot of overlap, and it's nearly impossible to separate the two in great works.

[magnusdeus123]

Woohoo !! Now we're getting somewhere . Thanks for all the advice . Hope it continues , since I plan to post more drawings .

Anyways , you guys wanted figures . I hadnt started much work on figures since I wanted to get done with the isolated stuff first . So I finished Objects and Hands first after a bit of figures .

Here are the object studies I plan to send in;

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2535934270_b37abbfb1f_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2165/2535934400_2ff37db2f9_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2535934512_3ba28bf328_d.jpg

The syllabus I prepared for myself for the portfolio is ;

3 figure drawings (static poses)
2 figure drawings (action poses)
3 hand drawings (done)
3 object drawings (done)
2 enviorment drawings
1 some random junk like some graphic design work I've done .

Total : 14

They say that I can include a max of 15 , so I would say 14 is enough . Oh and here are some figures . I plan to start on figures again today , so I'll be posting up more right now in a while . Until then here are some old ones ;

Sorry for the apparent noobness in these, but like I said their old , and I'll get better as I draw more from now on . :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2535883446_f4c0d4617f_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2406/2535068221_3fdbf1e1bb_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2535883856_9e65de5a63_o_d.jpg

Keep the advice coming . I am sure the stuff you guys are saying is gonna help me a lot in the future too . Cheers .

[panchosimpson]

I'll reply fully when I have more time. I don't know how much time you have till your deadline, but you need to start pushing that perspective more in your object drawings, they're reading relatively flat right now,

for lack of good examples, take a look at these, these are the kind of object drawing assignments I got from one of my teachers who works in the industry as a vis dev guy

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=320284&stc=1&d=1204956109
http://bp0.blogger.com/_ZO_4VGSF3ws/SAHMW08yZnI/AAAAAAAAABE/EqRJCSplsB0/s1600/perpective.jpg

the idea is, do that, work it out, but do it better because the ones I posted kinda suck :)

[magnusdeus123]

Well I dont want to go back to Object drawings , since I think I've got less than 4-5 days more . 2 days from there will go in figures and the rest in Enviorment . But I'll try to use those concepts in the enviorment drawings .

The object drawings up here pretty much look that way because I drew them from a pretty close position .

EDIT : Here's a new Figure drawing I made....

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2115/2539045053_c6b6b441f9_d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2536489283_e1197f947b_o_d.jpg

[magnusdeus123]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/2542116241_247d65aa7f_o_d.jpg

[magnusdeus123]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2542116729_de4a1a2f19_o_d.jpg