Hi Andrea and others on this thread,
The other day some colleagues from Computer Science that are working in
games came to our school for a seminar. The goal is to make
interdisciplinary masters’ students teams to produce games. One of
things that stroked me was that for the first time the game industry got
bigger revenues than the music and the film industries. This was the day
Sims 3 three was launched in Portugal.
Most of the games are unfold within 4D virtual environment that at some
point was a drawing. Also the characters are made in the same way. The
animation movies are more and more produced entangled with a future game.
The guys able to “design” or visualize this stuff had classic training
in drawing from the art & design schools. Old classic oddities like
observation drawing, anatomy drawing, statue drawing, life model, pencil
and aquatint renderings, and lots of sketching are in the basis of two
of the most powerful entertaining industries on the planet. Drawing as a
road to illustration and story boarding is obviously a role for drawing
(in a very classic normal way) in the XXI century.
I don’t know if you are acquainted with the blogosphere phenomenon of
sketchbooks and graphic diaries. Once a sub product of the grand art,
the diaries are starting to an art from on its own right and are mostly
based on classic sketching skills. We can not predict what will happen
from here but it is a solid expansion of this sort of thing.
Just take a look at the urban sketchers web site. The author Gabi
Campanario is currently working for a Seattle newspaper. Curiously
enough, people like to see a drawn reportage. Some of my friends here
got the same job in a new newspaper. It is worth to take a look at
Eduardo Salavisa’s blog and see his reportage at the morgue. Please take
look at
http://diario-grafico.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-05-27T09%3A29%3A00%2B01%3A00&max-results=30
<http://diario-grafico.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-05-27T09%3A29%3A00%2B01%3A00&max-results=30>
It seems also that Comics will never end, scientific illustration also,
designing a shoe starting with a hand made sketch or even an elaborated
rendering.
So the XXI's Drawing Skills seem to be
first: the XX Drawing Skills
Have a nice weekend,
Cheers
Eduardo Corte-Real
Ass Prof. History and Practices of Drawing
IADE
Lisboa
Andrea Kantrowitz escreveu:
> Damian and Marg
>
> This is such an interesting discussion. I am at the start of doctoral
> work at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, on exactly
> the subject of “what is (should be ) drawing in the 21st century?”
> Based on my own experience as an MFA at Yale University, a program
> which graduates a disproportional share of art professors, too many of
> whom at best have a haphazard approach to the subject, and at worst,
> have no clue about drawing. In the U.S., this has repercussions all
> the way down the chain, with k-12 teachers coming out of art ed
> programs clueless about drawing, and elementary school students being
> convinced by third grade (age 8) they can’t draw and couldn’t ever
> possibly learn how (and worse, that it doesn’t matter.)
>
> I am really interested in anyone’s thoughts about what is really
> essential to teach about drawing in the 21st century? (looking
> particularly at foundation year programs.)
>
> Best
> Andrea Kantrowitz
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> http://AndreaKantrowitz.com
> Blog at http://Zyphoid.com
> 914.712.9681
>
>
>
> On 7/10/09 6:37 AM, "Marg Rolla" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Damien,
>
> Ditto.
>
> Often I am sadly depressed with the attitudes/lack of core skills
> of these up and coming "designers"and find myself in debates with
> them. I would like to show them your contemporary professional
> opinion on this issue if I may, in my first lecture of the semester.
>
> re:
> if anyone knows of a person with sound drawing skills and a basic
> competency in photoshop, who may be interested in a good and
> challenging retouch role - let me know asap!
>
> Pick me! Pick me! Joking, as I am from the other side of the world!
>
> Marg
>
>
> Damian Fennell wrote:
>
> Marg
>
> As well as sustaining (just!) my own art practice, I work as
> an art director at an architectural visualisation firm in
> central London, producing stills and animations where CG and
> photography are woven seamlessly together. What I've
> discovered is that in the creative industries, strong
> observational drawing skills are prized highly as a core skill
> in designers, retouchers and animators. We are currently
> actively looking for a retoucher with a strong drawing
> background, even though as a retoucher that person will spend
> their whole day in photoshop with a wacom pen.
