I’m On Gumroad! Name Your Price On “Sketchercise”

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'Sketchercise' Samples

Like a lot of other artists I’ve decided to jump on the Gumroad bandwagon. It’s a bit of an experiment for me. I already have my own website store and people seem to be happy with it, but I’m very impressed with Gumroad’s slick-and-simple website. Just create a Gumroad account and have easy, “forever” access to any files you purchase from various Gumroad sellers. Also, Gumroad only takes a small sliver of commission which makes them an attractive place to sell.

As an experiment I’ve put together a PDF sketchbook called “Sketchercise!” (45 pages with over 120 drawings) and I’m offering it as a “name-your-price” purchase. For the time being you can have it for whatever you think is a fair price, no questions asked and no strings attached. Other artists such as Will Terrell advocate this model for selling some of their content so I thought I’d try it and see what happens.

You can also get the Pose Drawing Sparkbook (both versions) and my drawing webinar on my Gumroad page, at full price.

New Pose Drawing Sparkbook Ad

"Pose Drawing Sparkbook" Ad for CTN Animation Expo

(Click to enlarge.)

I’ll be officially launching the Pose Drawing Sparkbook at the CTN Animation Expo in November (although you can pre-order now). I just submitted this ad for inclusion in the conference book that will be given to all attendees. It was a lot of fun to work up these sketches.

If you work in (or want to work in) the animation industry, the Expo is a must-see. Tons of terrific speakers, exhibits, booths, and networking galore.

In addition to launching the Sparkbook I’ll also be giving a workshop called “Be Your Own Boss: Freelancing Tips and Tricks”. Sign up when you register.

Sparkbook Snippet: Personality and Emotions

(This excerpt is from a rough draft of  the Pose Drawing Sparkbook, a super-charged sketchbook designed to help you put more life and personality into your drawings. Think of it as acting exercises for your sketchbook.Read other snippets here and here.)

As human beings we all experience the same basic emotions, but everyone has their own unique personality through which those emotions are filtered. This can make for interesting results.

Sometimes emotions and personality can overlap. For instance, everyone has situations in which they feel confident but there are some people for whom confidence seems to be a defining characteristic. They are up for any challenge and not easily discouraged.

Likewise, when a naturally confident person begins to feel nervous they may demonstrate it differently than a timid person who is nervous all the time. The confident person may try to hide their nervousness whereas a timid person may wear it on their sleeve for all to see. Both are experiencing the same feeling but it comes out in very different ways.

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Here are two boys waiting for the bus. Let’s call the Tommy and Timmy. From their poses we can tell that Timmy is shy and insecure. His back is hunched over, his chin is down, and his knees and elbows are pulled in. He is taking a clear posture of submission. Tommy, on the other hand, stands strong and confident. His feet are apart and his back is arched. He is the more powerful of the two and he knows it.

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Now lets take that simple set-up and turn it on it’s head. A snake slithers by and the usually-confident Tommy is suddenly gripped with fear. Drawing Tommy climbing onto Timmy’s back not only creates a comical visual, but it is also consistent with their personalities. Tommy is still pushing Timmy around. He’s forcing himself on Timmy and using Timmy as a sort of shield. Timmy, on the other hand, is clearly not afraid. He is curious and even excited, yet he is still accepting a submissive role. Either that, or he is so excited about this wonder of creation that he is oblivious to Tommy’s bullying.

In this short little scene we see each character expressing both confidence and fear – but those same emotions are revealing themselves in different ways, consistent with their overall personalities.

Read two more Sparkbook Snippets: “Action Reveals Character” and “Acting With The Entire Body”. The Pose Drawing Sparkbook is now available for pre-orderAlso, don’t forget to download your free list of 100 Sketchbook Ideas as my gift to you. 

I’m Now On Dribble

I finally joined Dribble.com and uploaded my first few samples. There’s a limit of five uploads per day so I’ll have to wait to upload more. But if you dribble, give ‘em a looksee.

Kickstarter Update: Day 4 – The Sparkbook Is “Popular”

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The Pose Drawing Sparkbook continues to do well on Kickstarter. It’s only Day 4 and it’s already passed the $4,000 mark and is 45% funded! Over 2,000 people have watched the promo video and the project is now featured in the “Popular This Week”section under Kickstarter’s “Publishing” category. Two artists with very large followings (over 10,000 each) have shared about it on social media and tonight the project was highlighted on Parka Blogs, a site that specializes in reviewing art books. The book isn’t even published yet and they want to promote it! How cool is that?

We’ve been warned that after an initial burst of interest most Kickstarter projects experience a long “lull” in the middle of the fundraising period, so I want to make the most of everyone’s attention while I still have it. My wife and I have been doing a ton of promotion work but we can’t do it alone. We are super grateful to all of you who have been spreading the word. The more people hear about this, the greater the chance that it will succeed.

Oh, and don’t forget to grab your free download of 100 sketchbook ideas:

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Thanks again to all my friends, fans and backers. You rock!

Sketchbook Update

When I’m not busy working on client projects I try to noodle around in a sketchbook. Here’s a few recent scribbles. You can also see my latest sketches as they happen by following me on Instagram.

Farmer Sketch from Cedric Hohnstadt Illustration

Falling Weight Lifter

Obama-State of the Union

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