Announcement: Lesson Topics and Resource Videos/Books
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/2hpggx/announcement_lesson_topics_and_resource/
2014-09-28 16:28
Uncomfortable
So with Lesson 6 (posted last week), I hit the end of the material I had that pertains to Dynamic Sketching. As many of you know, I was following the curriculum that I had been taught by Peter Han. If any of you hope to draw in a professional capacity, I strongly recommend taking an actual class, either online at CG Master Academy or in person at Concept Design Academy. Both Peter Han and Patrick Ballesteros are excellent instructors (I learned from them both) but I'm sure all of the teachers at CGMA are great.
For now, you're going to see a bit of a lull in the lessons (at least from me). I'm still trying to figure out what to move onto next, and I'm also spending a lot of time sending my portfolio out to studios. Job hunting is harrowing work. I'm still here to critique lessons, and I figure this is a good time to take a short break since no one has reached past Lesson 3 just yet.
On that note, I have added /u/Whirly123 as an approved poster. He's an excellent digital draftsman (check out his portfolio) who has also taken a Dynamic Sketching course with Peter Han. You might see him posting homework in the lesson threads, only to brush up on the traditional end of things. I'm sure he's got a lot of great things to teach us all.
Another thing I wanted to mention was about resource material. Though I often talk about approximating and estimating perspective, there are times when you'll want to nail something right on the head. For those situations, I strongly recommend keeping Scott Robertson's 'How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from your Imagination on hand. It's not particularly pricey, and it's got a wealth of information regarding how to deal with all sorts of perspective tricks. Personally, I know very little of this material, so I often refer back to it. On that note, you might also want to check out his youtube channel, where he posts a lot of short tutorial videos. For those of you who don't recognize his name, he's an extremely well respected entertainment designer and instructor - he was the head of the entertainment design program at Art Center in Los Angeles until fairly recently.
I'd like to take this opportunity to ask you guys what you'd be interested in learning. Right now what's most likely is that I'll move onto something like analytical figure drawing - the only problem being, it definitely isn't one of my strengths. I do understand quite a few of the tricks that my instructor taught me, so I at the very least do have something to share, but I'm not sure if that's the best use of my time.
If you guys have any other topics that you'd be interested in hearing about, please post it here in the comments. Also, the likelihood of me covering things like digital painting is pretty low for the near future, because that contradicts the purpose of this subreddit - which is to encourage training of the foundational skills, not all the flashy stuff that people are usually too eager to jump into.
mihachris
2014-09-29 12:45
Thanks for the awesome job so far!
First of all, I'd like to hear your thoughts regarding being a professional and attending some kind of school. Do you think it's necessary? And if yes, because you believe that it will teach you things that can't be self taught or because of the discipline and the organized structure of knowledge you get? Also, if you don't mind could you give us an idea about the fees of Concept Design Academy?
Regarding the lessons, figure drawing and anatomy would be a great next step, it's absolutely necessary. I'd also be really interested to see something about perspective and color theory mainly in order to create environments. And everything related to design (either character, vehicle, environment etc.) would be amazing.
Whirly123
2014-09-29 13:21
Hey! Thanks for the cool introduction! I will definitely get onto doing some content soon. I'm currently on the 250 cubes at the moment and then I will get on it! :)
Also I should be going down to CDA for three months some time next year which is going to be awesome!
Uncomfortable
2014-09-29 20:09
That's great news! You're going to love it. Any idea which classes you're planning on taking?
Whirly123
2014-09-30 12:36
Definitely going to study with Peter again. Kevin Chen also. My aim is to be an environment concept artist, although I'm pretty fickle and will want to jump around if I can (I'm actually a professional 3D artist at the moment and have been for about 4 years) so anything to get me to that concept art goal! Feel free to recommend though! :)
Uncomfortable
2014-09-30 14:34
Then you'll definitely want to take James Paick's environment design course as well. Although it's a bit of a misnomer, since it's more about environment illustration. Still, an invaluable course.
Whirly123
2014-10-01 06:33
Oh hell yeah, forgot about that. James in definitely one of my favorite artists. How many classes would you recommend taking at once? I also forgot to mention I about to be mentored by Kalen Chock and Anthony Jones this week on Environments. Going to be great Im hoping.
Uncomfortable
2014-10-01 06:43
A few of my friends went to school with Kalen, or at least knew him before he got all fantastic.
