How do you begin your work?

[Complex]

Hi, ive been a member of these forums for a while now...but have not been posting, I think it may help more if I actually talked to the artist I want to learn from =P

Well, I always have a problem starting the things I draw.
Some people start with a basic model (like a wireframe skeleton or something), some start with a little doodle and then add from that, I just thought it would help me (and anyone else with this problem) if I could see how other people get started with their art.

I hope you can understand what im talking about ^^
If not, ill try and find an example!

Thanks!!

(I hope this is the right place to post this...)

[jfwalls]

I polish my forehead, wax my ass, and then drink some hot sauce. Works every time for great artwork.

Seriously though. Just keep drawing and experimenting alot and you will find what is comfortable for you.

[sone_one]

haha jfwalls

well you said it yourself... some do this and others do that... what suits you - who could tell you? just experiment like jf said, and youll get your answer.

[Christian223]

i donth think this is the right place... but anyway, creativity in communication is the problem, and creativity is hard and painfull, you have to work hard to decide what do you wish to communicate with your work, you need a purpose, a reason, and objective, deciding it is very hard and painfull because you have to critisize it until you are sincerelly satisfied with it, this is the semantic part, then comes how to best communicate it, sintaxis, rethoric part. I think this is the best way to do it, thinking hard to express yourself from your heart, maybe it sounds ridiculous, but i think that the really interesting things about are the ones that connect us more, the things that makes us humans, the emotions, the ideas, the things that makes us happy, sad, mad, surprised, confused, and so on and on... the objective is the most important i think, get it, its not easy, but its worth it.

Link about creativity http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html

[Complex]

Sorry, I kinda typed my post wrong =P

I didnt mean for it to seem like I was trying to use someone elses technique for drawing, I already have my own I guess. I was really just curious about other peoples process.


Thanks for the quick replies!

Christian223, yeah I love that guide, it works really well =P

[egerie]

I thumbnail (around a centimeter tall max) to refine the idea I have in my head and try to explore better possibilities. I focus on line of action, dynamism, silouhette,... all the basic stuff really. Then I move in the sketch and put everything to model while following the essence of my chosen thumbnail (flow, action, etc.).

[THUNDERCOCK]

yeah...some good pointers here...I often will make a list of things that I think would help convey my idea....like I have a warrior in cave...what sort of cave, what kind of rocks are there? is there any light like maybe a torch? a lantern? any lurking beasts...if so what kind? what is the mood of the cave?....ominous, humurous, perillous, why is he there?...is he looking for something? trying to pass through un-noticed....etc....etc...etc...all this sort of ties in with what christian223 was talking about....then once I have that figured out pretty well start with a thumbnail...work out composition and point of view perspective. Sometimes a wirefram is useful but often it makes my characters look a bit stiff...I sometimes become too relyant on the frame and hesitate to deviate from what i think should be technically accurate. Technically accurate is never a suitable substitute for asthetically pleasing ...then quick color studies on to the finished piece. Hope that was helpful

[andoi]

a simple advice!!! It works for me!!! Buy an HB Pencil, SKETCH and DRAW!!!!When ur done, buy another one. Draw 8 hours a day, 100% guaranteed!!!!

[Hendric VII]

It depends if it is a piece for me or for hire. If it is fore hire I take a simular approch to it as Thundercock. If it is for me the first step is to put a mark on the page. Blank white paper is the enemy. If there is something on it then I can go from there. I usually lay down 2h graphite and smudge the whole thing with felt then draw on that. If I want highlights I cut them out with the eraser. Oh, and music, or noise or something to distract that part of my brain that thinks too much about what I am doing.

[neoknocker]

I usually put some music on, prepare myself a drink (a tea, some cofee, a beer, water...) so I dont get up to get one. I doodle something, anything. Then, I think of a story why is it hapening and what is hapening. I do some thumbnails, usually a few until I find something that suits me. Then I start the piece.

Hope it helps.

[lewiston]

That really turns out to be quite an interessting thread.
To me a blank white canvas is most of a time the biggest obstacle to overcome. So I try to avoid this blocking by just messing onto that canvas. Wild style. That whole mess I start to examine and try to read things out of I wouldn't have thought of at the beginning. So I start off not with controlling lines and planning things but actually interpretating what came out of some serious messing around. Recently this turned out to be quite a fruitful approach to come up with something that does reflect something inside yourself but still surprises you.

EDIT: I just reconed that I illustrated what Hendric VII said. Maby slightly varied, but anyways - I believe it is a very helpful strategy. And yes - distraction! I have always movies running on my 2nd screen. Have a library of my 20 favorites of which I have all seen at leas a hundred times... Authistic - I know - but deNiros voice just pushes my work for some strange reason...

[Elwell]

(I hope this is the right place to post this...)
Now it is.

[blog]

firstly get rid of the white canvas- craig mullins

[Adarias]

Hendric and lewiston said it perfectly. **** up the page or else you will never get anything good. I scribble, sketch, and even write lightly until I have nailed the composition, or at least gotten it to be enough to work from. then i go back with an eraser and more steady hand and put in the real forms and lights and, it is is a drawing, get rid of all the notes and scribbles that dont help. if its a sketch for a painting or ink drawing, who gives a shit? i leave all the scribbles in place because they add energy. I try to avoid tightening as long as i can so that it doesnt die. I dont worry about perfect until I start putting in finished final elements. and just as a note to the people that get all anal with each line, just because something is permanent like paint (or even ink if its intended for reproduction) doesnt mean you have to place it perfectly the first time. paint over it. when i work in ink, my pages are covered in white paint because it adds a whole new level to be able to work at something from both sides. not just corrections either, but drawing with it.

basically, my method and advice is to jump in with vigor and total abbandon and not worry about anything. if you are working on a piece that you absolutely positively cannot fuck it up or else you die, jump in with total abbandon on another sheet of paper, then transfer all the good stuff to the final page.

hope this helps

[Arne S.]

coffee! lots of coffee!

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[Farvus]

There's lots of good answers here that I agree with.
Whatever method of figure drawing you use, it's very good to learn starting with very light and loose line. This way there is less fear of exploring the shapes.
Bob Kato in DVD - "Drawing the adult male head" explains it much better than me.
Just watch the sample clip :) - http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/bka01.html