9/29/13 - CCG Themed Life Drawing (TLD) - Long Pose - Sultan's Harem

Continuing in our initiative (see the CCG TLD tab) to create more diverse drawing and learning opportunities for all artists - The Lexington KY Comic Creators Group  (CCG) is hosting a Themed Life Drawing (TLD)  event with  the cooperation and support of the UK Community Arts program this Sunday, September 29th from 1-4pm. The event will be held in one the studios on the 2nd floor of the Reynolds Building #1.  (Follow the posted signs or call ahead for exact details.)


Long Pose - Sultan's Harem Theme - UK Reynolds Building - Sunday S9/29/13 - 1-4pm - All Mediums Welcome*
* Mediums that will be SAFE in an enclosed space

2011, Jonathan Gilpin,
Pitt Markers size?

Date: Sunday 9/29/13 1pm-4pm
Location: UK Reynolds Building #1, drawing or painting studio 2nd floor

Cost: $ 8-7 adults, $5 students

Format: clothed, 10 minutes of short exploratory poses, 5 minute setup, 2-1/2 hour pose with three 5 minute breaks - long pose drawing, painting or sculpture  - possible extension of pose for 2nd session if there is support, photos taken with model's approval and willingness to share with host

Theme: Sultan's boudoir, model in belly dancer costume, hookah, large potted palms, candles, Persian rugs, pillows, tapestries, fainting couch, Moorish pattern screens, lighting, soundtrack

Budget: model fees: $45, props $:0-45

Technical Assistance: prop collection, lighting, audio - Teresas, Melissa, Farhad, Mike, Matt Cooper
Contacts: Tony Roccanova, Jonathan Gilpin

Updcoming CCG TLDs:
I propose these two days** and possibly two costume/themes: (note both will be clothed modeling sessions, based upon the models preferences- and appropriate for !4+ years of age artists)

**If you have other ideas for themes or venues - please tell me! Would like to get these happening on a monthly basis - next up would be October (Halloween Theme) and November (Thanksgiving, Football, or Pilgrim Theme)

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CCG Themed Life Drawing - Dark Horse Comics Ghost 

December 2012, Katie as Ghost,
photo by Mike Burrell

Date: Sunday 10/27/13, 2:30 -4:30pm
Location: Beaumont Branch, Lexington Public Library

Cost: Free Event
Format: clothed, short poses, 1 min -15 min, drawing and sketching
Theme: Comic Book character portrayal with Katie as Ghost (tie into try out script Ghost script from Dark Horse Comics or aspiring comic artists?) fan, lights

Budget: model fees: $30 ( costume, $0 (already made/assembled)
Contacts: Jonathan Gilpin

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CCG Themed Life Drawing - Dark Horse Comics Ghost 

2013, Jonathan Gilpin,
india ink and wash, 19" x 25"

Date: Sunday, 11/17/13 evening (exact time TBA)
Location: TBD (Jonathan to host)

Cost: $ 8-7 adults, $5 students

Format:  clothed 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 minute poses, 30 minute poses, 45-60 minute pose sketching and drawing

Theme: Movie Re-enactment of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Katie as lead Femme Fatale

Budget: model fees: $45, costume: $0 (already made/assembled)

Props: 60's era stuff, motorcycle, switchblade, tire chains, male motorcycle gang member victim for Katie to hold down {John Howard?}
Contacts: Jonathan Gilpin

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If you are interested in modeling, drawing, or helping with staging, makeup, cosutming or props please contact me!

Email (lexkyccg"at"gmail"dot" com), phone (859) 276-5528 or text message me Jonathan Gilpin (859) 699-8640. Also watch our facebook page (or join our private group), CCG Coordinators's events on my facebook page and listings on The Lexington Drawing & Painting Group on meetup.com for more info and further artistic opportunities!

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UDPATE: 10/28/13 Long Pose - Sultan's Harem Theme

2013, Mike Burrell, media?, size?

Here a few images from the Harem Boudoir TLD from a few weeks back:

We ended up having about a 2-hour long pose. The abundance of textures and surfaces was quite challenging!

Looking forward to our next long pose! As an artist you definitely need to strategize your approach differently than from shorter poses. If we extend the poses even longer to allow sculptors to join the session then that changes it even more!

Link to meetup.com group gallery:

http://www.meetup.com/The-Lexington-Drawing-and-Painting-Group/photos/17797042/#292324122

07/27/07 - Drawing Aids: Photoreference & Computer Models

Is it OK for artists to use photo reference? What about tracing photos by hand (lightbox) or with software (Photoshop, Painter)? What about using 3D software (SketchUp, Hash Animation Pro, 3D Studio Max, Maya)? These really help with that tough perspective you really don't have to hand draw out... (see my previous post about using the computer as a perspective aid). Did famous classical painters use devices like the camera obscura? If they did, does this lessen the value of their work?

Greg Land (a favorite of mine from back in his Birds of Prey and later Cross-Gen's Sojourn runs) is really getting pounded (too harshly I think) recently in a lot of on-line chats and forums for what seems to be pretty obvious tracing of photo reference (also for the sources of these images). This debate seems to have really heated up and a lot of consumers of comics (fans) are incensed and seem to feel this is cheating. Illustrators, to my knowledge, have used photo reference and tracing as pretty common working methods for years. But there is usually some effort to disguise the source image (through creative deviations in the final art) when the work will be publicly displayed or published. If folks are aware of the photo reference then that hurts the final product.

I found this (CBR) Comic Book Resources article by Stuart Immomen (penciler of Superman and Nextwave) linked to over at the Drawn blog. He apologetically acknowledges his use of photo reference and software models. The article is pretty good, but the discussion it spurs is even more interesting. Don't skip the comments!

My personal take is that reference is OK if used to fill in your gaps of your knowledge for a particular subject matter. That means your design takes precedence over the exact layout shown in the photo (or model). The reference serves your idea not the other way around. Sometimes (most if you are not really experienced) you have to start with reference (Joe Kubert's cartooning courses explicitly tell you to look for reference needs as you read a script, then gather them before you even start to draw ). Say you need to draw scenes from the Forbidden City in the 1700's - not many of us have any visual memory to pull from for something like that, right? That's when you have to research on things, locations and times frames that you are not familiar with. But, you should be building a personal visual data bank while doing that (you really should be doing this all the time in everyday life).

There are differing opinions about this; one comic artist, I really admire comes to mind - Paul Pelletier will quite proudly will tell you he doesn't use any photo reference (it all comes from his mind's eye, I guess). If you can do it and keep your readers (and editors) happy more power to you! I do think as visual artists we should strive to be able to do that but I don't know if we can all hold that much visual data in our heads! Do you want to attend your first convention as professional and you have to tell little Timmy that you can't draw Mustardman without being in your studio do you? Nah, you want to be able to whip out a nice little con sketch (that his parents will later sell on EBay) for him to tack to his bedroom wall!