Artist Spotlite - Interview With Todd Harris

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Todd Harris is an artist who has spent thousands of hours being classically trained in the Florence Academy method. He works as a concept art director for the Walt Disney Corporation where he teaches and critiques teams of artists. He has had many paintings published in magazines such as Dragon. His mission is to help artists of all levels to achieve their artistic goals. He does this by providing his guide and supplemental information along the way. The archived articles, newsletters, forums, and portfolio reviews from his websites will all work as a whole to better artists anywhere in the world.

"April" by Todd Harris

==========================================
The Interview
==========================================

Q - What medium or mediums do you work with?

A -
I work with charcoal, pencil, and digital mediums. I’m looking to move into the oils soon. I’ve always been a strong believer for figures that you master pencil before going into painting.

Q - How long have you been an artist? How did you get started?

A - I have been an artist for the past 12 years professionally but have been doing art for as long as I can remember. It’s the only thing that makes sense in my life.

I didn’t have as much talent as other artists but I wasn’t good at anything else, lol! My first job as an artist was drawing the pictures for tombstones (kind of a dead-end job). It was actually a really good starting job because you felt like you were bringing comfort to others through art and I really developed some good drawing principles during this time.

Then I did some commercial art and then went over to video game art, which lead me to Disney.

Q - Do you have any formal training or are you self taught?

A - Both…I have a Bachelor’s in Fine Art but that alone wouldn’t have put me in the place I am now. I would find that sometimes the artists taking the classes knew more than the university professors. So, I bought a bunch of books, studied those as often as I could. I also took workshops and independent classes here locally. One thing that I have found that is really cool is that most universities will offer figure drawing classes on the weekends for cheap. You can do a drawing session for about 5 dollars. These have really helped me to grow as an artist.

Q - Do you have any favorite art supplies that you would like to recommend??

A - The digital art medium is starting to become more legitimate and is great for saving time. I use Corel Painter 9 for my digital art.

For traditional products I like toned paper. It gives you a head start getting you half way there because it starts you off with your midtones and you can finish your drawings faster.

Q - Do you work with any specific styles or subject matter?

A - I like to draw people and then the more adventurous side of me likes to do a lot of fantasy as well. Working for Disney has kept me in imaginative worlds, so I like to work in those creative atmospheres a lot.

Q - Can you recommend any books, videos or other resources that will help new artists?

A - I like several different drawing books. I really like Bridgman, he has a bunch of anatomy and figure drawing books. I like Vanderpoel as well. Charles Bargue has some good educational figure drawing books. Stephen Peck has a good starter called Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist. I wrote a book on figure drawing as well, it’s called Master the Human Form.

Q - How do you get ideas to create a piece? What inspires you?

A - I’m inspired by reading and story . I am also inspired by that place in my imagination that I want to visit. (My wife is laughing at that last statement right now) I’m inspired by great writing and other beautiful art.

Q - Are there any artists that have influenced you and why?

A - Howard Pyle, NC Wyeth are two of the old timer’s that I am inspired by. Frank Frazetta and others. I am really inspired and love the old illustrators and visual storytellers. James Gurney and many others as well. I’m influenced by many artists that I have rubbed shoulders with or taken classes from or read their books.

Q - Do you have a website you would like to share?

A - There are many great advantages of the internet. Artists have such great resources now to help them in their artistic endeavors. I have a couple of websites that focus on figure drawing. They are www.learning2draw.com and www.alldrawnout.com. One offers a book and the other offers a site with video instruction and tutorials so you can see figure drawings being done right in front of you. About.com has some good resources for drawing as well, and of course, I love creative spotlite!. The blogging world is becoming big for artists to share their work, we are like a big community of artists. My blog is found at www.hog-heaven.blogspot.com.

Q - Finally, do you have any last words of advice for beginner artists?

A - Yes, just focus on your passion and love of art. Don’t get discouraged. As I mentioned before, I was probably the most untalented artist I know. Just keep practicing! You may hear that a lot but I think you hear it a lot because it’s the golden ticket to great art.

 

“Learn the little-known secrets to Mastering the Human Form Through Figure Drawing techniques never before seen!” If you want to learn EXACTLY how to… Easily learn proportions and be able to draw them correctly even with ZERO drawing experience… Draw incredible realistic looking faces… Master the toughest parts of the human form, like hands, hair, and eyes - almost instantly… Learn how to draw people in 4 easy steps using industry leading drawing tricks… Use never before seen figure drawing techniques…to draw like the masters in minutes… … Plus a TON more step-by-step Figure Drawing strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are already using to Master the Human Form, click here now…

Popularity: 15% [?]

