Life Drawing

Anyone working in the animation industry will probably tell you that drawing people in real life is some of the best practice you can get. It's all there in front of you. The pose, gesture, body shapes, proportions, attitude, costume, and all their stuff. And you have to draw it fast, really fast, which in itself is good practice. I'm doing a bit of character design work right now and I can tell you that this kind of practice is very good for you. What's so useful about life drawing is that the people are always moving. You only have a few seconds to get down the pose that you saw before they move again, and this forces you to finish most of it from memory - and that is where you learn ! When you get warmed up you can glance at a person for a second and see everything you'll need to finish the drawing.

These pages were done last summer at a nearby mall. The reason I'm drawing most of the people from the back or side is because I'm trying to avoid that awkward moment where the person you are drawing sees that you are drawing them. And of course the worst case scenario after that is when they come over to see how you've drawn them. This can happen so you'll need to be careful. The people around you will occasionally pick up on the fact that you are drawing but if you haven't been looking at them, they will probably leave you alone. You might even get a compliment if you're having a good day.

I haven't had a chance to get out there lately but I'm really hoping to do some more mall drawing very soon. Maybe I'll see you out there. I'll be the guy hiding behind his sketchbook.  ;)

More soon.