>
> The reason observational drawing skills are so important is
> that people with these skills/training outperform other
> designers and retouchers by a country mile. I would go so far
> as to say that designers without those core skills - who don't
> understand the principles of tonality, composition, shape
> (and, crucially, colour - so a painting background is also
> highly prized), and who haven't had their visual discipline
> developed so that they can handle things like perspective and
> the way cast shadows behave - people without these skills are
> not worth employing in our field. I feel really strongly about
> this and it depresses me to go round an animation grad show
> (as I did yesterday) and see dismal drawing skills that,
> frankly, translate into weak design skills. Next week we're
> off to New Designers pt2 in search of talent, and the only
> business cards we will bother picking up are of graduates with
> a strong drawing base.
>
> Other skills that in our view distinguish excellent designers
> from the pack are:
>
> - knowledge of photography
>
> (I mean proper knowledge of SLR photography and how an SLR
> behaves), ideally knowledge based on fully manual film SLRs
> and darkroom development. The principle is the same - digital
> cameras are designed to mimic the way film cameras behaved, so
> understanding the origins of elements like ISO, white balance
> and aperture gives the designer much more power over his/her
> software and digital hardware tools. Photoshop is equally
> built on traditional drawing, painting and photography
> principles - how can you master even a simple tool like Curves
> if you don't understand why and how it does what it does??
>
> - lateral thinking
>
> Easily as powerful a core skill as the others mentioned (and
> probably enabling the designer to command higher salaries in
> the long run), this is a skill that is developed very well in
> a lot of fine art courses at all levels beyond A level. The
> ability and inclination to think outside of the box, to
> innovate, is really important. Admittedly I have no experience
> of Design courses and maybe this is a strong element in them
> as well. Our clients are always hoping that we will come up
> with innovative visualisation and branding solutions that will
> help them stand out from the crowd (and for less money too of
> course).
>
> Sorry this is a somewhat tangential response to the thread,
> but I do feel very strongly about it, It's sad to see students
> graduate and then discover they simply don't qualify for any
> job better than mechanical processing or cataloguing assets! I
> hope colleges at least give them the opportunity to pick up
> these skills if the student is intelligent and disciplined
> enough to seize it. We've had designers who knew their
> software but we had to teach them basic observational skills,
> and the harsh reality is that when the recession forced severe
> downsizing, those designers were made redundant.
>
> But - if anyone knows of a person with sound drawing skills
> and a basic competency in photoshop, who may be interested in
> a good and challenging retouch role - let me know asap!
>
>
> Damian Fennell ARBS
> sculpture | drawing
>
> +44 (0)7947 483 214
>
> http://www.artfennell.com
>
>
>
>
>
> On 10 Jul 2009, at 09:26, Marg Rolla wrote:
>
> My thoughts for what they're worth are that painting is
> simply drawing with another medium (paint) other than
> pencil. What do we create when we work with oil pastels, a
> drawing or painting? What do we create when we work in
> chalk pastel, a drawing or a pastel? What about
> airbrushing with acrylics, is it a drawing or a
> "painting"? Drawing is drawing regardless of whether it is
> a highly finished illustration or a preparatory sketch in
> my mind. It interests me Fran, the mindset of the dealers
> and buyers you speak about who make the distinction on
> what surface your works are presented on.
>
> This whole issue is forming part of my RHD on the
> "Relevance of Drawing in the 21st C". I teach drawing to
> Design students at the University of Newcastle and am
> coming up against such mindsets in these younger people
> who have obviously been conditioned to think this way by
> society, but they also particularly question the relevance
> of drawing in Design when the computer can "do it for
> them". Hmm. Now, how do we categorise a piece of art
> created with yet another medium, the computer? Especially
> if the techniques and media chosen within the plethora of
> menu options simulate paint.
>
> cheers!
> Marg
>
> Fran Richardson wrote:
>
> Hi Karen
>
> Yes, for me painting and drawing are almost
> indivisible but as a result I frequently find myself
> questioning where I ‘fit’. The place between drawing
> and painting is a rich territory for exploration and
> the dialogue between the traditional languages has
> been a line of enquiry in my practice for the last
> five years. I find definitions restrictive and
> unnecessary but if pushed to make a distinction I
> would say that my drawings are ‘dry’ and the paintings
> are ‘wet’.
