I would like to draw like Jhonen vasquez

[FarFromEnding]

Okay I'm trying to get a drawing style like Jhonen Vasquez. Here are some of his drawings.

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/1300000/Johnny-The-Homicidal-Maniac-jhonen-vasquez-1395733-1024-768.jpg
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3971/jthmix0.png
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/01/gray/squee/images/b-jthm5.jpg

I'm not that great at drawing but I have always liked drawing, But it seems that I dont know what to do to get better.

So I have 2 questoins

1. How could I get better at drawing?
2. How could I get drawing style like Jhonen?

[Hyskoa]

1. How could I get better at drawing?
2. How could I get drawing style like Jhonen?

1) By drawing from nature.
2) By commissioning a piece from him.

Point is, do your own thing, because beating the original in his own game is counterproductive.

[•Lindsay•]

Just copy his drawings directly, then go to the source and look at his influences, and copy his influences if you like them. Then you should keep looking for your own influences. A lot of the kids on deviantart seem to get trapped in imitating someone else's style, but that's really only useful as a learning exercise. If you want to create good work at some point it's got to start coming from your own head and not someone else's.

[Chris Saksida]

I think cloning a style is not BAD as a start, because it could work as a short term goal that will give you that fuel to start; one thing is to start drawing wanting be a frazetta and another is to be a Jhonen Vasquez; the second will give you less frustration, but this will only help you if you`re willing to leave that style behind once you reach your goal, and go beyond, USE that to make you realize of your own potential, and then work on becoming BETTER than Vasquez.

I became a clone of many artists before, now I just want to be myself I would hate to be considered a clone, before I used to copy the styles exactly, but now I don`t copy styles, I see ENERGIES, when I see a style I like, I see an ENERGY or ABSTRACT ELEMENT, say, "dinamism" or "force of action" or "specific uses of color" that the style has and that I like... and I work on bringing that same ENERGY into my OWN style, that way I develop it and make it stronger each time, I develop a style I love.

But to answer the topic, the better way to copy a style is to copy the drawings, and analyze them, a style is a VISUAL LANGUAGE, read the words, what is a nose? what is an ear? what is an eye?, draw eyes the way that guy draws them, noses, etc; then; make your own drawings in your own style making sure they are well drawn, and change them using those ears, noses and stuff to make your drawing look like that; Look also for elements such as straight lines, big heads, big hands, fingers, nails, the hair, etc.

[Arshes Nei]

Eat the same exact foods as him on the same day.
Dress exactly like him on the same day
Brush your teeth, get a haircut and other habits
Change your voice to talk like him.

Ok...so why does the above sound stupid, and moreso psychotic? Artists, have their own little identities through how he/she draws. Granted, there are going to be similarities with other artists. It's no different than finding things you like are similar to another person's tastes. I am repeating what others have said, but I wanted to put it in perspective.

Trying to emulate another artist's style is akin to taking that person's identity. What makes that person unique is the thought process to get that style, not just because they have that style.

As others have said learn who his is influenced by but develop your own tastes, find out about why they did it, and not just the how. You'll find your own brand of uniqueness will come through and may approach it a different way. Then, as you get better...you'll have your own identity and artistic fingerprint that comes through.

[Baron Impossible]

Draw a funny little character and stick it onto one of his artworks. It's called "visiting" and it'll make you as good as him.




No, sorry, please don't do that. I was joking.

Being slightly more serious I'd advise maybe looking at his stuff, then putting it aside and painting your own concepts, but with his style in mind. That way you won't be blatantly copying and you'll leave yourself enough leeway to develop your own style. Later, you'll realise you didn't really want to draw like him anyway but that's OK. It's a good sign.

[OmenSpirits]

Eat the same exact foods as him on the same day.
Dress exactly like him on the same day
Brush your teeth, get a haircut and other habits
Change your voice to talk like him.

Ok...so why does the above sound stupid, and moreso psychotic? Artists, have their own little identities through how he/she draws. Granted, there are going to be similarities with other artists. It's no different than finding things you like are similar to another person's tastes. I am repeating what others have said, but I wanted to put it in perspective.

Trying to emulate another artist's style is akin to taking that person's identity. What makes that person unique is the thought process to get that style, not just because they have that style.