In my first term, I signed up for 4 courses, but dropped one, then pretty much ignored another (because i'm an ass). My second term, I took only two courses, but that was partially because I wasn't particularly interested in any of the others available that term.
Three courses should be a good load - especially if one of those is Analytical Figure Drawing, which mostly involves attending a 3 hour class, and then the 3 hour figure drawing session (usually on sunday evenings) to do your homework. That way you can get it out of the way pretty easily, leaving plenty of time to do the work for the other two courses.
jabberdoggy
2014-09-30 23:30
I was thinking it could be interesting if we did some exercises where we all work from the same reference photo, and capture the different stages of lay-in, construction, and finishing in an album.
I don't know if that would appeal to anyone else, but it would be helpful to me to see how others approach things (I am still wrestling with the plant exercise), and it would also be cool to see different takes on the same subject.
Uncomfortable
2014-10-02 18:51
Yeah, that'd be really neat! I'll look into dropping in a few posts like that once more people have moved past lessons 1 and 2.
curiouscake
2014-10-01 06:16
I don't know what I don't know :( I'm not sure what else is out there.
Gesture and flow? Value and shading? Aspects of color theory?
Uncomfortable
2014-09-29 20:35
I'll give thoughts on being a professional when I become one :P
As for attending a school, I think there are many different approaches and they have to do with the individual as well as that person's ultimate goals. There are a lot of art schools out there, but depending on what your intent is, you may not thrive in many of the ones that push the fine art aspects of the trade. I've heard stories of a lot of schools that skirt around the practical elements, and instead focus on theory and understanding. If you're looking to go into a commercial art field, you need to be able to do what your client asks of you. Without a practical education, you'll be in trouble.
There are quite a few schools that push beyond this, however. The example I'll use is Art Center in LA. I haven't attended (only went to their campus once for their great art supply store), but I know people who have and know of many of their alumni who have made it big. The school has a lot of great instructors and a lot of great classes that will teach you how to actually produce art that is useful in a commercial setting. They also give you a lot of exposure to all sorts of media and force you to do those awful assignments that ultimately end up being very useful in the long run, for unexpected reasons. Most importantly, they give you connections that will serve you well after you graduate - not only does the name of the school sometimes get you a little extra attention, but Art Center specifically has a lot of great job-finding resources for its graduates. Even beyond that, if you're international and ultimately want to find work in the united states, the visa that allows you to attend school in the US also allows you a period of time after graduation to find a job. The downside is, these schools are REALLY FRIGGIN' EXPENSIVE, and don't actually guarantee that you'll become an amazing artist. That part's very much on you.
Then you have schools like the one I attended, CDA. It's not a normal four-year school. Instead it is a small, private, unaccredited institution (no degrees, no student visas, nothing but classes and workshops for you to attend). The great benefit of CDA is the quality of its instructors. A lot of the ones I had also teach at Art Center (conveniently, they're both in Pasadena). The courses are shorter (10 weeks), but they still convey much of the same information and the small class sizes give you much the same opportunities as you would find at a more expensive school. Furthermore, you sign up for individual courses, rather than a set curriculum. Once you're done the course though, you're pretty much on your own. Also for international students, you're stuck to what a tourist visa allows. For me, that was 6 months, for others it's only 3.
Then you've got online schools, which is a lot like the CDA situation, minus the in-class experience. A lot of people do better when they can actually meet with their classmates and instructor (never underestimate the value of classmates, they are an awesome asset). Still, there's a huge decrease in cost considering that you can do it from home, and don't have to move to LA for whatever period of time.
Some people have made it, being self taught and all - or even with experienced mentors. Ultimately I think that the biggest asset in learning this stuff is a community. A tangible community, whose work you can see, and with whom you can foster a sort of competition and camaraderie. This is pretty much forced down your throat in a classroom environment, in a way that you don't really see in the virtual counterparts.
I've been rambling much. I'll finish off with your last question. CDA fees generally hover between $600 and $800 USD per 10 week class. You can check out their course schedule for the exact prices. Aside from that, the only fee that I remember was $100 for international students' early enrollment. International students get to enroll a month earlier. Despite the hundred bucks, you get to skip the whole rush that the locals have to suffer through. Those seats disappear quickly, so often times locals end up missing out on the classes they really want. You do have to find your own housing though.
mihachris
2014-09-29 20:47
This here is a little gem. Thank you for the thorough and informative reply. Exactly what I needed.