Monday, August 1, 2011

JULY

One month. One sketchbook. Two burnt feet.



If you look at my observational work from the past year, I predominantly used Pen - the idea being that, "If I want to be an animator, I have to do quick, gestural drawings ".... and Pen was the medium that I found suited this train of thought. But there were times when it wasn't the medium for what I wanted to draw, but I used it none the less and got frustrated with the results... even more so of late.





(Just for fun - I would've liked to have gone into this properly... but Gouken was like, "what about meeeee!?")

......

I spent a few days away with some friends (who also happen to be very talented artists), and it was during this time away that I was lent a 5B pencil. Unlike an HB, it was sooo refreshing to sketch with - I couldn't stop using it - drawing anything, anywhere, anytime.... Sketching suddenly became new again and it was no longer about the results I thought an animator should get, it was just about enjoying drawing, capturing the moment I was in, and discovering the world around me....











...So thank you.

Since then, I went into a Virgin Store (in France they have lots of stationary), and I couldn't see where the individual pencils were, so I asked an assistant if they had 5Bs..... he said there was no such thing - that they didn't exist 0_0 "err, yes they exist" I replied in a, 'you gotta be trolling me' manner. He very seriously took me to the pencils and showed me they had 2B, 4B and 6B, but never had they seen/stocked a 3, 5 or higher than 6..... 0_0
So I bought a 4 and 6 in a compromise :D





Next post - PROJECT_GOUKEN!!

And a word of advice - don't forget to apply suncream to your feet if wearing flip-flops... Red V's on your feet are NOT cool, contrary to what anyone says.

'Till the Next,
L

p.s EVO2K11 SSFIVAE Poongko Vs Daigo = HYPE

33 comments:

Amy Elsam said...

Oh man, there's literally way too much to gush about here... Thoroughly amazing work, Laurent! The initial, more stylized stuff is beautiful - the guy with the pram and the kid especially. And I LOVE the 5b drawings. Really mature, effortless looking work. So so glad I dropped by! x

chang said...

damn these are so cool! and the ones that you went in with digital afterwards are fun too :)

tiffannysketchbook said...

so freakin cool!! you rock! very inspirational for me

Helen Ström said...

Fantastic drawings!!! Thank you too, again.
I completely agree that what you use to draw with and the support that goes with it (or not) can be important for the feel for drawing, the pleasure it procures and the inspiration it can give to start drawing. I chose what feels best for each time. I always try to feel inspired by that before being inspired by what I'm supposed to draw. It's like the first step, otherwise it doesn't work.
Good luck with you B5! he he

Kristian said...

Amazing work laurent.
I totally agree with your sentiment about media. An Artist shouldn't be constricted or obliged to use a certain pen or pencil simply because that's what gesture or observational is about. Be free and the the work shines. As it does in your studies. I can't get enough of the drawing of the beach from above.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hylmJOiAMU/TjXLtXWGjWI/AAAAAAAACEo/zrexAc7clKg/s320/Untitled-13.jpg
Everything I need is there in those lines. Its a beaute!

Frankie Swan said...

...............lost once again in your work man.
ur way too awesome. i am now starting to question wether ur human.

DSM said...

Nice liottle stash of images; like the guy in cold water alot.

Of course, I'll look for a 5-B today in town.

Ems said...

Glad to read you had fun! :) that's what it's all about in the end.
there's some very nice ones in here! I really like landscapes and the last one and... well there's so many! :)

ps: is that Adrien on the second to last?

L Rossi said...

@Amy
Hey, Thanks - I'm glad you dropped by too ;)
(and the pram one is actually one of my favs)
Hope you're keeping well!

@Chang
Yo, thanks Chang :)
I did go into more of them digitally, but then thought twice and left most of them as original sketches...

@Tiffany
Reeally?! Gosh thank you :') (I don't see it, but I'm glad you like what you see!)