Share This

Human Figure Drawing Lesson - Video Clip

Popularity: 7% [?]

Share This

Drawing The Human Figure - Tips For Beginners

Figure drawing is challenging. The act of rendering the human form accurately on paper can be intimidating and frustrating if you try to tackle everything all at once. It is for this reason that you should take things one-step at a time and most importantly, practice! The following article will provide you with some of the basics for understanding how to approach your next figure drawing project.

The very first thing you will need obviously is your drawing supplies. Drawing does not have to be a very expensive art form. You can get started with a pencil and paper if you so desire, but there are certain supplies that will produce better results. It is quite difficult to recommend the perfect materials as every artist is different and therefore will have different preferences. Only time and experience will tell you what materials work best for your particular style. Your choice of materials will also depend on the chosen subject matter.

The best advice would be to get a variety of different pencils and papers and simply experiment. You will eventually come to like certain materials over others. Get your self a pad of newsprint paper. Newsprint paper is fairly inexpensive and excellent for practice drawings, although you should not expect these drawing to last very long. They will more than likely yellow over time. For your permanent drawings, a good quality paper is recommended. Strathmore is a good brand to look into. You may want to start with a medium textured paper as it has enough “tooth” to hold a fair amount of medium, but smooth enough to allow for detailed work. You will also need a good size drawing board that is smooth and flat for your drawing surface.

Before you even lift a pencil, you should have a basic understanding of human anatomy. When you study anatomy, you will learn more about the construction of the human body and its proportions. You will also have a basic understanding of the muscles and tendons and how they direct and control the body. There is no need to get carried away and memorize every muscle, bone, and tendon in the human body; just a fundamental understanding should suffice.

Getting the proportions correct in your figure drawing is one of the biggest challenges you will face as a beginner. It is for this reason that a unit of measurement was established using the models head. This is the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin. 7 ½ to 8 heads is the standard measurement that has been developed for the height of an erect figure. This measurement can vary depending on the subject so you may have to make adjustments to your figure drawing. You should realize that the measurement of 7 ½ heads corresponds to the figure when it is standing erect. If the pose of your figure changes, adjustments will obviously have to be made.

Artists will often use a pencil to take the head measurement. Stand a reasonable distance from your subject. Grab your pencil from the bottom as if you were holding a hammer and extend your arm out fully in front of you toward the subject. Try and keep your head as still as possible. Make certain that you are standing in the same spot each time you take measurements. Now closing one eye match the tip of the pencil with the top of the subjects head. Place your thumb on the pencil and slide it down until it matches with the bottom of the subjects chin. You now have taken the “head” measurement of your subject, which will now serve as a reference for measuring the rest of your subject.

When deciding on the type of pose for your figure drawing make sure you choose one that looks natural. Your model will be holding his or her pose for a long period of time and should be comfortable and relaxed. Give your model adequate time to move around and get settled. The more relaxed and natural the pose, the more believable the final drawing or painting will be. If your model looks uncomfortable or awkward, your painting or drawing will reflect that as well.

There are number of different lighting situations that you can create for your figure drawing or painting. Will you be working indoors or outdoors? If indoors, will you be working in a room that has natural sunlight or will you be using artificial light? What direction will the light source come from? Will there be multiple light sources? If you are a beginner, you may want to create a lighting effect that strikes your model from only one direction and illuminates your figure only partially, thereby creating more shadow. This will make for a much easier figure drawing. As you gain more experience, you can then move on to more complex lighting effects.

When you begin your drawing, you should not be overly concerned with getting every detail correct in your figure or other objects that make up your drawing. Many beginners fall into this trap and ultimately wind up with a drawing that is out of proportion or that just looks wrong. Study your subject, squint your eyes and try to locate the basic shapes that make up your subject.

Figure drawing and painting is a vast subject and this article only touches on some of the basics. You should definitely take classes or workshops and practice your figure drawing with live models. Purchase a few good books on figure drawing and anatomy. Join discussion groups and ask questions. Most importantly though, keep practicing and never give up.

Popularity: 87% [?]

Share This