Ten-Minute Drawing Techniques

Off-perspective drawing

2010-04-12T12:52:00.002-04:00

In this seminar, I talk about landscape drawing and painting from an unusual perspective.

SUCCESS, WE HAVE BEEN AWARDED MORE TIME!!!!

2009-09-08T18:52:00.004-04:00

Well well well, just when I thought the axe was gonna fall... the Livestream staff came along and SAAAAVED the day! Earlier, my account was in jeopardy because I'd had so much video-on-demand content bandwidth usage of both storage and viewing had pushed me way over the limit of a free account.

But in an ironic twist, that same crazy overuse of bandwidth was probably what drew attention from Livestream staff, and they felt the channel was popular enough to offer a partnership account! No small amount of credit for this serendipitous happening goes to YOU, my viewers!

TL;DR what does this mean?

oh god I am so hungry I will finish this post after a snack
Until then, stay tuned for a more official press release.

Livestream videos going down on Sept. 1st

2009-08-27T18:31:00.001-04:00

Livestream will be enforcing their 10GB limit for free users on Sept. 1st. I'm over that limit by 65.24 GB.

So I'm gonna have to delete a big chunk of those videos by Sept. 1st.

There's way too much footage for me to bother dealing with moving it over to Youtube, so you might as well watch what you can before I take it down.

- Mark

Tinychat

2009-08-11T10:53:00.004-04:00

Livestream's turned out to be only good if I'm doing focused lectures where I'm the only guy working, but it's not so good for critiques and collaborations. And besides that, I've finally got enough of my story worked out that I can actually start working on some designs for story elements.

TL;DR: I'm gonna be broadcasting from early in the morning around 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM at night, Except for Tuesdays when I go out for life drawing.

http://tinychat.com/moatdd

I might do livestream sessions if I have a particular lecture or subject to cover

livestream

2009-05-31T13:39:00.008-04:00

Getting kind of tired of posting Youtube videos since each time I record a video, it eats up a few gigs of hard drive space, takes a while to convert, a while to post, etc. etc. etc...

So now I'm using livestream and teaching people interactively, etc.

I hold broadcasts at random times of the day and don't stick to any particular schedule.

You can view everything RIGHT HERE by hitting the "On-Demand" button on the player below to see past recordings. This is also where you can chat with me or others during live broadcasts (or while others are viewing the prerecorded On-Demand stuff) When I'm on, I'll show up in the chat as "moatdd".

DISCLAIMER: these are totally unscripted chats, and some content/language will offend the easily offended. There's drawn nudity, some sexual themes and stuff I'd consider only suitable for 18+ audiences.

Next Live Session April 11th, 2009 at 20:00 EDT

2009-04-05T02:16:00.001-04:00

The next LIVE TUTORIAL will occur next Saturday April 11th, 2009 at 20:00 EDT(Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Find out when that is in your time zone HERE!

Based on the current poll, the lecture topic will be: "Animation and making stuff move!"

If it doesn't change by show-time, that's what we'll go with. If you'd like something different, then VOTE!

All you need is a Flash browser plugin to join in. You don't even need to sign up for an account on ustream.tv (unless you want a custom username to show up).

Thanks to everyone who showed up! If you missed out, don't sweat it, the recorded sessions are posted on this blog.

Live session: Expression, action, acting, animation & physics

2009-04-05T02:13:00.001-04:00

Live video by Ustream

Next Live Session April 4th, 2009 at 20:00 EDT

2009-04-02T20:47:00.001-04:00

The next LIVE TUTORIAL will occur next Saturday April 4th, 2009 at 20:00 EDT(Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Find out when that is in your time zone HERE!

Based on the current poll, the lecture topic will be: "Expression, Action, Acting, Animation & Physics"

If it doesn't change by show-time, that's what we'll go with. If you'd like something different, then VOTE!

All you need is a Flash browser plugin to join in. You don't even need to sign up for an account on ustream.tv (unless you want a custom username to show up).

Thanks to everyone who showed up on April 1st! If you missed out, don't sweat it.

Here's the recorded session

Art Rage Live Session

2009-04-01T23:15:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who attended the April 1st Art Rage live session!

In case you missed it, don't worry, I recorded it.

Video streaming by Ustream

Live tutorials on UStream.tv

2009-03-31T22:37:00.002-04:00

The next LIVE TUTORIAL will occur Wednesday, APRIL 1st 20:00EST

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/moatddtutorials

And that's no April Fools' joke!

I'll be going over some of my ArtRage techniques (for working from photo ref), and anything else by popular demand.

