Top three articles/videos to show you how to photograph your artwork for a portfolio.

It's great that CALARTS has given us the option to send our observational work in digital.  Since I like to work on large sheets of paper it would be pretty expensive to post to the U.S. 

With that being said, there is an additional problem , in that I need to make sure that I photograph my work in the best possible light. 

I've done my research and found great articles that will show you step by step to take and edit your artwork.  And since submission is only around the corner I best get on practising these tips.



How to Photograph your Artwork for a Portfolio or the Internet
http://emptyeasel.com/2007/01/19/how-to-photograph-your-artwork-for-a-portfolio-or-the-internet/



This video was made for Saatchi and Saatchi online.




I liked this video, for the simple reason it explains everything in laymans terms.



If you think there are better videos/ articles please let me know and I will update accordingly.

Top 10 tips for Prospective CalArts Animation Students

Yep, after researching hours upon end, I have come up with the definitive top ten tips for prospective CalArts students wanting to study Character Animation.

1.      In your main portfolio, show at least a minimum of 12 life drawings depicting clearly the hands, feet and face.

2.      Aim for a style which is loosely rendered.

3.      Be Experimental and Expressive with the choice of mediums and techniques.

4.      In your Sketchbook, ensure that at least 60% of the drawings are observational. (As with number one, do not ignore the hands, feet or the face. 

5.      Calarts would prefer the sketchbooks to be drawn in pen; unless of course this does not suit you, see point 10.

6.      Sketches should be of two minutes or less poses.  Create movement in your sketches, think about gesture.

7.      Anime is a popular choice in Sketchbooks; however Calarts are not that fond of seeing it.

8.      Think about the overall visual narrative, think about the visual story that your artwork is telling.

9.      Think about the overall presentation of your portfolio.  Does your artwork flow visually?

 

10.  Most importantly, JUST BE YOU. Be confident to allow your own intuitive interpretation, express itself on paper.

 

When I think about it, it’s a great way to improve your artwork in general.

 

 

Great Reading Sources

Director of Calarts Character Animation Course, Dan Hansen, gives a brief account of the expectations from Calarts applicants. (Article written 2012)

http://woahreference.tumblr.com/post/28324533898/an-email-sent-from-director-of-character-animation-at

 http://johnkstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/cal-arts-1-apology-to-students.html

Mario Furmanczyk, a graduate from CalArts, writes and shows how after a failed attempt he finally got accepted by CalArts. (Article written around 2002/2003)

http://www.animatedbuzz.com/tutorials/Calarts.html

 

Current fourth year student, gives her detailed account of what she thinks the qualities to get your  portfolio accepted by CalArts

http://portlynntagavi.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/so-you-want-to-be-calarts-tian-well.html

 

 

Have you got any more great blogs that should be added here?  Please let me know so that I can update this blog.

 

CALARTS CHARACTER ANIMATION PORTFOLIO PREPARATION: Hands, Feet and Faces: ‘Separating the wheat from the chaff’

Countdown 26 days to go be for the portfolio deadline for CalArts

 

 

Time is running out and  I haven’t met the minimum criteria of 15 pieces of artwork. At the moment I am on four presentable pieces. Six pieces if I included work from Barking and Daggers College.

 

I have tried to give my portfolio some dimension by working in different mediums. So far I have used crayons, charcoal, ink and gold. Compared to those portfolios that got accepted onto CALARTS Character Animation program, I still haven’t got that WOW factor. At this moment in time my only regret is not having attended extra life drawing classes whilst I was at college. No point crying over spilt milk.

 

There is one advantage,  doing the sketchbook on a daily basis and attending the life drawing courses has meant that I have seen a significant improvement in my artwork. I can't stress enough how practicing everyday is vital to your improvement in your artwork.  Another advantage about attending life drawing classes is that you can add your rejected artwork to the sketchbook!

 

Two weeks ago, I attended a life drawing course specifically on Hands, Feet and Faces at the Heatherly’s Fine Art School, Chelsea (London). It was a must for me to attend this life drawing course, as CALARTS places a heavy emphasis on being able to draw the hands, feet and face accurately.   Calarts states that you can disguise a beginner from an accomplished artist by looking at the hands, feet and faces. 

 

I didn’t produce any finished pieces from the class itself, as most of the lesson was taken up with the tutorial; but I did leave the class with a range of ideas for a visual story for the hands.  So I am eager to see if this works.

 

There is one course that I must attend and that is a master course in colour. In one of the life drawing sessions the art teacher told me not to merely colour in my artwork. Instead I must think and feel how colour could enhance the visual narrative. I’ll let you know how I got on with that course.

 

Tip for preparing to apply to Calarts Character Animation Program.  START AT LEAST PREPARING YOUR PORTFOLIO A YEAR IN ADVANCE!  This would enable to choose from a range of artwork, hence you will be able to pick out your best pieces.  It would be able to give yourself a chance to improve on your artwork.  Either way starting well in advance is a must.

