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PART I1 THE PAGE
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Why is it that people don’t like to draw? As kids we all draw effortlessly. Making marks is a deep and gratifying impulse. But long before adulthood, most of us decide that if we can’t draw with the same facility that we write our names, we should never pick up
3. Drawing for even a few weeks reawak- ens the meaning of “practice.” Prog- ress is usually rapid and extremely satisfying.
Your drawing skills need only meet one standard: You should be effective
in representing your ideas. To prove this point, I asked a number of friends to sketch a dog. What you see here is what came back. Some of the drawings are
by designers who practice a lot. Others come from friends who seldom draw. But
So get ready to draw with pencil and cursor. Personal media making will require you to do so, whether laying out a Web site’s site flowchart, storyboarding a slide show sequence, roughing out the design for a logo, sketching a page layout, or making a lighting diagram. And I bet you will surprise yourself by how well your practiced eye can direct a rusty hand.
a sketchpad. We may not expect ourselves to perform like professional athletes when we exercise, but we do feel we should draw like professional artists when we pick up a pencil to draw.
4. Illustration is often more about revi- sion than it is about that first blast of inspiration.
Even my graduate students tend to become downright antsy when, in our first class, I start handing out sticks of char- coal and large sheets of newsprint. The activity of drawing seems insultingly stu- pid, too rinky-dink, and an overall waste of time. But I start with drawing—and stick with it—for five very sound reasons:
5. And this plain truth: Drawing is a survival skill. I don’t mean finished master- pieces. Rather, I mean quick sketches that solve problems and communicate quickly in ways that words can’t.
1. The ideas and skills used in drawing are fundamental to all forms of per- sonal media.
Let me hit a little harder on the idea of practice. We all tend to think that if
we read about something or sit through
a lecture about it, then we know that something. For many subjects, this is true enough. However there are some areas in which knowledge can only come through active doing— through practice. For exam- ple, you could read endlessly about playing the piano but would still be unable to bang out a tune the first time you sat down at a keyboard. You get the point. Accomplish- ment is achieved through practice.
2. Drawing is a reminder that we need to rediscover old skills as we push to build new ones.
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CHAPTER 4: ILLUSTRATION
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chapter 4: ILLUSTRATION
Digital illustration, the subject of this chapter, is a challenge to learn. I think
I can break down the process in ways that will be fun and will encourage you to plunge in. But first, you need to realize that how you draw is not really the issue.
If you want to sharpen your eye and get some drawing tips, please visit the Drawing Studio Ses- sion within the parallel chapter 4 at mediapedia. net. You’ll find a PDF based on the drawing instruction in Bert Dod- son’s terrific book, Keys to Drawing. Top row, l-r: Heather Ben-Zvi; Evan Baily; Sandra Chamberlin; Peter Baumann; Deborah Bond-Upson; bottom row, l-r: Leo Catapano; Harriet Power; Stephen White; and Emmy Podunovich.
SO DEAL WITH IT: YOU’RE NO MICHELANGELO
all have charm and punch. All provide a window on the essence of “dog.” All show that the person wielding the pen or pencil has a unique way of seeing the world. As a group, these little sketches prove that difference itself is of value and that you don’t need to be a Renaissance master to make some terrific marks.