All you need is a Flash browser plugin to join in. You don't even need to sign up for an account on ustream.tv (unless you want a custom username to show up).

I finally found an actual use for Twitter that isn't along the lines of telling you when I manage to pop a zit on my butt, and that's to tell you all when live tutorial sessions will start.

I also have occasional impromptu sessions, and I'll post those on Twitter as well, in case you happen to be around to catch one. (like that first ever session)

http://twitter.com/le_mec

Cloth and Fabric

2009-03-09T17:24:00.000-04:00

Introduction to Landscapes

2009-02-26T03:56:00.001-05:00

The Basics: what they mean

2009-02-26T03:55:00.001-05:00

Instrument Handling & Coilframe Diagram

2009-01-04T20:55:00.001-05:00

Firearm Concept Art

2008-12-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

Modern Art Vs. Production Art...

2008-12-21T09:36:00.001-05:00

Behind The Scenes

2008-12-21T01:58:00.001-05:00

Seven Common Beliefs about Drawing and Painting

2008-12-08T12:04:00.001-05:00

"Anatomy of a Story" and "Applied Exercises"

2008-11-30T15:43:00.001-05:00

How to write Stories

2008-11-24T05:31:00.001-05:00

Sign up for private lessons on eduFire!

2008-10-29T13:30:00.003-04:00

I just joined an online teaching community called eduFire where I can teach students with Adobe Connect. So now there's something a little more formalized and sensible where you can schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions. I took down my Skype link and the meebo chatroom because I was getting a lot more spam than actual conversation (It was bound to happen thanks to the Internet Hate Machine) and my class has been keeping me pretty busy. Still, I'm probably free maybe a couple hours to talk now and then on eduFire. Of course I still read and respond to the comments you post here to my blog.

Seeing through the "Barrier", "Interpolation & Extrapolation"

2008-10-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

The "Barrier Effect"

2008-10-27T23:56:00.001-04:00

Drawing IN the page, and "Offside Targeting"

2008-10-27T16:39:00.001-04:00

I always say this and that about drawing IN the page, rather than drawing ON the page. Here's my rudimentary attempt to explain...

Youtube Partner Program

2008-10-25T15:29:00.003-04:00

So, I finally qualified for Youtube's Partner Program... After reading through a bunch-o-stuff on their Terms & Conditions, I felt that some of my videos such as the "Derelict" series(which had Winamp playing some Copyrighted music playing in the background) ~~and my photoreference speed painting (which used some of Chris Smart's work~~ and some Style.com reference) were gonna pose some Copyright problems so I voluntarily took the initiative to take 'em down.

Not to worry, I will be rerecording these demos using my own photo reference taken during my travels through Europe. I have a 40-minute speedpainting demo of a church during my visit to Annecy, France that I'm compressing for upload now.

UPDATE: Chris Smart IS TEH OFFICIAL AWESOME GUY!!!
He graciously gave me permission to use his great photographs as reference materials for my video tutorials so I'll be re-uploading just those videos. Anyways, if you're interested in obtaining a hard copy of these inspiring images, check out his book! I'm getting it fo' sure!

ANOTHER UPDATE (last one, promise!): I think I've had a Partner Account for all of um... 24 hours? I was greeted by quite a sight today!

So I want to thank everyone for this little moment of bliss (not that anything is REALLY changing) and to thank you for your comments and questions for past, present and future!

Photoreference Speedpainting Demo

2008-10-21T18:07:00.001-04:00

(For those of you who are wondering where the 3 photoreference speedpaintings went, I removed them because they used photo reference that wasn't mine -- I will rerecord these demos using images I take myself. It'll just take a little while.)

UPDATE: Chris Smart has given me permission to use his photos as reference imagery for these tutorials. So, without further ado, here they are again!

EDIT: I decided to do a 40-minute in-depth speedpaint demo instead, so here it is!

Simplified Painting Theory & Complex Shaders

2008-10-21T14:00:00.001-04:00

~~I removed the one on Complex Shaders because it used photo reference that wasn't mine -- I will rerecord this demo using an image I take myself later~~. DISREGARD THAT, CHRIS SMART ROCKS

Shaders & Materials Photo Practise

2008-10-18T20:39:00.001-04:00

I removed these demos because they used photo reference that wasn't mine -- I will rerecord these demo using images I take myself. It'll just take a little while.