@Helen
heh heh - thanks, I need all the luck I can get :P
Hopefully I won't overdo the pencil so that it gets to the same point as the pen did - I will strive for a nice balance..... just like the 'food pyramid', but.. with art equipment ;)

@Kristian
Well said dude - you put it so eloquently. And Thank you kindly!
I think the one you chose is probably me being the most 'free' - I don't think I've done something like that before :)

@Frankie
:D Ah Frankie, man! Your comments always make me smile!
...But I can't help but feel like a fraud - I'll keep trying to get as good as you think I am :)

@DSM
Thank you! heh heh that was a memory sketch - the guy is me(!) - and it was quite the experience - very refreshing 0_0
Well I hope your search goes smoother than mine did and it's 'existence' isn't questioned! lol

@Ems
Hey, thanks! .... and I'm soooo chuffed you spotted who that was :'D
It isn't a perfect likeness to say the least - but if you were able to see him SOMEWHERE in there, it makes me feel better!

Nate Villanueva said...

A treasure trove! thanks for being so generous with your work. cant wait to see project gouken!

Frankie Swan said...

dude it might just be my computer-tho i usually have great internet connection- but i think maybe the animated gifs are a bit heavy coz its taking absolutely AGES to load up your page. but i may b the only one suffering.
or then mayb thats a tactic of yours to build up the suspense! sly.
pha u sir are no fraud!

Aaron Ludwig said...

Love the leaf animation. So charming!
Thanks for the follow, btw!

Janine Chang said...

Wow, awesome sketches!

tiffannysketchbook said...

hi i'm back for a second visit cos I was so inspired by your sketchbook work. Since it's just the beginning of the month, I want to see if I can fill up a sketchbook in one month too! I just bought a small sketchbook. Now let's see if I can be as disciplined!

Nate Villanueva said...

Hey L! thanks so much for following, umm as far as the gif thing goes, i use the html, but theres an option in bloggers uploader thing to upload from an html and doing this wont link the gif to the photobucket.

Nate.

L Rossi said...

@Nate & Aaron
Thanks for the kind words guys! But yo, you don't need to Thank Me for following you! lol

@Frankie
There's alwaaays one! o_o
lol just kidding! Yeah they are pretty big - both last over 10secs which I don't think GIFs are supposed to do :/ It loads pretty quick on mine - does anyone else have the same prob??
I just didn't want to make them so small that you couldn't see them, nor too short that it all rushed by...
Are you on 56k dial-up :P

@Janine
Cheers! :) Glad you stopped by!

@Tiffany
Back again! wow ;)
Good luck! It's not as hard as one might think..... it's just about getting in the rhythm.
That said, I do think it helps when there's lots of cool/interesting places nearby to go and draw....
and having good weather also aids the process!
I'll look forward to your post in a months time!

@Nate Part 2
Cheers for the advice, Nate. I just tried it, but for some reason after I pasted the HTML in the Uploader, clicked 'upload' and then 'done', there was nothing there!? :S

"TORI CAT" said...

Cor Blimey WD!!!
Where to begin!!?? These look soooo good!!
im also loving to see you branching out and just drawing for fun!! Its so nice to see you drawing environments!! I love your wee GIF's!! ha ha! The one in the water is classic!! it reminds me of that time we went for the a dip in lake Annecy! The lil nipper with the ball is very cute. Reminds me of me. Going to play ball then getting distracted by a leaf or a raccoon or something!! hee hee!!
The 5B looks like your new best friend!! Your a natural!!
I especially like the the pic of Adrian!! And the lady with the glasses?? Is that Helen Storm?
One of my favs is the double page spread of the people sat at a bar. I can very easily picture the scene. looks beautiful!!
Hope you had a lovely break away. Look forward to hearing all about it!!
Shame my pre-opp Paris adventure fell thru. Was looking forward to going drawing with ya!
Iv got oodles of drawings and fun things to post from America, but my scanner has packed in!! Grrrr!!
So, the anticipation of a new post before my surgery may not happen. Just 2 sleeps to go now!! Can you believe it's finally happening!! 'Bout time!! :P
Will speak to you soon!!
Keep up the FANTASTICAL work... and REMEMBER to ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!!! (iv learnt my lesson for sure!!) Red V's on he feet and burt boobies are NOT COOL! :P

Frankie Swan said...

haha 56k dial up, im old skool but not that old skool!
it could just be my mac. but yeh it makes it difficult to look through your work making frankie a very sad man. :( but dont change em on my behalf if there aint a problem.

