Into the Oubliette, an art journey with Ostrander, or...

[Ostrander]

Oh No's, Ostrander lends a hand with some arts!! *Gasp!!*

Learning about visual storytelling, composition, lighting and some other stuffs pertaining to illustration. Some other stuffs too, for seasoning! Blah blah...lets drawer!

Teacher-ish guy: Glen

Student-ish folks:
Abigbat
sony
Cyclop3000
Nerahla
Killer Napkins

I just want to point out if it's not too obvious already that I'm not a teacher (but I play one on TV!).
I hold BFA degree in Illustration and Visual Communications. I'm a designer by day and a freelancer by night. I know a few things but not everything. I'm not Ashley Wood, James Jean, or any of the artists at the top of the CA page. (insert favorite cutting/new/edge artist of the day here). I'm just a regular guy with some decent skills that likes telling stories and making stuff up, plain and simple. I can't do the work for you. I'll try and help where I think you need it most. And I will try and push what you've already got. I don't want anyone to not like what they're doing, but sometimes it's unavoidable. You never know when you may need to take a freelance job that requires you to draw the instructions for how to put a Bar-B-Q gas grill together in order to pay for the emergency room visit your kid just went to. It happens...

There's a real world out there beyond here. But I also want you to have fun, I want everyone to try and get some certain amount of pleasure out of their art regardless of the subject. Studies are one thing. They are a necessity, as are gesture drawing, foundational/constructive anatomy and figure drawing. But we aren't going to go through that here. I'm going to assume you have an understanding of the foundations already. If not there are many books and even threads here that cover those fundamentals. I'm not going to provide that in this thread. That type of study is life-long and intense. You can do it on your own time. I will be more than happy to offer suggestions of books to help you on your way. I can help you if I see you're having some trouble with your figures and poses, compositions, value and color. But I'm not going to start at the most basics. If this is a problem squeak now or forever eat your peas.

Please understand, I'm not going to be a replacement for art college/uni or an Atelier Method. I will more than likely be the equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries then a 4 course Filet Mignon dinner that art school can provide. I'm just going to pass on what I know. I'm only going to provide insight and guidance with your art. Not your hair. But also understand that my opinion is completely subjective, as is everyone else's. Nothing I say should be considered the be all end all. There are too many roads to take to reach the end and which one you choose is up to you.

With that said, I have 5 folks who I managed to sucker into this. Once we have our 1st five we'll move along. If there is no more room and you're still interested feel free to PM me, I may open it up to 5 more after I see how the 1st project goes. I will come up with a lesson plan in the next few days and post the 1st lesson Sunday night-ish Nov. 4. The lessons will be 2 weeks each. One week for pencils/value/composition and working out all the problems related to your image and the 2nd week will be the "finish it" week.

Introductions should be made here. Name, age, art experience, etc.
Post your 3 best pics and explain what you would like to get out of the course.

Lets have some fun!
Glen

[sony]

Hi Glen,

I am Yahya, 25 and have done masters in multimedia arts.did my bachelors in computer science, i have been drawing even in my pure computer theory based classes. I was a kind of self taught before going to an art college. Currently working in an animation studio. Mostly work for 3d Architectural visualizations.

Things I think about my work
Would love to learn about the visual storytelling, i know i am really really bad at it. I can manage colors if i have to choose 3 to 4 for designing and stuff. I can compose things in an interesting manner[pleasing to eyes]. I do get stuck in forcing a design under given points. I am bad at expressions, when i draw characters they look dead

Samples






I liked the word Oubliette[a secret dungeon with an opening only in the ceiling, as in certain old castles.]

let the fun begin

[Nerahla]

So yay! I got in the last spot! I am so happy!

Alright, so about me:

I'm 34, married to a great husband for the past 12 years with 3 kids and two years ago, this month in fact, I decided I wanted to learn to draw and paint. I had done ZERO before then. What I had done all my life was try to find the right path to channel this... something... inside me. Tried acting, writing, screenwriting, graphic design and then finally it occurred to me that I wanted to create all these images I was always admiring.

I was one of those kids that drew and drew and drew ALL THE TIME as a kid - but around 8-10 years old, when the left brain kicks in, and you start realizing 'gee, that doesn't look like a bird' so you start trying to draw a real looking bird and it goes so badly and I quit. But I never wanted to.

