nikhila01 in the post "I dusted off my sketchbooks from when I took Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han back in 2013. Figured you guys might like to see me floundering with the material."
2016-08-09 08:59
This is a little late but I think I'm well placed to answer this. I took Dynamic Sketching 1 at CGMA with Patrick Ballesteros, as well as the Perspective class. Im currently taking Dynamic Sketching 2 with Patrick (although hes using Peter Hans videos while he records his own). Ive really enjoyed it so far.
Whether its worth the cost really depends on your situation. I feel like /u/uncomfortable covered that pretty well. It was worth it to me and Im a hobbyist. If youre aiming for a career in concept art I think its even more worth it because the instructors have a lot of industry experience and can answer all sorts of questions, not just about drawing.
I can tell you a bit about what the class is like. You get a lecture video, usually an hour long. Theres a 1 hour live Q&A with the instructor. Its recorded if you cant make that time. Many students are in different countries so the live Q&A doesnt get full attendance. Theres also a recorded Q&A from the past term. And if you take it with a different instructor from the one who made the videos, you get a recorded Q&A from the video creators past class. So 3 to 4 hours of video.
For the feedback, the instructor records a short 3-5 minute video on your work. You can also see everyone elses work and their feedback videos, and you can post comments. Since its just a feedback video, its not interactive but I post comments and questions with my homework and the instructor does answer them. Plus you can bring questions to the Q&A or ask in the forum. I believe Peter Han has started doing a combined 3 hour live Q&A and feedback session to get more of a classroom feel.
Of course some things are different with an online class. The instructor cant see you drawing to address how youre holding the pen, your drawing speed, how youre positioning your body, or to see your process. Community is also difficult with an online class. The instructors and staff know this and encourage the students to communicate with each other, but its really up to them. The more you put into it, in terms of posting in the forum and commenting on peoples work, the more you will get out of it. It takes someone to start to actually get other people engaged sometimes.
Another thing is that CGMA is geared towards concept art, so Dynamic sketching includes some basic design projects to prepare you for later classes. That looks like something that /r/ArtFundamentals doesnt cover. And CGMA has something like 30 classes if you want to go beyond just sketching. I came in just wanting to learn to draw but the more I do, the more I see that I could go a lot further.
If you think $700 is a lot you should definitely go through /r/ArtFundamentals first. If you do go through all the lessons here, there is a risk that you might find Dynamic Sketching to not be worth the money though because its a similar progression. It'll depend on whether you think the experience of interacting with an experienced instructor is the main draw, or if you think that the information is what you're paying for.
nikhila01 in the post "I dusted off my sketchbooks from when I took Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han back in 2013. Figured you guys might like to see me floundering with the material."
2016-08-11 03:51
Yeah, the feedback is nice and they can definitely point you in the right direction. But sometimes you know what you did wrong on your own. One nice thing is being able to see the instructor do live demos because then you can see how they think. In the most recent Q&A, Patrick took some of our design homeworks (including mine) and showed us how he would do those same designs. Or someone said they couldnt do insect legs so he drew two spiders and showed tips for doing the legs. So, yes, the instructors do help you. They definitely dont just dump the information on you and then go away. Of course, everyone learns at a different speed and the more work you put in the better it will be. If your drawings arent as good as you want them to be, that doesnt mean that they will have a quick fix. Sometimes you just have to practice.
Patrick and Peter both follow a similar syllabus, which you can see on CGMA's page. There are also video samples at that link. They also both emphasize the same general philosophy of just drawing a lot, not getting caught up in details and making things look pretty, making mistakes without fear, and redrawing things if you do mess up. They just differ in some details. I believe Patrick actually took the class with Peter a long time ago. And they both teach at Concept Design Academy in Los Angeles, so Im sure they talk to each other about the class. Let me put it this way: in terms of syllabus, I think Patricks and Peters classes are both much more similar to each other than /r/ArtFundamentals is to either of them.
Its going to be tough to get into Peters class. It fills up quickly and existing CGMA students are allowed to sign up first so as to not disrupt their studies. When I started at CGMA I wanted to get into Peters class but could only get into Patricks. After you take Dynamic 1, youll be an existing student so you can switch more easily if you want to for Dynamic 2. I could have but I liked Patrick and I wanted to continue with him. I wouldnt rule out one day taking it all again with Peter :)
By the way, Dynamic Sketching 1 only covers Lessons 1-3 of /r/ArtFundamentals. In the 2 months until the next term starts you could probably get beyond that. But if you want to just keep practicing those fundamentals it will really help. Lines, ellipses, boxes are something that should be practiced constantly. Like every day. I should be doing it right now :)