Shaders & Materials

2008-10-18T04:25:00.001-04:00

Gradient Shading Demo 2

2008-10-14T22:51:00.001-04:00

Gradient Shading Demo

2008-10-14T20:39:00.003-04:00

Gradient Shading

2008-10-14T20:39:00.001-04:00

Directional Light Painting

2008-10-11T23:00:00.001-04:00

Thumbnail landscape paintings

2008-10-11T21:34:00.001-04:00

90-Minute Painting

2008-10-11T01:26:00.003-04:00

7 Different ways to show dimension

2008-10-11T01:26:00.001-04:00

(Going the) Distance

2008-10-09T17:09:00.005-04:00

Iterative Model Sheet

2008-10-09T17:09:00.003-04:00

Iterative Drawing

2008-10-09T17:09:00.001-04:00

Depth Drawing

2008-10-09T17:08:00.005-04:00

Parametric Form

2008-10-09T17:08:00.003-04:00

Depth Cues

2008-10-09T17:08:00.001-04:00

Form Landmarking

2008-10-09T17:07:00.001-04:00

From People to Poses...

2008-09-09T19:39:00.003-04:00

From Landscapes to People...

2008-09-09T19:39:00.001-04:00

Landscape Composition

2008-09-09T16:42:00.002-04:00

Landmarking

2008-09-09T16:42:00.001-04:00

Navigation

2008-09-08T22:26:00.002-04:00

How to start a drawing

2008-08-31T17:07:00.000-04:00

Not dead or homeless yet...

2008-08-09T23:06:00.006-04:00

Hi guys,

I know I've been totally off the map lately. A lot has happened. My Cintiq 18SX which I paid $4000 for 5 years ago totally died and I spent over a grand to replace it with a smaller 12WX and I'm a bit at a loss as to how to get NTSC video to show up properly without the screen scrolling or getting cropped. I kinda wish I could get it to show up letterboxed.

In September I'll be teaching online at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. The paperwork isn't finalized so I'm probably jinxing it by talking about it here, but it's just what I've always wanted - to be able to teach people right from my own home.

I finally seem to have put two-and-two together and gotten painting and drawing to kiss and make up and now my process has become an amazing bastard child of colour sketching. If I can get this video to properly letterbox, I'll be glad to pick up where I left off. Okay, and now to show some pictures to show you all how awesome I am (no, not really) as a preview of what'll be covered in future episodes.

Interactive lighting

2008-06-06T16:50:00.003-04:00

(This was the end result)

Picking Colours and Important Colours

2008-06-04T23:13:00.005-04:00

Youtube has added ANNOTATIONS!!! I might've overdone it. Visit the actual videos on Youtube to see annotations. There's so much more you can get out of the video with them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldbrJrdCn2Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6grH54DPN5Q

Workin' on a painting demo...

2008-05-31T07:34:00.005-04:00

I've been struggling the past couple days to get a demonstration video done for painting from photo reference, and I have 2 hours of footage shot, but it's too damn long. I'm just not able to paint fast enough, I waste too much time making mistakes. I know that this series is no longer being held to a 10-minute format, but I sure as hell don't want to drag it out to over an hour!

I've already taken 2 stabs at recording this (both went over an hour) but the results have been getting much better each time. Anyways, here are my most recent failures.

Derelict - 1 Hour painting demo

2008-05-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

One of the things that always bugged me about a lot of painting demos is how they're often sped up and they don't talk about the problems they run into while they paint, and even before they paint. Maybe they don't run into these problems because they're super amazing artists. Well, I'm not a super amazing artist, I'm a normal bloke, so here's a painting demo for normal blokes.

By the way... I'm gonna try and get a video out at least once every two days, mostly because there just aren't any projects out there that seem like they'll be particularly successful. Simply breaking even to pay the rent on a job that won't test my skills as an artist is really just delaying the inevitable, wasting my time and draining my spirit, so I'd much rather spend my time doing what I enjoy (teaching through video tutorials) and doing something that I hope will help me succeed, and I hope helps others succeed.

But, as you can probably see from the donations (on that meter on the right), I might have a tough time doing this as long as I wish. On average, 300 of my videos are watched every day, which in YouTube terms, means I'm getting my ass kicked by the baby kitten videos and the videos where people do bad things to themselves for attention. I really need more exposure and I don't want to go about spamming websites because people get turned off instead.

I feel like I'm only appealing to a tiny portion of my potential audience, but doing stuff like elaborate intros and animated diagrams takes a really long time to produce, not like just jumping in and recording the order of the day. So if anyone's reading this, I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the series and where you'd like to see it go from here.

Exposure, Colour, Specularity

2008-05-28T01:23:00.000-04:00

Puttin' The Two Sticks Together!

