Thursday, October 18, 2012

CalArts Class -- Tools of Expression

Hey guys!

This post is arriving a little late, just some more class stuff...

Just some sketches to remind students of that straight-curve rhythm, how it occurs in the torso.  Keeping in mind the squash & stretch that occurs...the key is really feeling that pressure & putting that feeling into the gesture.

one of the key points of the first half of the class is looking at the arms, legs and head as Tools of Expression.

Because all the parts work together to say something thru body language and gesture, I broke each part down to show how the parts themselves say something on their own.

Arms can say a lot emotionally.  Look at the poses, then the arms on their own.  Think about what the arms are saying on their own, and how much that contributes the attitude of the pose (a generous amount, typically).

Going in the opposite direction, you can really imagine what the rest of the pose is going to be with clear expressive arms, especially the third example here:


Legs are different.  Because they have the big job of holding our bodies up, they can't say as much emotionally, but can say a lot about action/intention as well as strength/confidence in the pose.

There's something of a parallel in that regard to the neck, like a little body on a little leg haha.

Yet even more stuff soon!
Stu

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Couple gestures from last night (3's)...


Gonna post some more demos from my CalArts class tonight.  Stay tuned!

Monday, October 8, 2012

APE 2012!

Are you guys going to APE 2012 this weekend?  Because I will be!


Find me at Booth #813, where I'll be selling my comic "The Table" for $5!


I'll be joined this year by the sterling & hilarious Erwin Ledford, who'll be selling his brand new comic "Li'l Erwin," original art and prints, as well as his debut "The Plainest Plane Periodical Vol. 1!"


 -Stu

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Life Drawing for Animation demoz

UPDATE -- This post was featured earlier by Bryan Lee O'Malley himself as well as Drawn!  Wasn't expecting this, but I guess I'll be sharing more of my demos from now on!   -Stu

--

Hey guys

So I've been teaching at CalArts for about a month now, about time I share some stuff.

This being my teaching debut, each class has included its fair share of experimentation on my part.  Above all, what's worked best for me are the storyboard-demos I open each class with, following a 25-30 minute gesture warmup.

Some random anatomy stuff (bones, muscles, joints) the students also keep as a printout for ref.: 

 
 

But I'm more concerned with how the parts move together, and how they are used practically as tools of expression -- maybe the most experimental part of the demos:
 

Talkin' about legs/feet and how they can express attitudes on their own:
 

Oh, and I did a stroke-by-stroke demo 2 weeks ago that included how I typically draw w/ gesture:


Just this week, I wrapped my demo with some work by other artists whose works are in coherence with the class' goals.  Loved putting this part together:


I have a feeling these demos will be completelyyy different in the coming weeks, but I look forward to sharing!

-Stu