Comments on: LifeDrawing VS MindDrawing

By: James Baker

James Baker — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:30:12 +0000

John>> Yeah, I wish I had a photographic memory too… I have worked with some people who seem to have it; they can just draw without any under-drawing, almost like a printer printing out a photo… Me, I have to scribble around to FIND the drawing. I’m like an EXPLORER not a printer. I wonder if there are exercises to improve VISUALISATION?

By: John Hoffman

John Hoffman — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:32:29 +0000

I wish I had a photographic memory. Benton pretty much said what I was gonna say, except he said it better than I would have.

Since I moved to the bay area I have rediscovered sketching from life. I didn’t keep a sketchbook for a long time but now, I take it with me most places. I think it helps too. It’s Enrico’s sketchcrawls that got me back in the groove.

By: James Baker

James Baker — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:29:42 +0000

Benton>> I agree with you 100%. A knowledge of real-life is what cartoons or stylisation and exaggeration are all based on. How can you exaggerate something unless you’ve observed it first? What I have realised though, is that in my case I haven’t been doing enough of the observation part, lately. That “photographic memory” and “turning in the head” part that you mention is getting rusty…

By: bentonjew

bentonjew — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:10:08 +0000

I’m always meeting people who do more stylized or cartoony work who say they can’t draw realistically. I don’t really believe them though. It seems more of a case of some misplaced modesty or something! There is no way you can be a good “cartoonist” I believe, without having a firm grasp of representational drawing ( as you are drawing something even more difficult, which is an exagerated abstraction of reality). Having done both myself, I can honestly say I could never design a cartoon character, or do a caricature without first knowing realism. Seems to me that drawing is drawing. People who draw well have photographic memory of shapes and objects and can turn those in space in his/her head. It’s the same dynamic whether the artist chooses to exaggerate or not.