Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Viking Fail



2014 is coming to a close and I thought I would write just a few words (which I no longer seem to do these days :3 ).
With my (albeit very late) transition over to Tumblr, I've really noticed my lack of activity here on Blogger - not with posting, as I post on both platforms - but more with being active following the blogs of others... Tumblr's format is a lot easier to keep up to date with the goings on of fellow artists...

That said, I've also noticed how my contributions have become almost exclusively Life Drawing... I know it can get a bit repetitive so my apologies :'D
Sketchbook work has become reserved to 'trips and holidays' (which are a rarity ;D) and I don't even take the time to do colour pieces with my observational studies which I used to do, as honestly, I have better things to be doing :D
But although there may be a lack of diversity now, I can honestly say I'm happy to spare a couple of hours a week dedicated to traditional art, and I'm seriously having fun since I've been using inks :)

I've always tried to use a variety of mediums and experiment with the method of application - you can track the journey so clearly from charocal, to a sepia conté with water, to ebony and conté, just ebony, black ink and now sepia ink on brown paper. The inks are doing me some good, especially because I have a tendancy to try and be too accurate in my work, which I hate, and they allow me - or at least give me the possiblity - to be more suggestive than when I use charcoal or pencil....

I still fall into these bad habits though - especially with this session here and the session from two posts ago - the model ( or as I like to call him, viking ;D) was awesome and I subconsciously feel that to capture this awesomeness I need to get it exactly as it is... well not only is it never exactly right 'cos I'm no J.S. Sargent ( ;P ), but approaching the drawing in this way with such a narrow frame of mind produces such a rigid drawing :/

From my recent attempts, I feel that these were the most successful...

When I can allow myself to not just draw what's in front of me but, as so many artists have said before, 'interpret' the pose, then good things start to happen. I'll continue to pursue the inky-direction (new boy band name? ;D) as long as I'm enjoying it.

After highlighting my lack of drawing, I am excited to actually be doing a little project on the side - working on a 2D animated short. I started my first shot the other week and gosh 2D animation is scary huh! ;DD (I'd forgotten that feeling of starting with a blank page when animating). So amidst all of these inky naked people, I will maybe post some animation tests here and there... depending if the director will let me of course ;DD
I really wonder what 3 years of just 3D has done for my 2D XD

As for 3D, this year saw me go onto my third feature at Mac Guff. The new project, recently publicly revealed as, 'The Secret Life of Pets', (Louis CK is voicing the main Character! *o*) is set for a February 2016 release.
The change of project and the new challenges that come with it are sooo refreshing and have given me a new bounce in my step - I've been having a great time so far trying to animate these new characters and learning a whole heap of interesting things :)) - as the last 3-4 months on Minions were pretty brutal due to many circumstances... *cough cough :3

So there we go... just some food for thought :)
Happy Holidays everyone (when I say everyone, I'm addressing the last 6 people who use blogger ;P) and all the best for 2015!!

'Till the Next,
L


5 comments:

nicolas bauduin said...

Hey laurent. One of the six here. Nice to read some thoughts from you. Very impressive drawings as usual :).
I especially like the guy sitting with the blue background. Was the viking session from la grande chaumiere ?
Wish you nice resting holidays :).

L Rossi said...

Nico!
Thank you so much :)
Yeah it was La Grande Chaumière - I still have 5 or 6 tickets in my carnet so will let you know when I go back!
J'espère que les vacances se passent bien pour toi aussi! (J'ai rien dessiné encore ;D) a bientôt!

Unknown said...

I recognize this model on your drawing at the top of your page, I already had. He is interesting to draw but not simple... I love the way you represent the light! Simply but effective :)

Sorry if my english is not perfect :p

L Rossi said...

Hey Ophelie n.n

:D Yeah, he's a very unique looking dude! I agree that he looks super cool but like you said, he's also hard to draw! :3

Thanks so much!

(Ca me parait pas mal hein!! ;) )

Anonymous said...

I used to draw this model when I was an art student in pris... almost 20 years ago -_-'

Great that he's still there: I can recognize him immediately!

Your drawings are really great, thanks a lot for sharing :)