2008-05-24T05:26:00.004-04:00

If you're wondering how I came up with that title, watch this

Indirect Lighting

2008-05-23T07:12:00.005-04:00

Recently, I had to monkey my wiring so that I could use an S-Video switchbox to swap between showing my ugly face, and showing my ugly drawings. It took a couple of visits to Active Surplus and I borrowed a Canopus ADVC-100 from Dad! I also have a rats nest of wire to deal with audio because I got fed up with the hissing and buzzing and inconsistent volume levels. Now I just have to stop blowing into the mic!!!

This is only a small slice of the horrendous mess that is my studio.

Direct Lighting

2008-05-22T02:13:00.002-04:00

What to do after you draw the silhouette...

Silhouettes

2008-05-21T19:56:00.002-04:00

Now we begin to bridge the gap between drawing and painting...

I'M NOT DEAD!!!!!

2008-04-30T16:34:00.003-04:00

I had to reupload these to solve the stuttering/jittering...

Online Mentoring

2007-12-16T15:14:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and offered words of consolation over my last journal entry.

Last night I was able to stress-test some web conferencing programs with an animation student who was overseas in the UK and eventually we found something that worked rather nicely.

I have a pretty good idea of how to make this all work and keep it affordable for students and flexible enough for people's schedules so that they don't have to give up their current education or take on part time jobs or sell their organs. ;P

So it's time for a FAQ and an ORQ (Other Relevant Questions) to answer everyone's questions about the online mentoring service I wish to provide. I'll update this journal as necessary and link it in my future journal footers.

FAQ 1: How will I be able to hear the melodious ring of your voice?

Skype seems to have improved its networks over the past few months and the sound quality was surprisingly good without perceptible lag, even overseas.

FAQ 2: But Drawing is a visual thing! Now what?

I'll be using Adobe Connect to send desktop and camcorder imagery to Adobe's servers, which will then be able to broadcast to as much as 15 people simultaneously. Adobe Connect was once known as Macromedia Breeze. Not only can participants view the imagery I send, but at any time, I can allow other participants to present what's on their computer screen for assessment and critique.

FAQ 3: Do I have to install any weird software?

Skype. (PC | Mac | Linux)
A Flash-enabled web browser.
When you log into the conference room, you'll be asked to install the Adobe Connect plugin.
A pressure-sensitive drawing program like Photoshop, OpenCanvas, Sketchbook Pro or ArtRage. I highly recommend ArtRage. The Free version is all you'll need for whatever I teach. The evaluation version of Sketchbook Pro lasts 15 days, but when the time expires you can still use many of the basic features and still save. Autodesk says there's a Linux version available.

FAQ 4: What if I'm using a Mac? How about Linux?
Skype and Adobe Connect are both available for Mac OS X and Linux! Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro and ArtRage are available for Mac OS X, and there's the free GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) for Linux.

FAQ 5: What about hardware?
I strongly recommend getting a headset mic as the quality is much better than standing mics. Logitech makes some good affordable ones. I'm using a $20 headset that's designed for gamers.
I also suggest using headphones instead of desktop speakers or stereo systems because your mic may pick up feedback which may then be amplified to all other participants. screechhh!
A WACOM or Aiptek drawing tablet. I'm using a WACOM Cintiq, but those are often prohibitively expensive. You'll have to shop around, I'm afraid.

FAQ 6: What are your rates?

All listed prices are in $USD
1 Participant: $10/hr
2 Participants: $18/hr
3 Participants: $24/hr
4 Participants: $28/hr
5 Participants: $30/hr

A typical conversation tends to run about 2-3 hours.

FAQ 7: How do I pay?

You'll need a PayPal account. Skype Prime Beta will handle the tracking of the amount of time used, and handles all the PayPal stuff.

FAQ 8: All set up. Now how do I contact you and get started?

The button below shows my current online status. If it says: "I'm Online!" then it means I'm logged into Skype and available to teach! Also, you might want to check out the webcam image below, which is updated every 30 seconds. I promise never to traumatize you by parking my insectoid body in front of the camera while nekkid.

Just click to get started.

FAQ 9: I'm still not convinced. How do I know this service is worth it?

Call me anyways and show me some of your work. We'll talk for a while with the meter off. If you feel you're learning a lot of useful things and that you'd like something more regular, then we'll find a way to schedule online meetings at a rate you find economically reasonable.

Out of a job...

