School of Visual Arts The MOCCA Medium

School of Visual Arts The MOCCA Medium

Uses of Life Drawing

 
In my Figure Drawing for Cartoonists and Inking Comics courses at SVA, we employ live models for a number of purposes beyond the study of anatomy. Some examples:

• one day, we have the model recline at oblique angles to study foreshortening
• another, she'll pose with fabric so we can study folds in relation to the body
• sometimes we turn out all the lights but one to study dramatic light
• on another occasion, we practice composing camera shots, coordinating figure and background
  
  
  
  

• often we take turns requesting poses for our comics in progress, using the occasion to practice...
• ... ink wash...
• ...or to practice building images from non-photo blue through to finished inks, permitting imaginative transformations of a pose:
• and I've shown several examples of models performing stories.
• of course, we keep skeletons in the closet to study what's under it all. 

SVA has the best models. Come see for yourself. The info session is May 17 at 6:30 pm. Classes start the first week in June.

From the Archive: Hector Goes to Medical School

Here's a comic I published in 2001 in Pablo's Comics Extravaganza, a little anthology we put out in conjunction with a comic art show at a Denver cafe. It features the characters shared by members of the Hector cooperative, Hector and Wilhelmina, plus other incidental characters culled from our various strips.

I still use these characters on occasion, when it feels like the right kind of joke. Here's one that ran recently in The American Bystander #6.

Demonstration Drawings

Drawing while talking can be a challenge. Often I make an ass of myself, but sometimes my demonstrations turn out okay.

 

These big head/little body drawings are what I tend to favor for demonstrating figure basics and marker inking on day 1 of Cartooning Basics.

 

When I demonstrate inking with nibs, brushes, and wash in the Figure Drawing for Cartoonists and Inking Comics courses, I tend to try for a pretty girl, mostly to see if I can pull it off. 

(Sometimes yes, sometimes no.)

For ink wash, I often just apply black watercolor to a doodle.

When I demonstrate to kids, I try to keep it light and simple.

 

Spring classes start next week. Will my demos succeed or will I look foolish, yet again? Come find out. Tell your friends, too. Thx!

More Comic Jams

In my continuing ed Cartooning Basics and undergraduate Short Form Comics courses at SVA, we make time to pass around rule-based comic jam pages. 

I have each student start a jam and note its rule. The pages pile up, circulate, and slowly get done, often over the course of several years.

An idea I've tried recently is to invite students to invent a rule that hasn't been tried before, like this omnilingual jam below:

Comic jams are a great way to interact with other artists, try out styles and ideas, & test your wits. This is just one example of the cartooning challenges that come up in my courses. Come learn more at the information session this Thursday, 1/11/18.

Another Improv Comic

As I've shown before, every semester in the Figure Drawing for Cartoonists course, we have a costumed model improvise a narrative while the students compose comic pages from life. I try to make time to play along, as the fun is irresistible. 

Last time, we had a repeat performance from the model, Matt Knife, who riffed on the conspiracy theory that Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing. With that as a prompt, here's what I came up with:

Come join the fun. Spring Continuing Education courses are enrolling right now at SVA. Mine are Figure Drawing for Cartoonists, Cartooning Basics, and Inking Comics. Come talk to me at the information session on January 11.

from the archive: Demon Sightings on the New York Subway

In 2011, I got to take a couple silkscreen classes with the great David Sandlin. In the first, I produced a few copies of a concertina book, Demon Sightings on the New York Subway.

I've had many more of these sightings since. I don't know if it's the lateness of the hour or simply exhaustion, but now and then some of our demon cohabitants will relax their guards and permit their true selves to be seen.

If you sight any of these, message me. I'd be interested to know.
Happy Halloween.