Anyway so yeah, it's been two years and lots and LOTS of reading. I took 1 community college course (Drawing 101) in Jan-May 06. I've scoured and scoured the forums here and on CGtalk - acquired numerous friends who've helped me learn and one really close friend who has helped me a ton. I've recently just completed a class at Schoolism.com with Bobby Chiu - Digital Painting - and I think I learned quite a bit (in fact one of my samples is the final piece submitted for that class - lineart for the creature only by Bobby, the rest was drawn/painted by me)

So I've done the best that I can with what limited time/location I've got. I am willing to do whatever it takes, save ignoring my family, to get better.

What I am looking for is eventually - a career in illustration/book covers/TCG cards. What I really need help on are (obviously) anatomy - but that's well mended by more practice on my part -- and MOSTLY, learning to be more creative with my design - i.e. the details. The little touches. The /stuff/ in the painting. I am decent with the broad strokes. Breaking the whole thing down and adding final touches I am /terrible/ at. Costuming, items, stuff, adornments, decor, accessories, you name it, I can't think of it. Or if I think of it, I suck at detailing it.

Anyway enough JABBER.

Here are some samples but please please look at the whole gallery too to get a real idea of where I am at.

[Cyclop3000]

Ok, my turn. First thanks much Glen for the help you are about to give us, that's amazing! And nice meeting you fellow student-ish folks

Name's Stephane, I am 32, husband to a wonderful wife and father of 2 lovely kids. I live in Canada, near Montreal. I've been doodling and painting since I was a kid, but never really studied in art, just self-taught...the result is a definite passion for art and a fair amount of experience, but I lack the more technical and subtle aspects. Technical, I try to learn from books and videos...that's the easy part. What's hard to learn are the subtleties...which, I think, only a mentor or fellow artist can help you understand. So here I am!

Lightning, composition, values, colors...those are things that I need to work on. I can reproduce pretty much anything, at any size. That's easy. I've done a lot, from small to wall-size paintings. I have original art, of course, but it doesn't come easy. Trial and error. So I end up with a ton of unfinished drawings because I don't feel they are right. But there are some good examples of my work, believe it or not hehe... So far i've used oils, watercolors, and ink...did a lot of comic-type drawings in pencil and ink at one point. Lately I've also used Photoshop, I find it's a good alternative to painting with usual mediums...it's quicker, easier, and more forgiving. Very good for learning

My goals related to art? Get better, lots better, being able to practice something I love doing, and maybe one day get paid for doing it...so this way I can afford even more time for my art

I am fed up of the burgers, time to have a taste of the 4 course Filet Mignon dinner !!!

[Killer Napkins]

Well .. Im glad i found someone that can help me out... I don't know much about illustration and how one goes about creating an illustration...

my name is Jason Im 20 and im in my 3rd year of my Fine art Major at FLo-Valley Community College.. and I plan on transferring to somewhere awesome in the Fall (lookign toward Ringling, SVA, or SFAI), but, I'm looking to transfer into an Illustration Major... I really havent took any illustration courses at my school cuz in my opinion... our illustration courses are quite weak... and our Fine arts is amazing ... anyhoo...

my goals to get out of this... I just want someone to challenge me.. teeach me some techniques and learn about how to become an illustrator... basically prepare me for when im outta school somewhat.. anything thatll challenge me will just be awesome... Im also interested learning some digital paitning and lighting techniques... i have had trouble with lighting and color when it comes to that... but anyhoo... . here is a few things ive done...

[abigbat]

Hello guys, I'm Paul, I'm 21 years of age and I'm looking at becoming a professional illustrator/concept artist. I graduated Dundee University with a BA Hons in Animation this summer but swiftly came to the conclusion that I prefered the design and concept aspect of my work, so while I will certainly keep up with my animation work I really want to push a career in that area.

Artistically I came from a traditional painting background studying at school and then recently discovered the wonderful world of digital art. I now work in a combination of Painter X and Photoshop CS3 and love the freedom it offers me. As for my goals, I hope to become more proficient in every aspect of my work so that I may produce a varied and attractive portfolio. I haven't really tried my hand at much environment painting and I think that is an area I will have to focus on.

I'd like to say a big thanks to Ostrander for setting this thread up and hello to all my fellow "classmates", I'm greatly looking forward to working with you and seeing what we all produce!

[Ostrander]

Great to have you guys on board! Just to make sure, does everyone have either photoshop or painter?