2007-12-15T03:04:00.000-05:00

After two great semesters of teaching, the college where I'm working will be closed down by the corporation that owns it due to a lack of enrollment. They're not taking any new students but they'll keep the school open until the current students graduate, which will be around March 2009.

In my case, as a first-term concept art teacher, that might mean that my own contract will be up in a couple weeks -- maybe more, but I dare not hope for more until I get something in writing. When this is all over, I will most likely not be finding another school to teach at, and become a private teacher instead.

Why teach privately? Well, let's look at some of the reasons I like classroom teaching over internet tutorials:

1: There's nothing like receiving blank stares from students to tell me that I'm going too fast, being too cryptic, or I'm being boring.

2: Having an audience really motivates me to study even harder. I'm amazed at how much simpler and clearer my understanding of drawing has become. I've learned that in order to master something, you should always be prepared to be reintroduced to it. There's a lot of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo and misinformation being repeated in many drawing books that needs to be straightened out. Repeating this tripe to students doesn't help.

3: Drawing for a LIVE audience is not for the faint of heart. I study and practise until I can reliably perform even under duress. The fear of screwing up in public is what motivates me.

4: I get to interact with people. Those few enthusiastic and bright and inquisitive students... I love helping them. It's so rewarding.

5: It's great to make people laugh.

Now, there are a few inescapable things that come with teaching at any school.

1: College has changed. It no longer holds the same esteem or prestige it used to -- it's no longer a place where only the especially bright and motivated go. It's become more of a rite of passage for everyone, and I mean everyone. A lot of people don't go to college because they want to learn. They go because they want to make more money, because the good jobs seem to require some sort of degree. People see college degrees as a product to be purchased, rather than as an achievement to be earned.

2: I get students who don't want to learn, who want to be told things they already know. They want to be reassured in their current ways. I can't stand a person who is averse to adversity. Worst of all, those who are bad students feel that they are entitled to good grades. They want to use my class to bring up their lousy average.

3: There are 15-20 students in each class. I see each student for 2-3 hours a week. I may see 135-180 different students in a given week. You can only dilute knowledge to a certain degree before it becomes useless.

Every school will have these problems and despite these problems I still love teaching, but in my heart of hearts, I know that if I continue on like this, I will become frustrated. I detest problems that remain unsolved, especially since I have it within my power and responsibility to solve them, for the betterment of myself and those few, bright students.

So I have decided to become a private teacher. How much will my rates be?

$15.00/hr - individual tutoring
$20.00/hr - 2 people ($10.00 a head)
$24.00/hr - 3 people ($8.00 a head)
$28.00/hr - 4 people ($7.00 a head)
$30.00/hr - 5 people ($6.00 a head)

Public lecture: $40.00/hr

I live in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), near the beaches. All lessons will be held at my residence, newsprint pads and pencils and use of equipment is included. I will be teaching draughtsmanship and digital painting, and it will be a pay-as-you-go service.

I will also be offering teaching over internet, but students will need a high-speed internet connection, a drawing tablet and a telephone. I will be able to teach up to 10 people simultaneously, people can just watch and listen, but the more people asking questions well... let's make the best use of the time. Payment will be via paypal at a flat rate of $20.00/hr. Professional constructive criticism isn't something I can flaunt freely anymore, unfortunately. In the end I always descend into hour-long diatribes that eventually become instructional lessons.

Of course, people can still always ask me questions online, but I may or may not reply, depending on my time.

Lastly, I suppose I'll have time to work on that DVD of tutorials that I've put off for so long and maybe a book...

Ug, maybe I should advertise on Craigslist...

On Teaching...

2007-07-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of updates... I bet a lot of you are wondering if I plan to keep working on TMDT, and my answer is: I do.

I've learned a lot more about teaching since my first two weeks at college in front of a class of about 18 people -- many of them beginners, and some of them are not particularly interested in drawing but they're there as part of the school curriculum requirements.

The first thing I learned about teaching which has become my 'cardinal rule of teaching' is that NOBODY likes to hear a lecture, especially if it has to do with the basic principles. Rather, it's better if we just dive bass-ackwards and flailing into drawing the fun stuff that we really want to draw, die on impact (because we don't know any of the basics), identify all the problems that result of our lack of the bare minimum and try not to make the same mistakes again.

So what does this spell for the future of the series? Hopefully nothing bad -- I intend to continue teaching basic principles, but instead of isolating principles, I'd prefer to do a demo that calls upon some principles that I want to teach. It's gonna be rather tough to spot all the possible things that can go wrong, but fortunately my unfortunate students are there to show me all of the things I know that I take for granted.

