Drawing is 90% observation
Plus animations, Ascent, and not-my-art
Because if you think about it… if you draw something and it doesn’t look right, it’s probably one of two issues:
You didn’t observe your reference closely enough
You didn’t observe your own drawing enough to realize why it doesn’t match your reference
If you know how to study an object, a space, a person, then you’ll know how to put it down on a canvas.
Even if you draw from “imagination”, you’re really referencing things that you’ve already seen - things you’ve studied and observed - and then bringing it into fruition. Does your drawing of that dino-shark-mech look like all the dinos you’ve seen, the sharks you’ve studied, and the mechs and robots you’ve mentally recorded? If it does, you’ve done a great job observing.
Because if you think about it, drawing is 90% observation.
(Hand-eye coordination might be the other 10%. But I’ve seen videos where a dude draws with his mouth, so maybe hands aren’t even needed.)
Anyway, enough half-baked ideas - here’s some artwork from the past few weeks!
This green one with the hammer and nails is an animation I’ve been thinking of for the past 10 years or so. It’s just lived in my brain with nowhere to go, and it’s finally out, and really I’m considering quitting art because everything else I make will never be as good.
What’s your interpretation of this red one?
And now here’s a butter pig I drew that I love because he’s butter and also a pig. His face isn’t available, though, because someone had a piece of bread that needed some sweetness.
I’m slowly chipping away at Ascent, too. You can check out WIP videos on my Instagram stories, but I wanted to share this one here because it makes me giggle.
Now Something That’s Not Me
Finally, wanted to give a shoutout to another Substack! I’ve been following Tate Parker’s work for a while and he’s made some of the funniest comics I’ve read on the Internet. And I’ve read a lot of funny things on the Internet.
He made a zine comic a few months ago that is hilarious.
What a hook!
It’s fantastic. Give it a read.
His main project right now is his webcomic Flashbang. It’s about a post high school loser who turns into his childhood superhero and gains confidence by fighting monsters. It’s exclusive to Substack right now and he posts new pages every week.
Here’s some non-spoilery artwork!
(Er, these pages are not meant to be read consecutively)
Follow Tate and his fun art here: https://substack.com/@robotatertot
That’s it for today’s newsletter. Enjoy your Saturday!
(Disclaimer: Chances of this sign-off applying to you is 1 out of 7.)