/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>2191595
Nigga please, leave all your fucks to give at home before you go drawing in public. Get the damn membership at the zoo, draw the prettiest fucking gorilla assholes you can, and then post them here for critique. Also, wearing headphones will deter most people that want to bother if you want to focus on drawing and make sure to check the weather when you go out to draw.

>>2191595
>How do I go out in public to draw from life without looking autistic?
You don't.

You just take that on the chin and draw anyway. Make sacrifices for your art.

>>2191595
A few things:
-people don't usually give a shit or notice you
-occasionally someone will come up to chat a bit or compliment you, just be nice and make that small talk because they will leave in a minute anyways
-people ALWAYS assume you are an art student doing an assignment (they are always shocked if you say it is for fun)
-kids tend to come up to you more than adults and watch you or awkwardly comment
-I don't bother, but you can bring headphones to discourage people talking to you
-try to bring as few materials as possible, or make sure it fits in a bag nicely as it sucks to carry too many things around
-bring a foldable stool to sit on
-pencils and newsprint are an odd choice, I would use conte or charcoal on newsprint instead
-I like using pen to sketch, it is fast and you don't overwork things that will be moving, and it looks better/more finished in quick sketches than pencil
-watercolour pencils and a waterbrush work great for quick colour stuff
-if your drawings turn out shit don't get self conscious, the general public can't tell good art from bad art
-bring a camera, sometimes there are things you won't have time to draw but will be nice to capture still in some form

>>2191601
I was just kidding about the autistic thing

>implying I can go anywhere without looking autistic

I was thinking more about the logistics of the whole thing. I don't have a lot of common sense to be quite honest. Presently I just have some big pads of paper and drawing pencils and literally that's it. Do I just throw all my sketches away into the nearest receptacle as soon as they're finished? I know that's not unheard of (it's what I've done up to this point anyway), but I'm curious if there's an easy way to store larger pieces of paper that I might be unduly proud of if the need arises.

Great idea about the headphones by the way, I actually edited out a portion of my post where I was going to ask about deterring people from making conversation with me. I feel bad even saying that but I know that it's inevitable that I'll have some people curious about what I'm doing and because I'm a nice guy I'll easily get sucked into gains-sapping 20 minute conversations if I don't do something.

>>2191595
Bring fucking headphones. You will have people constantly interrupting you to talk about art if you don't. Other than that, just do it. It's not nearly as big a deal as you think. I used to do it at the mall all the time.

>>2191595
Bring a friend with you and chat and draw, it will feel much more natural than going on your own

>>2191621
I was considering that, I don't have a any artistic friends in my circle so I was thinking of putting an ad out on craigslist or something. Maybe a cute grill will want to go to the zoo with me.

...maybe,

>>2191607
>people ALWAYS assume you are an art student doing an assignment (they are always shocked if you say it is for fun)
>ALWAYS
Seconding that.

>>2191613
I recommend keeping all of your sketches if you want to keep track of your progress. I don't really think that there's a way to store larger pieces of paper other than folding them and you would have to make sure that they aren't smudging. You can always take a photo though. Also >>2191607 covers a lot.

>>2191624
>>2191607

>fun

Drawing big fat retarded animals all day might end up being pretty awesome in spite of myself but really it's a practical means to an end, for me. I want to be a real nigga and in the end there's nothing to it but to do it, fam!

Working in retail, low paid warehouse and nightclub jobs since forever, I don't have the money for a formal art education of any sort-I just have to convince myself that I can somehow mimic the success of other notable self-made artists somehow. Being interested in animation above all else the really formal art and illustration stuff is kind of taxing but I know it will be worth it in the end. I need a huge mental library and there's only one way to cultivate that I'm aware of.

>>2191622
No that's dumb don't do that
Just make friends the natural way by chatting about random shit at work and ask one of them if they wanna chill and chat with you whilst you draw shit?

>>2191951
Why's that dumb? How else am I supposed to find a cute grill that wants to draw moose knuckles with me?

Also I work alone in a small store and don't care for any of my clientele so that's out. I'm starting from 0 here fam!