Useful Reading
Learn more about how to create great hands, feet and faces
http://characterdesignnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/foot-and-shoe-reference-part-2.html

CALARTS: TIPS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR OBSERVATIONAL ARTWORK

Countdown 50 days to go be for the portfolio deadline for CalArts

I attended a drop-in life drawing class on Saturday, at the Prince's Drawing School. The school is near in Old Street Station, London. The problem was that the class was crammed packed. Since the only available space was right under the crotch of the nude male model, I stayed at the back of the class. Fortunately for me, most people left in the afternoon.  This gave me ample opportunity to view the nude male model from every possible angle.

I didn’t produce some of my best drawings, maybe I was conscience of other people around me and the fact everyone’s peeking at everyone work; so perhaps I wasn’t feeling too relaxed. NB: I was peeking at other people’s work too. Their work was fantastic.

I realised that no two pieces of artwork is the same or even remotely similar. So for CalArts to say that they want us to be unqiue or be you is the easy part.  All I need to make sure of, is to be the best possible me that I can be.  I just need the courage to stand up and shine.

There was a bonus as I learnt how to  make a bamboo pen. Also teacher gave me useful guidelines on how I can improve my artwork in general.

Tips that can be applied to help improve your artwork:

• Try and be critical about your artwork

I was told to be always critical of my own drawings.I needed to question what worked and what didn’t.  Step back and observe the subject and critical evaluate your own artwork.  Is the form and porportion accurate? Does the line and tone accurately reflect the mood?

• Think about the visual story:

The teacher kept telling the class about the visual story and he said  ‘…imagine that one day your paintings will be hanging on a wall, you need to think about what you want your paintings or drawing to say to the viewer……’

• Think about the relationship of the subject with other objects.

I’ve been advised that I needed to show the relationship between the subject i.e the model and the object i.e the sofa.OOOO…..KKKKK….. This I really didn’t get.The nude dude was just lying on the sofa; I really don’t understand what alternative relationship the nude dude can have with the sofa?Any suggestions?

The teacher also mentioned my lack of attention to the background, in terms of mood, and accuracy.This has been duly noted and I would be thinking more about the mood and details within the background.

• Composition.

Generally I’ve been using the two thirds rule, used in photography to give my artwork some sort of order. The magic ‘triangle’ used by the masters can be also used to make artwork atheistically pleasing. Composition is really important as it enhances the mood and reinforces the visual story of your artwork.

Overall, the teacher commented on how some of my drawings looked loose and how others looked solid. According to him, I needed to combine the two styles together. I gave it a go and the result looked reasonable.

 

I stayed the entire day and produced numerous drawing, but unfortunately only one drawing was worthy to be added to the portfolio. The teacher was excited about the composition, and the story of the drawing. I do think I may need to add some sort of colour to the final drawing.

This class made me critical of the other two life drawings in my portfolio. There was something fundamental wrong with ‘Emily holding a sword and pretending to be dead’ drawing; namely a dead person wouldn’t grip the sword so tightly. Also for the life drawing with ‘Loreta stabs Joseph’ Loreta’s entire body language just feels wrong.

 

This is a disaster because it means that I now only have ONE quality drawing for my portfolio. S**T.

For anyone thinking about attending a quality life drawing classes, I would highly recommend it.

Gesture Drawings Resources

Useful Resources for Gesture Drawings

updated: 10/04/2014

Thankfully there are many resources that you can use to help you improve the quality and feel of your gesture drawings.  You can sketch people and animals from TV.  Programs recomended are sports and animal/nature programs.  You can even use VIMEO and Youtube.

If you are new to Gesture drawings and don't know where to start see Proko TV below.  I found the program informative and useful.  I've included all three series below.


Series One:  How to Draw Gesture





Series Two: How to Draw Gesture - Step by Step






Series Three: Gesture Drawing Examples - 2 minute Poses

 

 

 

 

Useful Websites for practising gesture drawings

Quickposes: pose generator for figure & gesture drawing practice (Free) 
www.quickposes.com/ 

Figure & Gesture Drawing Practice ToolFigure & Gesture Drawing (Free) www.artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/

Online Life Drawing - 360° images for figure drawing (Subscription) 
www.onlinelifedrawing.com/‎

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another tutorial video I found informative. 

 

Series 1: Gesture Drawing with Chris Warner (Otis college)

 



      
Series 2: Gesture Drawing 2 with Chris Warner (Otis College)

    















This video is suited to those wishing to go into animation.


Series 1: How to warm-up for gesture drawings
 







Series 2: How to warm-up for gesture drawing
                  

CALARTS CHARACTER ANIMATION PORTFOLIO PREPARATION: LET'S BEGIN

Updated 12/04/2014

 

Mmmmm where to start?

The time is to start now.

