I'm a huge collector of reference books. Among the dozens and dozens of books in my studio, there are a select few that I would highly recommend for any professional illustrator/character designer/animator to own. If you make your living drawing, this stuff can inspire you, boost your skills, maybe help advance your career or even increase your income. As part...
This is it. I've finished my nine-week character design course with Stephen Silver over at Schoolism.com. It's been an amazing experience. Stephen is not only a brilliant character designer but also an inspiring teacher.
Our very first assignment was to design a character based on Fat Joe from the play The Long Voyage Home. We were given this description:
This article is primarliy aimed at two groups of freelancers: Californians who have been experiencing massive power outages, and Minnesotans who live in my blackout-proned neighborhood.
In recent months I've had three major power outages lasting several hours each, plus a few minor ones. Twice, in order to meet deadlines, I've had to pack up my computer, drive across town, and set up a temporary studio at my mother-in-law's house. She was very sweet for letting me impose on her, but it was an enormous hassle nonetheless. (Untangling a rat's nest of computer cables in the dark is not what I would call fun.)
After the third outage in two months, I'd had enough.
OK, one is a Top Twelve list and the other is a Top Thirteen list. Still, these are some terrific articles from one of my favorite blogs, FreelanceSwitch.com: 12 Breeds Of Client And How To Work With Them Thirteen Breeds Of Freelancer And How To Up Your Game FreelanceSwitch has also started a podcast. I haven't had a chance to listen to it...
I received a letter from a man in Germany who collects autographs and sketches from cartoonists around the world. In broken English he politely asked if I might someday have time to send him an autographed sketch. He also asked that it be of a pig, since his wife likes to collect little pig knick knacks. Normally I don't make a...
Yesterday I covered part 1 of my latest schoolism.com assignment (my instructor is Stephen Silver). Part 2 was to do a memory sketch. "Memory sketching" is an exercise designed to strengthen your observation muscles. It works like this: Go to a place where there are a lot of people (i.e. a mall, airport, coffee shop, etc.). Choose someone in the...