I wonder if I should get a man-purse or something to hold my sketchpads in.

>>2191595
>Noah Bradley
>why go to art school and get taught nothing when you can pay me to teach you nothing instead

Get out.

>>2192226

>How do I go out in public to draw from life without looking autistic?
I've been wondering the same thing.
I'm very shy and would feel very uncomfortable drawing alone in public.
I've been trying to find an artbuddy so it wouldn't be that awkward anymore but wasn't successful so far.

>>2192236

I don't get this meme. Who keeps posting it??

>>2192270
you're mom

xD

>>2192270
that malaysian /pol/tard faggot. he'll post that image followed by some variation of u mad/lol butthurt/etc

I'm not sure if I should use a backpack or a messenger bag or what. I just had a $80 Swiss Gear backpack with a lot of my art shit stolen out of my car not too long ago so I'm not really looking forward to having to buy another. I don't know why it's so hard for me to remember to take things out of my car or lock it once in a while but it is what it is.

>>2192273
>you're
>xD
oh boy

>>2192278

>>2192280

>>2191595
I regularly use my zoo membership to sit on a bench and draw the shit out of some gibbons. I fucking love gibbons.

I'll tell you my experience, but know that I started when my skill level was already at impressive to the layman and not-embarrassing-to-look-at to the experienced.

I sit on a bench with a small sketchbook and a pencil and largely people will ignore you. Sometimes kids will poke their heads over to see and will be very impressed and may ask a few questions or ask you to draw something. You can point out that you're busy drawing something or you can draw a quick sketch of what they want and give it to them, which will make them super happy and is an easy way to get them to leave because they'll want to show it to their parents. I've always treated them with a casual and distracted friendliness and I've yet to be strung up as a child molestor so I can only assume it works to dissuade those around me that I'm a creep of some sort. Sometimes they'll want to watch you draw, but they get bored real quick. Usually the parents will get pulled over as a result, and they occasionally have questions, but usually a friendly nod will do ya. Sometimes a parent will notice you drawing and ask if they can pull their kid over, with the same general results. Sometimes people will silently usher their friends and family over and point you out as if you, too, were part of the exhibit, which is kinda funny.

I don't have any social anxiety and I find it easy to make small-talk with people, so if you have accomplished these mighty feats of base social interaction you should be fine.

As for drawing the animals, they don't tend to nicely hold still, so do a lot of gestures and then work on some pieces from memory. Binoculars won't do you wrong if you want a closer look at their anatomy.

And always remember to wear sunscreen. GL, fellow zooanon.

>>2192310
Thanks bud. What media do you work in by the way or do you just have a huge variety of stuff?

>>2192278

nobody's ever asked me questions.

you'll begin noticing how little time other people look at things befor moving on, and feel a mutual discomfort.

figure out the logistics. how will you handle pencil shavings etc.

>>2192226
i don't know why this board idolizes the guy and posts his shit when he's clearly taking advantage of them

>>2192360
Please don't think that by sharing his anecdote I or anyone else on the board "idolizes" him. I shared that portion of Bradley's essay because it's topical to the self-teaching discussion. I didn't share it because I think super highly of Noah himself (not that I think particularly low of him as a lot of people here do, just for the record, but that may be because I don't know dick about him to begin with), rather he is a successful working artist who purports to have studied far more on his own time and promoted himself on his own time to achieve his current level of success in his chosen industry. I can't imagine anyone on this board has taken a single class of his or attended one of his lectures so if he truly is some kind of con artist as you're implying it wouldn't affect anyone here in the slightest.

Many of the users here are at the very least, I feel, hopeful for another way to achieve success than attending a ludicrously expensive formal art college. As an artist I want to know that it's possible and I want to share the thoughts of working artist's that help support that view. Stephen Silver's story and his career for example should be pretty inspiring to anyone here.

>>2192335
Nothing bulky enough that people will have to step around it and nothing that could make a real mess. Generally I bring my 5-by-8" sketchbook and some pencils and pens. Charcoal tends to smear on things and I'm trying to get over using it as a crutch to avoid rendering detail, so I leave it at home and stick with softer graphites if I need the effect.