When I first applied to CALARTs, the first and most important fundamental steps were to be myself and meet all of the portfolio requirements as laid out by CALARTs. Personally, I thought I did just that, I was myself AND I met all the requirements below. Which begs the question, what the hell went wrong?

I could spend all day speculating, but it would not get me anywhere. What I do know is that any mistakes I made last year I DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT. I can almost guarantee that the quality of work and increased quantity of people that will be applying for 2015 Character Animation Program will make 2014 look like a joke!

I have to raise my game. Whatever I need to do, I need to do it to the maX. I am currently waiting for feedback from CALARTs. ( If you have applied and have been rejected last year click on this link to find out how you can get feedback on your work.) but in the meantime I need to objectively reeview my own portfolio.

Below, I have pasted the basic requirements from CALARTs website. Hoover over the link and it will take you a page that explores what I did last year and any changes that I intend to make to improve my artwork.

Application Portfolio Requirements:

Part I: Observational Drawings (minimum 15 drawings):
Examples:

• Drawings of people and animals from life that explore elements like shape, form, contour, and contrast. These drawings should range from one-minute gestures to longer poses. Indicate hands, feet, and faces.
• Drawings of interior environments and exterior landscapes that showcase depth, ambiance, and mood.
• Do not erase your construction lines ––they are especially helpful to the faculty in understanding your approach to observational drawing.
• Do not submit traced pictures or copies of work by others.

Part II: Sketchbook / Visual Diary (filled or completed sketchbook):
Examples:

• Sketches from your everyday life.
• Drawings that illustrate film ideas and story concepts.
• Thumbnails of scenes that you plan to animate one day.
• Random jottings that interest you.
• Character designs.
• Studies of images from films or other sources you like.

Part III: Other Work:
Include any combination of the following:

• Sequential image storytelling: Work that showcases your ability to tell a story and develop a character. For example: storyboards, graphic novels, comics, flipbooks, or short stories with thumbnails.
• Digital creative work (animated or still): Creative work that you produce, or manipulate, in one or more computer programs. This might take the form of 2D digital art or 3D computer graphics (CG).
• Photographs
• Paintings
• Sculptures
• Installations
• Murals
• Character designs
• Cartoons
• Caricatures

 

First Published on 23/09/2013

My blog account about applying to CALARTs with only 63 days to the deadline.  (Please if there is one advice you need to take is to START EARLY)

 

 

This is what I have been waiting for, I have sent my application to CalArts.  The program that I am applying for is Character Animation.  Research suggests that a lot of emphasis seems to be placed on the portfolio.  It gives the feeling that at least 90% of your success is dependant on an outstanding portfolio.

 

Personally, in my opinion I think your references, and your artistic statement, are also major factors. I feel that the references may account for 25%, and your artistic statement another 25% and your portfolio 50%.  (It would be great if we can have this confirmed from someone from the faculty).

 

I have already sent off the references and uploaded my artistic statement along with my application form.  Calarts have made this process simple as you only need to answer  three basic questions.   (I would share my artistic statement; it is just, I find that it’s just too personal to share with the entire world.)  Whatever you do, don't copy other people's answers, as you are not being true to you.  Also nine out ten times they, CalArts, would probably know about it.

 

With regards to financing, I come under the category of international student, as I am from the UK. The aim is to sell up everything to attend CalArts as I fully believe that attending CalArts will raise my standards to an international or global level.  I have been met with resistance from my entire family stating that I am crazy, and I am not going to lie this is terrifying move but it is a move that  I feel would be well worth it.

I've managed to appease the family by saying that I will generate alternative income to cover the cost of the course.  The thing is, I never told them just how much all this is going to cost.  At the moment they are waiting for my ideas, and financial plan.

Apart from that, the final thing I need to do is to hand in my portfolio. After having done extensive research, click this link for a list of portfolios accepted and rejected, I have concluded that I am closer to the rejected pile than the accepted. I believe that if I put in few solid hours a day, I should be able to pull myself nearer to the accepted pile. Whether I would be accepted is another matter?


At the present moment the problems with my portfolio are:

• Lack of diversity: I have too many incomplete life drawings of people, without faces, hands, feet and not enough of animals or the environment.  Most of my drawings are mainly in pencil.

• Lack of order/ continuity or flow: There is no order – one person who got into CALARTS talked about creating a story from your portfolio, and making your portfolio flow.

• Lack of high quality completed pieces: After seeing one rejected most of her work was incomplete; it lacked substance. Maybe I’m being hard on myself, but then again maybe I'm being honest.

The deadline to upgrade my portfolio and send it in is 30th November. AGHRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I basically have 9 weeks to upgrade my portfolio. How am I going to fit this extra art in with work?


Timetable
Now and 21st Nov: Produce quality paintings, drawings, sketches, storyboards, models etc
22nd – 24th Nov: Concentrate on presentation
25th Nov: Send off portfolio


Crap this is stressful – I’m off to bed.