Break the Chains That Bind Your Artwork

Breaking boundaries and becoming more creative than you ever thought you could be. That is what today’s blog is all about. I’ll be the first to admit that I changed my entire drawing style to build myself as a professional artist. I honestly felt no one would take me seriously if I kept drawing characters, and creations out of my mind. I tried, I really did. I would post my work online and got nothing back in return. Was this because I wasn’t good enough, or people didn’t like what I had drawn? Now that I look back on it I don’t think so. I think it was because I didn’t believe in myself enough. I held back in a lot of my work and it suffered dramatically. I would spend hours creating a lot of detail in the beginning, and then just tire of the drawing because it wasn’t me. It just didn’t represent me as an artist.

I have felt really chained down as an artist these past few months and as I was looking up a reference shot for my next piece I asked myself why? This picture I am about to draw has already been captured on photograph it’s done. What about all the great pictures in my mind that are trapped in there. I literally had thousands of images screaming to be released onto paper, and I was scared that I would mess them up. There is pressure to create; I always wanted to be original and draw different than everyone else. Even when I would draw from reference I wanted to find a way to change the image, but I really felt bound to make the image look like what I was drawing just because. I know it’s not a good reason but the pressure to be great, and build a portfolio got me thinking I had to make everything believable and real. And then it hit me just the other day why can’t I have the best of both, and make the imagination real and believable.

I found myself with a dilemma. Do I continue to build my portfolio with realistic colored pencil drawings or do I draw for fun. In the end I answered with my gut feeling to do it for me. So my next piece is called Beyond Imagination. At first I started to collect pictures of things I would add to my work I thought to myself that I am doing it again. I was already judging myself, and holding back by using images as a crutch. If I really wanted to release my talent I had to just draw. So in this image I am drawing it from left to right adding all the detail as I go. I started with a dragon, and a witch, and a phoenix. I have no idea what is next, and I don’t care if it makes sense. It’s imagination and fun. I hope you can do the same.

I propose a challenge to everyone. On your next piece, if you want to find out how much you have evolved as an artist, I want you to use everything you have learned to this point and just draw. Lay it all out on the paper. Don’t think about judgment from peers, or from yourself just go. Whatever comes into your mind go for it. The only other rule I ask for is to not use reference shots, photos, or any previous artwork. Make it yours, make it new, and take your time. Sometimes when you hit the professional level you get a following who love your “style.” If so fantastic don’t change. For me although I have gained a lot of praise for my work, it’s time for me to take a step back for a while and brake the chains that bound my imagination. I plan on growing, and releasing all I have to give, I hope you do too. Take the limiters off, and be creative again.

I hope to see some great new creations. Find me on my Facebook page at http://Facebook.com/DerricktheArtist and share them with me.

Thank you for reading,

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Derrick Bruno-Rathgeber

http://DerricktheArtist.com

Traditional Arts: Stepping Away From Technology.

We live in a digital age. A fast paced age. A make more money kind of age. Somewhere along the lines we lost our patience and appreciation for what it can bring us. As I grow more and more as an artist I am finding myself a bit lost in this shift happening in the world of art. We get lost in the new, and forget the old that brought us here. I myself want to take a step back and remember where I came from, and bring it with me. 

All my life I knew I was going to be an artist. In the beginning I drew anything that popped into my head at the moment, wither it be doodles, or characters and creatures. As I grew up as a child I came across these amazing animated movies from Disney's Classic collection, to Fox Animation's Anastasia. And then came a series of films from Don Bluth. I was in a world where people drew pictures and brought them to life. I wanted to do that. I began drawing my own characters, and learning how to move them dynamically on the paper. I even remember creating character models, and story boards at the age of ten. With every new movie I found a respect for these animators that would draw 720 pictures of motion for a minute of film. I even remember training myself to draw faster and faster because I knew I had to. 

Now as an artist this helped me develop really well. I was able to look at an image and visualize it in motion. So when I would replicate it I did not have to copy it off paper, and I could draw the subject in a different form. For example my large piece, The Flight of the Macaw, I studied about 5-6 different shots of the macaw and learned about how the muscles moved, and wings flapped. Then I drew my version of the beautiful bird coming off the paper. It's because of animation that I can picture things moving, and anticipating how they will flow on the paper. I like to use this technique in my artwork so when the audience views my work they find themselves animating the image in their own minds, and feel it come alive. 

Now fast forward a bit further. Now that I am older I found myself at the right level, and age to begin looking for my dream career in the animation field. Can you imagine my disappointment when I find out that Disney Studios is abandoning their traditional animation, and going CG. They claim that the audience did not want to see it anymore. What is even worse is they based this on the strait to DVD Winnie the Pooh films. They laid off 100's of legendary artists and hired computer animators. A growing trend soon followed as studios began popping up all over bringing new CG films across the board. The biggest issue I had with this entire transition is the release of these "special edition" DVDs and Bluerays that feature our classically drawn films "remastered." They digitally painted over all the sketch lines, and backgrounds. How can that be right in any shape or form? Would we digitally clean up the Mona Lisa? Is any art medium safe the the digital world. Disney then goes on to make Princess and the Frog and claim traditional animation is back. They brought in Animators and they were able to hand draw the film. That that is as far as it went. They still used Tablets, and Photoshop for the clean up, effects, and to even digitally paint the backgrounds. 

To me traditional art will always trump CG art. While studios are constantly trying to learn techniques to make emotions more believable in the Computer Generated world, we have already found this emotion in hand drawing this art. I want you to do something for me. Pick up a VCR, and watch a classic film of your choice. A hand drawn, hand painted film. And really watch it. You will notice that no movement is wasted, and no frames are skipped. Traditional animation may take more time, but the result is worth it. Take away the money aspect of it, and really think. Your favorite animated film of all time, and why this movie was so influential to you. The story, the characters, the believably. Moments that stick with you to this day. Moments like Cinderella dropping her shoe, Little Foot chasing his mother's shadow only to find out it was his own, Anastasia dancing with her lost memories in the abandoned ball room. These are the ones that stay with me the most. 

When it comes to art we need to shift our focus from making the most money, and spending less to taking our time, and building a legacy. I hope one day people will respect our traditions of the past more and step away from technology even for a bit. At least just a bit. And if we are truly abandoning Traditional Animation then I hope they leave the legacy intact, and leave the digital out of it. Leave the films how they were created. They were already so beautiful. Every sketch line that wasn't erased from the film showed me how much heart went into making the film. If you have ever watched an animator draw key frames you will know that every frame is important. You will begin to understand that Disney's Sleeping Beauty would not have been a complete masterpiece had 1 page of it's 54,720 images wasn't drawn. 

Thank you for reading, 

Derrick Rathgeber
http://DerricktheArtist.com