Another part of me wants to write a book, but teaching seems to require the kind of feedback that comes from a person-to-person conversation. Beginners also carry this shyness about their work -- they worry too much that a drawing will turn out "badly" and they spend a lot of time on tight linework and minute detail in an effort to shore up their work. I think if we're going to make any progress in the next class tomorrow I'm gonna have to find some way to open up that shell...

Ten-Minute Drawing -- LIVE!!!

2007-06-28T20:37:00.000-04:00

Streaming Webcams - solution by Camstreams

Well well.... It seems that if you have Windows Media Player working on your computer (sorry for all non-windows users...) you can watch my screen live and talk to me through the meebo chat on the sidebar. There's about a ten-second delay for my audio/video so I'll seem a bit laggy. If you see me online in the chat you can pop me a question and I can turn on the screen-camera. This wonderful webcam relay service was provided free by Camstreams. Ain't technology wonderful?

Anyways, I can't have it going at all times (it's gotta be turned off while I record episodes and surf the web or play games but I'll try and stay in the chat app as much as possible)

Episode 203 - Defining and constructing in space

2007-06-28T00:47:00.000-04:00

Oops. Ran out of time. Next episode: a demo of drawing a room with some furniture in it!

Season 2, Episode 2 - Points In Space

2007-06-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

Moving on... how can we get that feeling of depth with nothing but points?

Next up -- we'll use this technique to construct an environment.

Season 2, Episode 1 - Introduction To Drawing

2007-06-23T23:39:00.000-04:00

Do not adjust your set... I restarted the series because I found better ways to explain drawing which made all the previous episodes rather obsolete.

I'll still leave them up for people to watch, though. I'm also recording all of these at NTSC resolution so that when I have enough episodes to fill up a DVD, anyone who has donated $30.00 or more will be entitled to a signed copy.

Of course someone will probably digitize and upload the DVD to a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Oh well. I can hardly make rent as it is these days so I'll have to find other ways to stay alive. I'm thinking of setting up an online mentoring service, or maybe I can find schools that would buy the DVD in large quantities or start a webcomic and sell a hardcopy paper version of it...

Episode Reboot...

2007-06-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

I came back from Italy with a very different outlook on drawing, and I suddenly feel that all of the current episodes are outdated and overcomplicated. I won't bore you with stories of my internal struggles but I'll share my points of view with you so that you can view the information from the existing videos in a new light.

*Takes a deep breath*

Every blank sheet of paper contains an alternate universe. These universes are empty, and waiting for us to fill them. Although it's only a mere layer of paper, the barrier is enough to stop any physical object from penetrating into the alternate universe. However the mind, aided with the eyes is capable of passing through the barrier and living in the imaginary universe contained within the paper.

The purpose of Drawing (or many other visual mediums like television and movies and video games) is:

To make the audience forget about themselves and what's going on around them in mundane reality.

AND

To immerse them in the alternate reality that we create.

At least, that's my ultimate goal, and what the series is here to help you achieve.

Drawing itself is:

The act of selecting and structuring situational information according to a specific point of view.

AND

Presenting that structured information to others via optical illusions on flat visual mediums.

Oo. Heavy. Let's have that in ENGLISH!

Right now I'm sitting in my studio in front of my computer with my shirt off and the air conditioner roaring at full blast on a hot summer's day. I'm fully aware of my current situation in mundane reality, but only because of information gathered from my senses of sight and sound and touch, etc. etc. I can't possibly know EVERYTHING that's going on around me because my senses only tell me so much -- so if I want to recreate my experience for another person, I must select and convey ONLY the information gathered from my perspective and NO MORE!

When you start TELLING people bits of information that can't possibly be experienced from the point of view that you've chosen, then something will feel off and people will fall out of the existence you create and land unceremoniously back in their own mundane existence. This is what happens when you try and draw both eyes on a head when the head is turned at an angle where only one eye is visible. Sorry Picasso. That's one of the reasons Neo-Cubism and the way children draw is less than convincing.

Now you also have to structure (or arrange) that information according to how it will be perceived from that same point of view. This is what we call Drawing Things In Perspective, and it's where we take into consideration the spatial position of things relative to one another AND include our own spatial position in the equation! Everything MUST be drawn in perspective. We MUST be aware of where things sit in space relative to us or things will look out of place and break the illusion and our imaginary universes will collapse into a totally bogus un-magical flap of paper with pigment smeared on it. Painting and shading and rendering are all ways to reinforce that illusion, but if you do a bad job, they can serve as ways to break that illusion.