[Cyclop3000]

Yup, I do. All ready for first assignment

[sony]

HI all, yes i have access to both painter™ photoshop©.

[Nerahla]

Yep. Photoshop here, I have the Painter Demo but I can't make heads or tails of it hehe

[Killer Napkins]

yep.. i only have photoshop.. i need to get my hands on that painter program

[abigbat]

I do indeed, I use CS3 and X respectively

[Ostrander]

Project #1: The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Create a classic interpretation or a modern retelling. The choice is yours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Billy_Goats_Gruff
This illustration exercise is to get you to think about character interaction and expression
and drawing the viewer into the scene. How can you convey what you want with a single image?
The result should be a satisfying illustration worth adding to your portfolio.


Week 1:
Thumbnails/ Brainstorming:
10-12 thumbnails horizontal or vertical. Post all for review on Monday.
Thumbnail enlargement and sketch revision process (I'll post with pics)
Finished line drawing for review and critique. (due Wednesday)
Value study comps to determine light source. (due Saturday)
Critiques/paint overs/comments will be posted back to you on Sunday.
Week 2:
Color studies (small thumbnails of your finished line and value studies to be colored) 2 or 3 to determine best color scheme (due Tuesday for review)
Go over techniques for coloring gray scale images.( I'll post links and pics on Wednesday)
Finish color illustration to be due on Saturday for review/critiques posted Sunday.
New project posted Sunday night.

This is a first run lesson plan, hopefully it will work out. This is all new for me so I'm sure there will be some bumps along the way. I'm guessing that you'll need to put a minimum of at least 6 hours of work in each week. I hope you can all manage that. I realize that you all have a life outside of here, as do I. So we'll see how things go. I really would like to see you all get some nice work out of this to add to your portfolios. If any of you have any questions or anything let me know in the thread or by PM. Either is fine.
Have fun!

Best,
Glen


***Anyone who has PM'd outside of these 5 people I'm mentoring at the moment can follow along, just please refrain from posting in the thread. If you would like to follow along you can post in your SB and send me a PM and I will gladly stop by and crit.***

[sony]

Hi, I was out of station for meeting with the client, anyway i did got some and did some sketches , thumbs, i thought about the happening in the illustration.i am stuck with more variety in the thumbs and need c&c, am i on right track for illustration?

DAY 1

[Ostrander]

Hey Sony, you're on the right track. Keep plugging away. Try some ideas in a vertical format as well as horizontal. Think about if you want to focus on the characters and make the image more cropped in on the goats and the troll, or do you want to show more of a scene? These are choices that you should be thinking about when working up your thumbnails. The thumbnail stage should be very general and quick. Ideally, you should be able to get through this stage within an hour. When you have all of your thumbnails, number them and post them up and we can discuss which has the potential of being a strong illustration and we'll move on to step 2 tomorrow.

[Nerahla]

Oh god, I am so sorry my sketching is UTTER CRAP. I don't sketch well at all, I'm /very sorry/. However, thumbs are just for the general plumbing the depths of ideas, so that's what I tried to do.

[Ostrander]

No problem! This is the idea behind the thumbnailing brainstorming step. Just to get the general in place and the ideas out on the page.

[Ostrander]

Remember, you're the director, the cameraman, the lighting director, the visual effects wizards all rolled into one. You have an unlimited budget. You picked the cast, the location. How dramatic is this scene? Is it comical? Terrifying? It's all up to you. Look at your thumbnails and think about what it might look like if you turned the camera around or swung it out and placed it low along the ground. Or up from above at a slight angle? How does this improve your scene? Can you still see that characters? Does it make your image more powerful? It's important to think about these things in the thumbnail stage. If you see something you don't like in one, move on. If you see several things in a few that you like, combine them. Don't settle. The point is to keep thinking and get those creative juices flowing. To not be satisfied with the first thing that comes to mind and to push your ideas. I'll check back with you all in the morning, hopefully everyone will post all the thumbnails they can so we can move along to deciding which thumbnails would be worth taking to a sketch level.
Keep it up guys, remember you'll only get out of this what you're willing to put in. If there's issues with time (or time zones for that matter), let me know. Nothing's written in stone, but I can't hold up the people who are participating on time.