Nicola Coppack said...

love the kid animation!!! so pretty and love your timing =)

L Rossi said...

@Tori
Thanks TC! You always go into so much depth :D
Nice catching up with you today! Roll on Bionic-Robo Jaw-Tor! :)

@Frankie
I received another complaint! I took down the swim GIF and just put up a couple Jpegs for it - hopefully that helps a bit :S

@Nicola
Aww thanks :) It was really cute the way a leaf became his whole world for a couple of seconds :D
OOoo and new avatar for Miss Coppack - niiiice! :)

Nate Villanueva said...

snap my bad, use the Direct link, not the html. that should work.

L Rossi said...

@Nate
Bingo! Thanks dude! :)

Frankie Swan said...

yay! theres no freezing now!i can fully absorb everything!

but now i miss the gif's :( could you not QT them or something? oh dear i'm feeling a bit guilty now.

Sjan Weijers said...

very cool studies! love the characters... very lively :)

Santiago Montiel said...

Et j'ai trouvé ton blog grâce à ton commentaire^^. Super dessin, et des beaux design de persos aussi! Tu as travaillé dans le teaser de Dofus? Je ne l'ai pas vu, je me demande ce que ça a donné finalement.

Sami said...

Absolutely amazing works here! Love all your works. Drawing Inspiration is an inspiration in itself!!! Keep rocking and keep churning out such awesome stuff!

L Rossi said...

@Frankie
Nah! They're not worth Quicktiming!
No need to feel guilty - all's well that ends well!

@Sjan
Thank you!

@Santiago
Salut et merci infiniment de venir chez mon blog!
En fait, le teaser etait super bien realisé - l'anim, decors, compositing, son..... mais malheureusement il ne sera jaimais sur l'internet - il y avais le seule projections chez le Festival d'Animation a Annecy (et bien sur chez le studio Ankama). :/
Mais probablement le film vas etre plus beau! On vera.... :)

@Sami
Ah thanks dude! That's such an encouraging comment :) I will do my very best as always!

Helen Ström said...

Admiring your drawings again! Nice memories are coming back to me! I miss a few persons I shared them with. Your drawings have it all to make that possible! I agree, you should have several pens and pencils to switch between, or know when to change before loosing the pleasure using them. Good luck with new drawings!

Shelley Whiting's art said...

Your sketch work is fascinating and action packed. I love your energetic and dynamic line. Beautiful and intriguing work.

Gillibean said...

A whole sketchbook in one month? Congratulations! Really! Its a proper accomplishment! I like the variety of things you drew and you wee animation is so cute!

Also, thanks for the comments on my blog...I try to write back to them but sometimes it just doesnt let me grrrrr..

Saw a snippet on Project Gouken. AWESOME!!!!

messytimbo said...

ooooooooooooooooh wee!! sheeeeeez boy, you aint play no mo.

This is some mega monster banger of a post, where do i start.....I can't....it's just all amazing!

I need to step up my game :)

J Lou said...

WHOAAAAA huge post is huuuuuuge! I'm diggin that little gif animation :) So cute! Makes me want to do one of my own. Those life sketches are amazing Laurent! Super inspiring~

L Rossi said...

@Helen
Awww... :)
It's true that sketchbooks function as diaries... reminding us of times gone past. And as they say, 'a picture paints a thousand words'.
Looking at even small doodles can bring back so much....
See you soon for sure!!

@Shelley
Thanks so much :)

@Gillian
Thanks!
:O you saw a snippet!!?? I'm gonna have to have words with Matt! ;)

@Tim
Cheers Timbo!
"mega monster banger" is an awesome description :D

@Jlou
Thanks
lol it was quite big huh! :D
Yeah Gif's are fun! Go for it!!