>
> I made a deliberate choice to work in charcoal in the
> second year of a painting degree because I felt that
> it was the best way to explore the subject matter of
> my work. I have developed a highly disciplined process
> that progressively eliminates the ground so that the
> image covers the paper entirely. The deliberate
> negation of line is achieved through the modelling of
> volumetric masses using tonal variation as an
> alternative to linear contour, resulting in an
> atmospheric quality not usually attributed to the
> graphic nature of drawing. My drawings are also
> unusual in that the image entirely covers the surface
> in contrast to the accepted definition of drawing
> which leaves large areas of the surface exposed,
> placing the work closer to traditional painting than
> drawing. The paintings aspire to the condition of
> drawing in that they are monochromatic and made alla
> prima using the ground to achieve tonal variation.
>
> Although drawing is now considered to be a primary
> activity and is recognised as a stand-alone medium by
> the avant-garde most dealers and buyers still make the
> distinction that ‘drawing = quick preparatory sketch
> for a painting’ which is reflected in the price for
> ‘works on paper’. However, the distinction based on
> the type of support has been undermined by
> developments in acrylic grounds that now make it
> possible to use oil paint on paper and dry media on
> canvas or aluminium. In spite of their highly finished
> nature my drawings are considered ‘works on paper’ and
> as such are always priced lower than my paintings,
> which is frustrating because they are equal in my mind.
>
> Kind Regards
> Fran
>
> ------
>
> *Fran Richardson MA
> *Artist
> portfolio: _http://www.franrichardson.co.uk
> _
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From: *Karen Wallis <[log in to unmask]>
> *Reply-To: *The UK drawing research network mailing
> list <[log in to unmask]>
> *Date: *Sun, 5 Jul 2009 12:54:24 +0100
> *To: *<[log in to unmask]>
> *Subject: *Re: Painting Network?
>
> I would be interested in a Painting Network, to
> provide a forum rather than just a publication. But I
> would also like to ask if there is anyone else for
> whom painting and drawing are almost indivisible?
>
> Thanks for the tip on Turps Banana - I'll be taking a
> look.
>
>
> Karen Wallis
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
> On 5 Jul 2009, at 12:30, Dan Roach wrote:
>
> Hi Fran,
>
> Indeed Turps Banana is really the only dedicated
> painters publication I can find too. I read issue
> one and subscribed immediately.
>
> Linda, thanks for the suggestion. I have been
> searching for a serious forum surrounding painting
> for over twelve months now. Yet, I find on the
> most part forums are aimed at and run by (with the
> greatest respect) Sunday painters or individuals
> engaged in painting as a hobby. Entities such as
> Turps Banana as Fran mentioned, and the DRN have a
> thematic strand running through them in so much as
> there seems to be a majority of practitioners who
> take what they do quite seriously and see the
> benefit of exploring the underpinnings of their
> work in order to move it forward. Frustratingly,
> the most enquiring arenas also seem to be the most
> elusive.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Fran Richardson
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Sunday, July 05, 2009 10:06 AM
> *Subject:* Re: Painting Network?
>
> Hi Dan
>
> My principle medium is charcoal but I have
> just started to paint again after a three year
> break and I too would be interested in such a
> forum. I have been subscribing to Turps Banana
> which can be bought
> fromhttp://www.turpsbanana.com
> <http://www.turpsbanana.com> . I like this
> publication because the editorial team and
> writers are all contemporary painters. It
> doesn’t carry any advertising so it is purely
> about painting and not pandering to the crazy
> ‘art market’. I stopped reading the mainstream
> art press a long time ago because I got tired
> of wading through pages of ads to find the
> features and then disappointed when painting
> hardly got a mention.
>
> Kind Regards
> Fran
>
> ------
>
> *Fran Richardson MA
> *Artist
> portfolio: _http://www.franrichardson.co.uk
> _
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From: *Dan Roach <[log in to unmask]>
> *Reply-To: *The UK drawing research network
> mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
> *Date: *Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:00:19 +0100
> *To: *<[log in to unmask]>
> *Subject: *Painting Network?
>
> Hello.
>
> Has anyone knowledge of any academic
> networks/forums/arenas that address
> painting and painting practices? I find the
> DRN an extremely valuable
> resource and wondered if there were any
> paint-centric counterparts, so to
> speak?
>
> D Roach
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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