When it comes to figuring out just where to place things relative to you, you can act on your internal sense of placement. You have this sense and use it all the time (well if not, you'd be ramming into obstacles all the time and we might as well give up all hope of drawing if such is the case). You can shut your eyes and sense how far away the walls are from your head. You can probably hear things going on around you and sense where they are, relative to you. You can sense mosquitoes buzzing right past your ear and sense where cars are passing you on the street.

So when you must imagine where something is placed on the page, you have to invoke this same sense and try to imagine where this object is sitting relative to something else in paperverse and where everything is sitting relative to you. You have to be situationally aware at all times when drawing, and that means aware of what's going on around you in the paperverse.

Every time you draw, you're creating an optical illusion for the purpose of engaging the viewer in a transaction of sorts. You're feeding information into one of the senses so that that person will forget about their own situation and get sucked into yours, but if you do something unexpected and disobey the rules of the transaction, bam. Bogus paper. Try not to tax the good-will of the audience by arbitrarily introducing flaws into your work.

And the final thing I want to say about drawing is that it should never be arbitrary or random. I see people doing this all the time (and I keep catching myself from bad old ingrained habits) and that's making forced strokes. That's like throwing handfuls of darts at a dartboard to try and get a bulls-eye. Even if one dart hits the mark, the hundreds of other darts peppering the outer parts of the board and the wall and floor and innocent bystanders are not going to generate the impression that you are a marksman. If you don't know what you should be doing, look at the rest of the drawing to see what needs to be added and WHERE it needs to be added. I try and make it a point not to stare into blank voids on the paper, instead focusing my eyes on something else I've already drawn and then using my peripheral vision to sense where the pen is in relation to that one object.

That's the problem with these drawing videos. When you watch me draw, I'm pretty much in the dark as you guys are as to what the final image will look like except only I know what I'm trying to accomplish. I have to explain the reasons for my actions or they'll seem arbitrary. After all, you can see what I'm doing, so there's no need to explain THAT. How many times have I seen drawing videos where the guy draws a head and says: "I draw the head" then he draws a torso and says: "then I draw the torso" etc.... graaghhhh it makes my blood boil just a little.

Anyways I really want to get started with the new series soon so thanks everyone for all your input... I have a lot of people I have to get back to so maybe tonight I can do that. Until next time!

Free Toronto Seminars/Lectures

2007-06-14T18:51:00.000-04:00

New email address:

tenminutedrawing AT moat-dd DOT com

New facebook group

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2370758843

You can join and post images for critique -- not for the faint of heart! I won't mince words, but I'll do my best to help you in the right direction.

Things are moving along smoothly with the International Academy of Design and Technology, all the papers are in order, with my first class starting July 9th, 2007. Before then, I'd really like to get some dry runs in teaching groups of people so I'm offering free drawing seminars and lectures to people in the Toronto area.

This is not the usual "drawing-get-together" type meeting as I will be giving actual lessons and live demonstrations. You only need to bring a reliable writing/drawing utensil (I suggest a ballpoint pen that gives a steady line or a fountain pen or a fineliner -- pencils tend to smudge and working carefully obviates erasers.) and a pad of 8.5x11" paper or a sketchbook. Portable chairs are a good idea for our days outdoors, and you can get good ones with a seat back (don't get armrests) at MARATHON OUTDOORS for only $20.00 after taxes. A wide-brimmed straw hat does wonders for sunny days and it'd be a wise thing to have some strong sunblock with you.

I have yet to select a location, but for everyone's sake the lessons will be held at night or on the weekend and if there's daylight and good weather (It's summer, after all) we may draw on the University of Toronto campus or along the lake shore or the beaches. If it's at night, or the weather is awful then the lectures will be held at Chapters or in the Eaton Centre or some place indoors with a lot of space and places to sit without being harassed by security guards.

Join the facebook group to learn about upcoming lectures and maybe we'll be able to vote on a place and time for the seminars.

Back From Italy...

2007-06-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, I just got back from a 12 day trip to Italy... My head's stuffed full of ideas regarding structure and composition, and how to draw landscapes and scenery from the imagination.

In other news, I had a rather successful interview at the International Academy of Design and Technology and will start teaching concept art and programming (and other various subjects) for their video game course in Mid-July. The job itself is a part-time engagement, so I feel that Ten-Minute-Drawing Techniques will not suffer in any way. Rather, it'll help me to hone the lessons a little better.

2007-05-12T15:39:00.000-04:00

Episode 17 - Drapery
This tutorial is an attempt to explain the way fabric behaves and includes a short clothing drawing demo.

