Syllabus

Here is the full syllabus for you to read. Please email me with any questions.

ILL 273 Spring 2019

Drawing for Illustration

Steve Ellis

8:30-12:00 pm Rm 307

tel: 315.289.5771

e-mail: steveart1@gmail.com

Website: http://steveellisart.com

Drawing for Illustration

Course Description:

Illustration is founded on good drawing skills. I have to admit that there is some illustration work out there that is getting published without any semblance of understanding of drawing, but though these styles have recognition in the short term, they lack range and are limited in their ability to adapt. This class is aimed at exploring and honing the skills needed to draw toward the purpose of illustration. We will focus on refining drawing techniques, and approaches to using the figure to tell a story. Illustration and much fine art is involved in working with human figures in natural (or sometimes unnatural) space, interacting and thereby conveying a story to the viewer of the image. The understanding of human form, gesture and anatomy, are integral to the ability of an artist to convey his/her ideas through images.

In class we will work with the figure drawing from life. We will discuss composition, storytelling, anatomy, and the figure in space. As the class moves further along, we will have opportunity to use photography and work with story to inform how we work with the models. We will focus on composition of drawing on the page and manipulating the figure to enhance composition. For out of class assignments we will focus on drawing from life and nature as well as our own photography and work with various lighting situations.

As the class continues, there will be ample time here to explore distortion and manipulation of natural forms such as cartooning and fantasy work. Cartooning/Comic Art and fantasy drawings are just exaggerations and juxtapositions of natural forms. Only an excellent understanding of anatomy and drawing will yield the ability to make these convincing.

One of the main mantras of this class will be DRAW !DRAW! DRAW! The only way to improve your drawings is to draw all the time in your sketchbooks, notebooks, textbooks, napkins at restaurants, everywhere. Draw people, plants, animals, anything you can get your hands on.  It’s like a muscle, if you work out and train, the bigger stronger and more honed you get. Look around the world and observe and draw everything: Be a sponge and soak in as much as you can. The more you understand and know about the world the more you will be able to draw.

Never be frustrated by a bad drawing…just draw over it and keep moving.

PROJECTS:

Unless otherwise stated, 10 pages of sketches in your sketchbooks per week with the requirement that they involve drawing from the world (life, photography, master copies) rather than from inside your head. It’s not as difficult as you might think to fill up ten pages. I may not check these every week, but this should be a personal goal as well.

GRADING POLICY:

This class will be judged primarily on effort not talent. Trying to judge talent is like trying to grade poetry.  But I can grade the effort and growth that a student makes. On that note, this class will be graded as follows.

Out of Class Assignments

Weekly Sketchbooks

Motivation

Effort

Growth

Participation is class discussions and critiques

Attendance

Each class missed (since this is a studio) will be a grade lost. At three missed classes you will fail.  It’s not that hard, I don’t want to play games, just come to class ready to draw, do the drawing assignments and you’ll get an “A” and you’ll be a better artist.

MATERIALS LIST:

Trace paper

Tape

Sketchbook hard bound 9 x12

Graphite sticks soft

Conte

Pencils 2b - 8b

Knife for sharpening

Ruler/straight edge

Newsprint 18x24

White Drawing Paper 18x24

Colored Pencils - Red, Purple, Blue

Gum Eraser

Kneaded Eraser

Rag for Blending

Drawing Board with Clip (to fit 18x24 paper)

Masking Tape

Graphite powder

Toned Drawing Paper

There may be more supplies as the semester goes on, but I will let you know as time goes on.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:  

Hale, Robert Beverly, Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, New York: Watson Guptill

Hale, Robert Beverly, Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, New York: Watson Guptill

Bridgman, George B., Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life, New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Simblet, Sarah. Anatomy for the Artist, New York: DK Publishing Inc.

List of Artists Alive and Dead to Look at and be inspired by:

Alfonse Mucha

Gustav Klimt

Michaelangelo

Leonardo DaVinci

Aubrey Beardsley

Tony Diterlizzi

Yoshitaka Amano

Frank Frazetta

Terryl Whitlatch

Claire Wendling

James Jean

Salvador Dali

Hans Bellmer

Will Eisner

Laurel Austin

Audrey Kawasaki

Lizz Lopez ( tattoo artist)

Brom

Donato Giancola

Christopher Burdett

Steve Prescott

Meghan Hetrick

Justin Gerard

Peter De’Seve

Moebius
Egon Schiele

Molly Crabapple

Micheal Whelan

Stephen Gammell

Gris Grimly

Brett Helquist

Bernie Wrightson

Nicholas Delort

Rebecca Guay

Alex Kuno

Bernie Wrightson

Bill Sienkewicz

Weeks	Class	Homework
Week 1	Introduction to class.	5 Pages in Sketchbook. Due Week 2
Week 2	Beans, Blobs, 3D Forms, and Figures. Discuss Figure Proportions. Line vs. Drawing Art Line vs. Design Line. Technical Architect Line. Klimt vs. Clair Wendling / Mucha or Manga.	10 drawings of hands and page of drawings from mannequin models in Sketchbook. Due Week 3.
Week 3	Discuss and work on Figure Proportions. Demo Model. Drawing figure as tubes.	10 drawings of hands. Draw a tube figure. Due Week 4.
Week 4	Discuss and work on Figure Proportions. Demo Model. Drawing figure as tubes.	10 drawings of hands. Draw a tube figure. Due Week 5.
Week 5	Discuss and work on Head Proportions. Drawing figure as planes.	10 drawings of hands. Planar head from photo. Due Week 6.
Week 6	Discuss and work on Head Proportions. Drawing figure as planes.	10 drawings of hands. Planar head from photo. Due Week 7.
Week 7	Portrait Model 3D	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 8.
Week 8	Draw from the model	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 9.
Week 9	Draw from the model	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 10.
Week 10	Discuss and work on rendering the model.	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 11.
Week 11	Discuss and work on rendering the model.	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 12.
Week 12	Draw in the model clothed in space	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 13.
Week 13	Draw in the model clothed in space - hands, head, and face.	10 drawings of hands. Due Week 14.
Week 14	Finish drawing the clothed model in class.
Week 15	Critique