Best,
Glen

[Cyclop3000]

Alright, here are my thumbs. I do have to say that it was a little tight scheduled for me, with the kids et all. But hey, I made it! At first I was not sure if you were expecting just very fast sketches, or an actual beginning of a drawing...so some of the thumbs have more details. As I read you last couple posts, I figured you were only aiming for composition, and not details, so I used my usual method for composition..."shapy" characters

Discuss !

[Ostrander]

Hey gang,
Would you all be more comfortable making this project a 3 week experience?
Week 1 would be working on thumbnails and developing a sketch.
Week 2 would be a finished line drawing with values.
Week 3 would be the final week for rendering.

I'm open to suggestions, or are you all OK with the time frame?
My point being is I would rather take more time to make sure in the end you walk away with a successful image. Let me know your thoughts.


Best,
Glen

[sony]

now i got it, thanks Glen . i did more thumbnails, i think i got stuck with A4 paper layout will try more variety in carves sizes.

[Nerahla]

I am perfectly fine with a two week assignment But I'm a stay at home Mom with plenty of time, so. Whatever works for most is fine with me

[Cyclop3000]

Ostrander, you are the Master Jedi here. But since you ask for our opinion...

I do think that 3 weeks would be better, especially with 5 of us mentees. I am not sure what the next step is, do we wait for your comments/feedback, or do we keep going on our own? From your assignment post I was under the impression that you were going to comment each of our thumbs. It's already Tuesday night and the "Thumbnail enlargement and sketch revision process (I'll post with pics)", and "Finished line drawing for review and critique. (due Wednesday)" are not yet started.

So yep, if you ask me I think we need more time. But hey it's ok, time is good. As you said, better take our time and make the most out of this opportunity for mentoring! Oh and I can't wait for critique and details on the next part of the assignment...

Thanks!

[Killer Napkins]

well heres my thumbs... umm 2 weeks or 3 weeks ... eitehr or... time is good..

[abigbat]

Three weeks would be better for me, I'm currently working on two design projects and two illustrations :s

I shall have my thumbs up by friday, I hope that's alright. Cheers

[Ostrander]

Ok guys, I'm going to go with the 3 weeks as it's more realistic in terms of my schedule.
I'm going to make a few suggestions right now to each of you for you to move on to a more refined sketch.
Here are some comments for each of you so far. I may add to these comments throughout the day so check back.
Review my comments, pick one and flesh it out.


Nerahla-
I like what's going on in a few of your thumbs.


Cyc3000- I'd play round with the ideas in my comments.


Sony-
Keep working on some more ideas.


Killer Napkins- Try coming up with something based on my comments.


I will post up the thumbnail to sketch process when I get home. Thanks for your patience.

Best,
Glen

[Cyclop3000]

Not fair, it looks so simple to you You are right my environments are kindof static, too parallel...

Alright great comments, thanks a lot. I will re-work a few tonight and tomorrow!

[chaosrocks]

hehehe--- poacher sneaking in ..but I claim executive priveledge. This is a great project. i am greatly enjoying watching the whole process. Keep at it guys. With Glen's help you might just end up leveling up with your art. Good work
Chaos

[Nerahla]

I totally hope so Chaos

Ostrander!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MAH GOD!

What you did to my thumb is like EXACTLY what I WANT to do, and yet for some reason, CANNOT. So when I saw this, I was like YES!! Then I felt like crap instantly because I can't seem to come up with dynamic scenes myself. Is it really just a matter of practice? I hope so.

I'd LOVE to run with this one, it really feels like what I WANTED to draw but couldn't -- but really this more dynamic concept is your thumb. What should I do?

[Ostrander]

Chaos, you're too nice.
Nerahla- It will take some practice. You'll need to imagine what you're seeing and be able to visualize it from a different perspective. Don't be afraid to fail. Ever. Failing at this stage is what you want in a sense. Get those bad/awkward/obvious ideas out on the page. It's all about thinking at this stage, visualizing, mapping out what you want to do/show. It's OK if its sloppy or unrefined. That doesn't matter. It's all about your idea. Doing what you did was fine. It got the idea out. As an example, all I did was take what you had done and turned the camera a bit and tweaked the perspective. It will still take practice, I'm not saying this comes easy, there will be more bad ideas than good, but you need to just keep at it. The more you do it the more you'll develop an eye for what you're doing. I'm fine with you moving on to a sketch from here with the revised thumbnail.

I'll post the thumb to sketch tutorial in a little bit.

Good Luck!

Best,
Glen