This episode was edited together rather than taken as one long cut. I also recorded everything at DV resolution. I feel this new format can teach more within the 10-minute time limit (less ramble, more content, better structure). I'm extra curious to hear everyone's thoughts on the new episode format.

2007-05-07T04:12:00.000-04:00

Getting a job...

Sorry about the lack of updates, folks... I've had some problems with my capturing setup and trying to deal with the audio skipping. Anyways it seems to have been solved so I can continue the episodes again soon.

On the plate are:

hands
heads
drapery
hair
ellipses in perspective

Also I would like to start a 10-minute painting techniques series soon.

Mundane reality is starting to set in and money's starting to run out. I have to do annoying life-changing things like getting a job so I can keep doing this.

I'm considering releasing NTSC 30fps versions of the series on DVD and direct download at $2.00 per episode. I might even go through the trouble of editing out my bad dialogue and do things in multiple takes so you don't have to endure my mumbling. The main issue that's stopping me is that I know how the internet is -- you can watch high-definition bootlegged movies on broadband and really anything I do can be easily traded around. However, I don't really like the idea of putting up these goofy warnings and getting involved in Copyright law because, well, I'm a guy who doesn't particularly like the Movie And Film Industry Associations (MAFIA) and so I don't feel so good trying to follow their example.

Unfortunately, it still leaves me without a brass razoo to my name. The principle of internet content is that it wants to be freely available and that it's counterproductive to go against it. So really, all I can rely on are donations (so far the counter is still $0.00) so maybe I can't rely on that, either. It would sure be great if I had some sponsors (although I know that many people dislike advertising. I myself use an Adblocker.)

So now I ask my viewers: What IS worth paying for on the internet? What do I have that I can offer that would be worth both my time and your money?

For now I'm applying to a few local colleges for a drawing instructor's position. My biggest problem right now is I don't have much evidence to corroborate my capability as a teacher. If you would like to help me out, you can write what you think of the series and post your reply to this message. Please use a spell-checker as I will be forwarding these to my prospective employers (I wish to avoid fixing grammar and spelling because it makes me seem like I'm doctoring my references). That alone would be a lot of help, you don't have to write up a massive essay.

Anyways, I hope to have episode 17 up soon, but it's 04:38AM right now and I gotta crash and send out some resumés...

2007-03-26T04:10:00.000-04:00

Episode 16 - Contrast
Principles and Applications of Contrast

2007-03-26T04:09:00.001-04:00

Episode 15 - Drawing Philosophy
My mental process for drawing

2007-03-26T04:06:00.001-04:00

Episode 14 - Doodling
Doodling in 3D

2007-03-26T02:51:00.000-04:00

Episode 13 - Posing
Figure drawing for storytelling...

2007-02-28T19:57:00.000-05:00

Episode 12 - Figure Drawing Demo
I draw a couple of figures and explain the process...

2007-02-28T19:56:00.000-05:00

Episode 11 - Introduction to Figure Drawing!
Woo!!!!! Fun!!! Learn some of the basic principles of figure drawing...

2007-02-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

Episode 10 - HOMEWORK!
This is a set of exercises to help you get warmed up and in the zone for drawing.

2007-02-23T02:25:00.001-05:00

Episode 09 - Introduction to Backgrounds (4/4)

2007-02-23T02:24:00.002-05:00

Episode 09 - Introduction to Backgrounds (3/4)

2007-02-23T02:24:00.001-05:00

Episode 09 - Introduction to Backgrounds (2/4)

2007-02-23T02:23:00.000-05:00

Episode 09 - Introduction to Backgrounds (1/4)

2007-02-23T02:22:00.000-05:00

Episode 08 - Halfway Points Add depth to a single line!

2007-02-23T02:21:00.000-05:00

Episode 07 - SCULPTING!!! Now you use everything you learned in the previous episodes

2007-02-23T02:20:00.002-05:00

Episode 06 - Camera Perspective Part Trois

2007-02-23T02:20:00.001-05:00

Episode 05 - Camera Perspective Part Deux

2007-02-23T02:19:00.001-05:00

Episode 04 - Camera Perspective

2007-02-23T02:17:00.000-05:00

Episode 03 - More Perspective Principles

2007-02-23T02:16:00.000-05:00

Episode 02 - Field Of Vision -- This tutorial will attempt to explain the perspective principle of Field Of Vision.

2007-02-23T01:55:00.000-05:00

Episode 01 - Point To Point -- for those of you who are tired of making messy drawings or painfully etching out lines that wind up being way off course: