January 2020 Q & A (Patreon)

So I didn't get a lot of questions from you guys so this is going to be short and sweet this time, Perhaps in the future I can get the opportunity to do a little more but we'll see. 

First Question-- 

Question #1 "This might be too basic of a request, but as a person trying to get better at art in general, I was wondering if you had any good resources/tips/etc for working more with color? "

I want to start off by saying, colour is one of the hardest things for me so offering advice on it is probably not my place LOL but I'll do my best. 

Paint. Best way to learn and understand colour is to traditionally paint IMO. Buy the cheapest sketchbook and oils/acrylics whatever you can get your hands on (preferably not water colour since they overlay like markers and can be difficult) but get those, find some landscapes, portraits, still lifes whatever it is you want to draw, and paint it. I would say.... If you can discipline yourself, do a painting every week, more than that would be better. 

When you work traditionally, your able to catch more, experiment more, and the limited use of tools and space can help you become more economical with your decisions and choices. Whenever I struggle with ANYTHING art wise, colours, lines, expressions, whatever, I always just put my cintiq away, grab my sketchbook and try to carve out some time I can just focus on traditional media. I always feel so much fresher coming back to my ipad/cintiq and feeling like my mind can focus and understand things. 

Also when you're doing colour, try to understand what you want from it. What you're drawing will be the determining factor of the colours you pick and how you use them and if they're successful. Like for me, hot pink is a colour I use a lot. When I incorporate it with blacks, dark reds and purples, it becomes a very dark scene or """"Edgy""""" vs. if I couple it with whites, pastels etc; the image becomes a lot lighter and upbeat (unless the character is doing something sketchy lol). 

I would also find like 5 artists you really like, who have a good grasp of colour, and try to understand why you like their colours. And don't just use artists, look at photography, look around you, clothing, home decor etc;; you can find inspiration and help with colours anywhere. Sometimes I just flat out, base an entire drawing off a photo I found. 

Below is my 2018 Christmas Card and the two photos below are what I used to reference the colours. The purples and pinks and oranges in the sky I just really wanted to incorporate into my final design.

Color & Light James Gurney -- Art schools favourite colour theory book LOL I've personally never read it but I know people who swear by it. 

I went to Barnes and Nobles a billion years ago and bought this book that just has tons of colours and explains colour theory terminology, I feel like if you go to B&N or any bookstore that has an art section, just look through the books and see if you find something that draws you in! 

Hope this helps! 

Question #2 "I'd be interested to know more about your process and technique in form-drawing, and where you go to find references (and how you practice)"

So I'm not 100% sure what form-drawing is I'm assuming figure drawing or drawing human forms? I'll break it up into sections since this question is like couple in 1. 

My Process and Technique are a mess, I think the best way to know how I do that is to watch my livestreams or youtube videos... I know I like NEVER upload to youtube anymore but there are videos on patreon to watch too. My process is different for everything I draw. Most anything starts with traditional thumbnails/sketches and then I move into digital if I need to take it there. 

I'm reluctant to answer this question right now because I'm doing a huge overhaul of my art since I kinda hate it AH. So I'll get back to you, but honestly it's just idea --> Gesture ----> details details details ---> done?!? 

I find References on Pinterest and Deviantart- Senshistock is probably the most well known and best one for references for specific things. Honestly, I just go on google, type in what I'm looking for, and find a reference LOL. I do take photos of myself or if I have someone nearby, and I have TONS of photo's saved on my computer. To make sure I don't redraw the same pose over and over, what I usually do is do like 3-4 drawings of that pose and understand how it looks in a 3D space, then I can turn it more easily. 

And Practice is basically the Sketchbook challenge I'm doing right now! I just read over my Michael Hampton Figure Drawing Design and Invention book I won't shut up about, go on LineofAction to do some gesture/anatomy practice, experiment with new media when I can, watch youtube video's of people working and drawing, I try to go on picarto and Pixiv live when I can to watch people working, I feel like it always helps me get into an artistic headspace. I also reference art books a LOT. My Spiderverse Artbook, Big Hero 6 and Wreck it Ralph artbooks are my favourite, I have them right next to me at my desk at all times.  If I could attend walk in figure drawing more easily right now I would go to that once a week but it's only long poses and I need short like 30-130 sec poses haha. 

Hope this helps! 

I'll be opening up the floor for questions again in a second for $4, $8 and $10 so def. ask questions if you have things you wanna know!