As for color pieces, idk what you use, but my going out medium of choice is watercolor. I bring some watercolor pencils, a few brushes, and a small pan of pigments - pans are really the ideal for travel and clean up. I get water in a tupperware from the nearest water fountain and bring my own paper towels. I'll take a picture of my chosen subject with my phone for reference, as I tend to paint a layer, wait for it to dry while gesture sketching, and then go back to it, and you can lose the feel of the subject in between.

You gotta think small, in both the size of your painting and your presence at the zoo. Be very unambitious in your first few trips - I only brought black watercolor pencil and paints my first few trips and worked in grayscales until I got comfortable with my system for traveling, setting up, and working, upon which I started bringing in more complicated materials.

You get the most value out of painting at the zoo through lots of lil thumbnail paintings of animals and their environments, imo. Gets a feel for the motion and pull of the animal and the dominant subjects in their environment. Complicated, polished work should be in your own space.

>>2192406
Oh, and; using paints tends to attract more attention than sketching, as it makes you look more legit as an artist or something.

>>2192410
Fucking this. I usually have A4 black sketchbook and charcoal+precision marker, but when I went painting with portable canvas and a bag of acrylics people were all over my shit.

>>2192434
Eesh. I do my painting in a sketchbook on my lap, and even that gets pretty busy. I'm wincing at the thought the crowd a canvas and a full palette must draw.

Go for headphones if your medium choice screams 'I R ARTIST' that loudly, I'd say.

>>2192406
>watercolor pencils

Never heard of 'em, sounds kind of interesting. Are they just like colored pencils or do they have some kind of titular gimmick? I want to be an animator so I'm mostly going to be focusing on gesture and making appealing sketches and so on but I do want to practice color while I'm there, too.

>>2192540
Nevermind I looked it up myself. These look pretty fuggin' cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H_Bz4ylNfg

Alright I think I have all of the essentials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ_F4hMYp8U

Shit I can't use watercolor on regular paper wtf am I thinking. Does anyone here work in colored pencil? Are Crayolas REALLY that much worse than say, Prismacolors?

>>2192558
Nice man I'm getting a big shipment in too

>>2191654
You don't need art school. Most are shit
>most
Self teach, stick to practice, understand what you are learning and you will be better than /most/ art students.

I work full time Nigga, and can only really put in 2ish hours a day, no excuses

>>2193045
>Shit I can't use watercolor on regular paper wtf am I thinking.
What kind of "regular paper?" Some take to it better than others, with little/no feathering or bleeding(buckling will always be a problem, though).
>Does anyone here work in colored pencil? Are Crayolas REALLY that much worse than say, Prismacolors?
Yes, they are.

>>2193049
kek

>>2193058
I've got a few sketchpads of mid size newsprint paper (9x12) left after having a lot stolen alongside the backpack I kept it in. I can tell just by looking at it that any moisture at all will blow it the fuck out so maybe I'll hold off on the watercolors for now until my sketch game is on point

>Yes, they are

Alright, good to know; I don't suppose you've used anything cheaper of a competitive quality, have you?

Any tips on charcoal pencils vs. charcoal sticks?

Are charcoal pencils just "cleaner" or what? They seem to be a little cheaper but they're way shorter too, I guess I'm not sure what actually gives you more "mileage in the end. I don't know, I don't really care to get a bunch of shit on my hands either but if it means saving money over a long period I guess it can't be helped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sblR0eIRW-I

>>2193227
It's cleaner and easier to sharpen and you can hold it like a pencil. I wish I hadn't bought conte crayons and got the pencils instead.

>>2193231
I figured as much, charcoal seems pretty expensive but if they gradate worth balls I suppose they're worth it. I haven't used a graphite 2B pencil that I can get more than like 3-4 different shades out of.

>>2191595
>How do I go out in public to draw from life without looking autistic?
You're not going to look autistic. I don't even think you know what that means.
Just stop worrying what other people think and just go draw, paint, make art, etc just go for it.

>>2194960
Oh I definitely know what it means. I was just joking around though so no worries. I know everyone's going to be mirin' me in my superman hat.