Alan, can you, or do you ever critique other artist's work?

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StarChild
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:50 pm

Alan, can you, or do you ever critique other artist's work?

Post by StarChild »

I was wondering if I could show you a piece and let you take a whack at my technique, if whack is an apropriate term? I know I'll never hear the end of people telling me to sit down do a life study class with a model, but I have noticed vast improvement the more I do practice. Did you hate inking as much as I do? I find my pencils so beautiful, whereas ink gives my art a hardness that I do not enjoy. However I know that inking is essential in the printing process. Do you ink, sir? And, yes, I could have used a higher resolution when I scanned this, because the original looks very much darker, and you can see the detailing better! I also know I have to do sequentials for submissions...sigh!

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Alan Davis
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Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:13 pm

Post by Alan Davis »

I was wondering if I could show you a piece and let you take a whack at my technique, if whack is an apropriate term?
I am often asked to critique art and will give an honest opinion BUT the crucial thing to know is what the artist concerned is trying to achieve. Imitate a particular style or approach, get work from a particular editor or on a particular book? There aren’t any right or wrongs in art except whether the artist succeeded in achieving what they set out to achieve.
I know I'll never hear the end of people telling me to sit down do a life study class with a model, but I have noticed vast improvement the more I do practice.
You don’t need to sit in an art class to do life study. Sketch what you see around you— If you don’t have a sketch book to hand, just look and try to commit what you see to memory.
Did you hate inking as much as I do?
I’m too impatient and heavy handed to be a good inker. I always inked as a final stage to pencilling and can ink over the most rudimentary pencils—but the result isn’t very polished.

Alan
StarChild
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:50 pm

Post by StarChild »

Thank you for your response, Alan. I guess at this point in my life, my art tends to be more recreational. I have done a commission for someone in the way of a logo for a restaurant he is creating, but other than that, I have really not actively pursued a career in the artistic field, though I have been encouraged to do so. That picture was done one night on guard duty, and I heard "You Really Got Me" on the radio, and I had been working on a Nightcrawler story at the time, and the art just flowed with the music! It was just plain fun inspiration.

Discipline is always an issue with me. I know I have to focus on intent when I do something, and that commission was the first time I really tried to focus.

Thank you for the tips. I will continue to practice, and attempt those sequentials one day!
Alan Davis
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Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:13 pm

Post by Alan Davis »

Discipline is an issue with any artist. Approaching a blank sheet of paper is intimidating… and it DOESN’T get easier with practise. Most professionals adopt an MO or list of rules to break up the page-- and utilise a catalogue of rehearsed/comfortable forms to set out a solid structure. Some artists will then work hard in an attempt to evolve the forms into something fresher or more ‘original’-- But the limitations of the comic medium AND meeting deadlines can force an artist to rely too heavily on the clichés and they will stagnate.

Self doubt stops many people from even attempting to draw. To my way of thinking it is the educational system that is at fault. A person who is unable to read or write when they leave school is designated as illiterate. Anyone unable to draw is told they just don't have ‘talent’. This is a nonsense perpetrated by those too intimidated with the prospect of having to start as ‘beginners’ in adulthood. But as the wise man says “Failure lies not in falling down but in not getting up.”


I think it’s great that you’re drawing and enjoying the process. It may never feel like its getting easier but you will become more accomplished. Good luck.

Alan
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