Ever film yourself drawing?
You can't unsee it... plus, Tools!
I always admire artists who regularly post process videos.
From the well-made and edited to…the opposite (see my video below…), there’s something to be said about having the motivation to put yourself out there on another level above simply sharing the final static piece of art.
I’ve dabbled in doing fun drawing and process videos- most during COVID. Though I’m no editor, I do understand the satisfaction of creating a little mini demo video that, well, first off, works… hopefully looks good.
Beyond that, maybe, possibly, like-minded people will appreciate and get something positive from the effort put forth. Alternatively, the like-minded could interpret said video as merely the product of an inadequately abled, attention seeking humble-bragger baiting for compliments.
*dry heaves at the digression*
That bit of TMI aside, I find a little process video can be very inspiring! I love to see accomplished inkers/ painters/ pencillers do their thing and offer a peek behind the curtain, regardless of their motivations. The content that
, , , to name a few, are putting out is on par with any paid art schooling, IMHO. As a feeble-minded Substack newbie, I look forward to exploring this area more.Another positive from all this: I’ve learned quite a bit from watching video of myself drawing. In particular (most painfully), I’ve learned that I waste WAAAAY too much time when I draw.
I can watch maybe 1 minute or two of my hand holding a pen or pencil over paper before it becomes painfully obvious that way too small a percentage of frames actually depict literal pen-on-paper. I’ll draw imaginary lines leading up to the actual line… hem & haw in little microbursts of spastic hand gestures… generally overthinking each line to exhaustion, all without even realizing it.
Here’s the kicker:
I was drawing, which is all I wanna do anyway.
Deadlines were always met (thank you very much!)
It didn’t matter that hours seem to fly by without a glance up. Before I’d know it, it’d time to wrap up for the day (or early morning, depending.)
Self-analysis alert!
Part of the problem is (if it IS a problem), I still agonize over what I’m drawing. I still see myself as a student who has yet to live up to any potential I have or aspire to. This has to be a positive, since the alternative is to phone it in and, therefore, stop growing.
But, somewhere in the middle, I’d love to get to the point where I can trust myself and my abilities enough to just do the drawing & move on, without the second guessing.
Then again… that ship has probably sailed.
The takeaway from all this is that now I’m painfully aware of my drawing efficiency.
As long as I’m cognizant of what I’m doing/stay in the present/not get too far lost in ‘The Zone’, my efficiency increases significantly. (I also have a little timer widget on the menu bar of my computer screen that I can hit at anytime and a little window opens up with ticking numbers that are just distracting enough to remind me to hurry the hell up and get on with it.)
On the downside of watching myself draw: when I’m done with a job, I just wanna move on. I do not wanna linger on some job that’s in the can. Even if I’m proud of what I did, the more I stare at my own work, the more self conscious I become. ‘I should’ve drawn this like that instead’… Imposter Syndrome is a bitch.
With all those apologetic words to set the stage, here’s a recent commission I had from last weekend at C2E2 that I had to knock out at home:
This is a decent example of my ‘Live’, or ‘Convention’ style caricature. (coloring was with a new marker set I’m still figuring out. Meh.)
So there.
Tools of the trade!
Anyone who knows me has probably heard me blather on and on about drawing tools. It’s what makes me so much fun at parties!
I can talk a blue streak about various pen tips, different inks, the sheer amount of electric erasers I have on hand (Spoiler alert, two! One corded, and one battery powered. Another reason I’m so much fun at parties.)
What am I currently drawing with? I’m glad you asked!
Normally on any illustration job, I’m currently alternating between a Gillott 1950, and a Tachikawa Nikko.
For live or quick sketch work, like that video above you absolutely didn’t finish, I never really found a pen that fit me the way I wanted it to. I’d try this or that, but nothing really stuck and became my go-to.
Fast forward to last week, again at C2E2, my buddy
, who’s booth was right next to mine, scoffed at what I was drawing commissions with and introduced me to these Tombow brush pens.
Oh man- I love that feeling when something just clicks into place. I don’t even remember what I was drawing with before. All I know is, when I got home I ordered the motherlode of these things.
Big thanks for the recommendation, Tom!
This is super cool. The nerd in me loves the tool details, and everyone loves video