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A common foible of learning to work in ink is accepting the fact that ink is not pencil. Most of us learn how to draw (“properly”) with pencils, so it’s the implement that we are most comfortable. Ink is obviously much less forgiving.

I held individual meetings with my 2nd year Cartooning students today and recommended to all of them to keep an Ink Only sketchbook over the summer. No pencil or preparatory drawings allowed. Experimenting with the media in a very pure form will help you learn what is and what is not possible. It’s a matter of adaptation and working with the media’s strengths. Very zen.

(I actually stole this idea from Sam, who kept an Ink Only sketchbook in the summer between 3rd and 4th year. He improved dramatically. )

This drawing is from a similar sketchbook I’m keeping now, experimenting with washes and painting.

Radio Silence.

Sorry! I’ve been in Florida again. I’m addicted!

Anyway, this isn’t really anything comprehensive… just a few excerpts from a handout on Animal Anatomy I’m putting together for my class tomorrow. I get asked to draw quite a few animals, so unlike some other things we’ve gone over in class (perspective!), I actually feel somewhat qualified to speak on the subject.

There is no formula to trick to drawing animals, or anything else for that matter. Only through observation (ideally from life), and practice will give you a fundamental understanding of structure and form. This might be a bit of a bummer to hear as a student, but I believe it’s the truth and applies to all drawing.

I’ve been feeling shitty about not going to museums lately. I mean, why exactly does one put up with the crappy things about the City if not to take occasionally take advantage of the wonderful things?

And I missed the MoMA Bauhaus show. Boo.

Anyway. I was thinking I might go somewhere tomorrow. This Met exhibit of Oceanic instruments looks pretty cool. They’re something so beautiful about an object for which you intuitively know its use. Sam and I were talking about this the other day when we observed that he immensely, surprisingly, enjoys kitchen supply stores despite the fact he doesn’t cook.

For many of the instruments, you can listen to curators speak about cultural uses and hear audio of them being played. The site is simplistic, but it offered a glimmer of how museums could harness interactivity to reach many more people and, more importantly, deliver a more thorough understanding of the subjects at hand.

Context is important.

I’m currently working my way through a PBS documentary series called Art: 21, about fine art in the 21st century. 3 or 4 contemporary artists are profiled per episode, and the experience is so RICH. You’re brought into someone’s studio, peeking in on them working, speaking to their family, oftentimes their subjects, hearing memories of their childhood. So much more compelling and accessible to hear it from the artists’ mouth versus reading a curatorial text. You realize how much of creativity is simply exploring things that perplex you or that you’re curious about. Didactics come later. Or, perhaps, full meanings are discovered through the process of creation.

On illustration. Illustration has always been a late adopter, often reinterpreting or refashioning artistic “styles” several decades after they were conceived by the art world, and applying them to commercial purposes. It’s kind of a nostalgic form. No judgment on that (that should go without saying!). And yes, it does go the other way sometimes too (see: pop art). But! I think there’s a valuable lesson illustrators, particularly students of illustration, can learn from Fine Art… that work should come from a place of exploration and introspection. To copy a “style” is simply a superficial appropriation of someone else’s context. Someone else’s life experience, interests, travels, tics. It’s just surface. There’s nothing underneath.

Wowee, what a way to kick off the year. Yesterday I received a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators for my Newsprint piece.

I feel bad because I never can manage to come up with anything beyond “… thanks!” when accepting things like this. Everyone else just seems so witty and funny and charming. So let me say it here: nothing means more than being recognized by your peers. Rewarding this particular piece, which originated in my personal sketchbooks, is a huge confidence boost. It can be a struggle to retain a sense of creativity and personal vision as a commercial illustrator. I always tell students it’s their JOB to make assignments interesting and engaging for themselves. Because believe me, it doesn’t get any easier when you graduate!

Speaking of students, I was thrilled to see a former student of mine, Lulu Wolf, was also included in the show. Check out Lulu’s lovely work here.

The show for Uncommissioned and Sequential works is on view at the Society of Illustrators in NYC, Jan 3 – 26.

Hi! I hope you had a good holiday. I hope you HAD a holiday. Or at least a few days off from wherever you toil.

What will 2010 bring? 2009 was a little scary, to be honest. Worked dried up for most of the illustrators that I know. I especially noticed a lag in the summer. It seems to have bounced back, but who can tell? Illustration DID die over 60 years ago, so.

-I have a small book coming out this year. It’s true! Indoor Voice will be published by Drawn and Quarterly (dates forthcoming). I consider it a bit of a blog extension or companion to Gilded Lilies (2006). A compilation of things. You will hear more about it later! And yes, I am working on getting a longer, narrative work going. Fingers crossed.

-Skim goes on. Foreign translations are forthcoming in Portuguese and Dutch. Nutso…

-Speaking of! Right-wingers officially hate Skim! Read about it here!

-I’m teaching the 2nd semester of the Drawing for Cartoonists class at SVA. I will be switching to the Illustration department in the Fall.

-I am speaking with Gabrielle Bell and Jessica Abel later this month at the Brooklyn Public Library. Just a tiny thing on Brooklyn comickers. Deets: Jan 28, 7pm, Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Dweck Centre (lower level).

-Half World, the totally awesome book by Hiromi Goto, will be released April 1 in the US (Viking/Penguin). I did the illustrations for it. The book is already available in Canada.

That’s all I can think of now. Bye!

This project was definitely one of my highlights of the year. It was completed back in September, but the issue is just out now (Jan2010).

The series was about Asian Wildlife trafficking. You can read the article (and view some very disturbing photographs) here.

Animals, along with Dance, are probably my favourite things to draw. I was very excited when the AD, David Whitmore, suggested a simpler, painterly approach similar to the guy in this post. Thanks, Blog!

This wash technique is a very different one from my typical method… more of a one-shot deal with very minimal digital manipulation. (I still sent pencil sketches, albeit very rough ones.) Some of animals were done a dozen times before I got a few that worked. I would send the AD several final versions to choose from. Here is a picture of (mostly) discards.

It was an exercise in a new way of thinking and a good lesson for me as I try to streamline my illustration work. I have discovered through teaching that the most important thing you develop in school is not technique but PROCESS: a way of working that allows you to operate within the confines of Art Direction but still leaves you psychologically free to create work that is fresh and stimulating.

Here’s an illustration for Runner’s World Germany. It’s about running with a heart condition. Usually I don’t use such a “deep space” in illustrations, but this was kinda fun. A little atmospheric interference* goes a long way.

*for students: the basic principle, as it pertains to art and drawing, is that things get more “low-value” as they get farther away. This is due to moisture, pollution, and other particles floating in the air between your eye and whatever you’re looking at. That’s why someone standing 10 feet away will appear crisper and more high value, than, say, the Empire State Building a mile away in the distance. In reality, the image above maybe isn’t the best example, since it’s kind of about fog and whatnot. The example of the Empire State Building is better.

Preppin’ for tomorrow’s class.

Skim has been translated to JAPANESE. Whoo! As you can see, a lot has changed about the book, including the title. You can order it from amazon.co.jp.

This is really nuts. Two Japanese-Canadian ladies, whose family has been in Canada for over 100 years, release a book about a suburban Japanese-Canadian girl living what I consider a quintessential suburban Canadian life and is now speaking Japanese. The world is very big but also very small.

In other news, I’ve picked up a class at SVA this semester, pinch hitting for an instructor on mat leave (congrats, Lauren!). Sophomore Drawing for Cartoonists. There is still room in the class if you are interested. You will have to contact the dept directly.

(photos courtesy Mariko Tamaki)