If I could go back in time and change one thing, it would be that I would have drawn a lot more when I was a kid. I kind of dabbled, but it was never really a priority. Then when I learned 3D modeling, I jumped on that. There seem to be 2 schools of thought when it comes to doing 3D. The first being that traditional drawing is a must. The 2nd being that traditional drawing although can be helpful, it isn’t exactly necessary. I believe the latter to be true if you were to focus solely on recreating things as realistically as possible. Just gather a bunch of reference photos, and go to town. You can make some great looking stuff!
Yet, what if you want to do something original? For that you need to have concept art. Concept art implies that the thing you are drawing doesn’t exist. So you must create a concept from your imagination. Its one thing to take a photo and copy it onto paper, yet its a completely different beast to recreate an idea from your head. When I try to draw from imagination, I get frustrated. I think I know what something looks like, yet when I actually put it down, half the time it looks like crap. Poses are stiff, proportions are off, and everything looks very generic. I haven’t built up my visual library. Sometimes I’ll draw random lines and squiggles. Then I can sometimes see things in there. Doing that is fun, as I can sometimes make cool characters from my subconscious. Its hit or miss though, because most of the time the paper is just a mess of scribbles.
Doing realistic stuff is easy. It just takes time.
I can do cartoony stuff too. Its just more difficult
The reason why I have a harder time doing the less realistic stuff, is because It simply doesn’t exist. I have to make it exist. Its hard, and I haven’t made imagination drawing a priority. Yes, I know that all good artists use reference, and even for concept art, reference is heavily used. I can even do realistic drawings from reference if given enough time
Yet, it’s one thing to copy a reference exactly, and another thing entirely to create something new from it.
Ok. That’s cool. a sort of Comic book esk human. Same pose, different clothing and hair. Ok, mix a bunch of references together and create something different.
But what about cartoon stuff? There are no references for that.
For the turtle, I sculpted him in 3D. I molded him as if he were clay, and then after making the basic shape, I then rebuilt the mesh to work for animation. I’m not saying I can’t do cartoony stuff. Just its harder. Starting in 3D works, but it would be better if I started on paper. I could design different versions, before deciding on the one I want to use. I can even draw him in different poses, and facial expressions, as well as in different environments. Starting on paper will give me much more flexibility. If I can get that down, then I will be unstoppable.
Bryan Tenorio 