As others have said learn who his is influenced by but develop your own tastes, find out about why they did it, and not just the how. You'll find your own brand of uniqueness will come through and may approach it a different way. Then, as you get better...you'll have your own identity and artistic fingerprint that comes through.
Stalker?

[hitnrun]

I was always taught that if you want to draw/paint like someone, look at their artwork and reproduce it. Study how they draw a certain thing, and draw it the way they do. Don't become a "clone" of them though. Just get a gist of their style and evolve your own using what you've learned from the style of your inspiration.

[ZenzybaR]

In order to draw like Jhonen vasquez, first you need to wear black all day. Not just black but ripped up clothes and platform boots with exhaust pipes coming out the back.
The you need to take some heavy LSD and lock yourself in a room with only a sock puppet and a naked quadruple amputee dwarf who is high on crack.
This is even before you pick up a pencil by the way.

Then you get a sketchbook and think about nothing except how you'd kill all the people who were in your school using only the animals and people under the age of 6 that were present on the first and last day you attend said school.
WHILE
You draw nothing but bunnies and cute things for 57 straight hours. Do this twice. You also draw on the table and you arms, refrain from touching the sketchbook under all circumstances. You must also have the sketchbook balanced on a pigeons beak for the whole 57x2 hours.

THEN After all this, you throw the sketchbook and pencil and yourself into a bush. The bush must be situated outside the residence of the person you have a crush on. If no said person is to your taste, then you find the bush of your local baker. If a baker is not available then you must repeat the said 57x2 hours, but increase the time to x3.14159. Then you find the bush of the person you hate most. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

You take your sketchbook and pencil wait for the person to leave their residence. You follow them for at least 3 days, YOU MUST NOT SHOWER. On each of the days, you must successfully enter the house and draw the person of choice sleeping and or using the toilet.
You then go home and rest.

Now you take you pencil, and you take you sketchbook, attend non stop classes of figure drawing classes and draw all day for exactly 7 months accumulated time. Then you repeat the process up until the classes once more.

NOW, and only NOW after taking a little more LSD with the cracked out person you draw, twist your pencil with your SOUL.
And what shall flow out will be the contorted Insanity that is your own version of Johnny and Squee and ZIM, we shall see your soul CREATE a new EPIC that is WHATEVER it is YOU make. But with the essence of Jhonen vasquez.

[OmenSpirits]

In order to draw like Jhonen vasquez, first you need to wear black all day. Not just black but ripped up clothes and platform boots with exhaust pipes coming out the back.
The you need to take some heavy LSD and lock yourself in a room with only a sock puppet and a naked quadruple amputee dwarf who is high on crack.
This is even before you pick up a pencil by the way.

Then you get a sketchbook and think about nothing except how you'd kill all the people who were in your school using only the animals and people under the age of 6 that were present on the first and last day you attend said school.
WHILE
You draw nothing but bunnies and cute things for 57 straight hours. Do this twice. You also draw on the table and you arms, refrain from touching the sketchbook under all circumstances. You must also have the sketchbook balanced on a pigeons beak for the whole 57x2 hours.

THEN After all this, you throw the sketchbook and pencil and yourself into a bush. The bush must be situated outside the residence of the person you have a crush on. If no said person is to your taste, then you find the bush of your local baker. If a baker is not available then you must repeat the said 57x2 hours, but increase the time to x3.14159. Then you find the bush of the person you hate most. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

You take your sketchbook and pencil wait for the person to leave their residence. You follow them for at least 3 days, YOU MUST NOT SHOWER. On each of the days, you must successfully enter the house and draw the person of choice sleeping and or using the toilet.
You then go home and rest.

Now you take you pencil, and you take you sketchbook, attend non stop classes of figure drawing classes and draw all day for exactly 7 months accumulated time. Then you repeat the process up until the classes once more.

NOW, and only NOW after taking a little more LSD with the cracked out person you draw, twist your pencil with your SOUL.
And what shall flow out will be the contorted Insanity that is your own version of Johnny and Squee and ZIM, we shall see your soul CREATE a new EPIC that is WHATEVER it is YOU make. But with the essence of Jhonen vasquez.
Nice! :D