Hello I'm Mike Manley, welcome to my studio Blog. I am veteran comic and animation artist and I created and edit Draw! Magazine. This blog is a chronicle of what's happening in my studio. Follow my process and path as an painter, cartoonist and teacher and find out how they inform and enrich each other!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Life Drawing Week 3
Here are a bunch of life drawings from this weeks session at DCAD. It has been a few weeks since the last one both Echo and i attended because we were at Heroes Con and busy.
I still feel pretty darn rusty and unable to focus as I'd like, it's like being out of shape and going back to the gym after a layoff. But this type of drawing is honest hard work. I always tend to and want to idealize the figure, as that's what I do all day when working drawing comics or storyboards. As a result I stylize, so I feel I blow porportions too much. But this week's drawings suck less than last time. Still feeling my way here though as I need to do hundreds more of these things. But since I was there early this week I was able to set up the model with lights the way I like, to get some contrast on the figure. The usual gang of whiney oldsters were not there to moan about it! " Ahh, I hate the shadows, I can't see!"
F you! I say ;-)
The drawings were mostly 5 and 10 minute with 3 twenty minute ones at the end, sometimes I'd rush and over render, the anxiety to get it done and beat the clock would get the best of me...
Shanna was the model again, and she is always good, very good at holding a pose, which many models simply can't.
Since we got there early Jessica and Echo took turns posing for warm-ups
This last drawing I did directly as a conture drawing working fast as I had completed another drawing of this pose I didn't like, so with only minutes left I drew this one down. While the porportions get funky I like the energy.
I like #6 & #7. Your shading contrasts came out really well with them.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was digging inmy comics, and found and old Marvel Mag that did the Indiana Jones/Last Crusade adaptation, and I found your name with a list of inkers! I bought that like 15-16 years ago!
Yes, I was working in Al Williamson's studio at the time along with Bret Blevins, so when Bret got in a tight spot deadline wise I jumped in to help him out.
ReplyDeleteWe all passed jobs back and forth like that many times...even cutting a page apart with a x-acto and each inking panels to rush the FEDEX deadline. When it was dry, we taped it back together and sent it off!
Those were the days....
Thanks for the kind remarks on the figure drawing.
Hey Mike, remember me? I crashed at your place when Bill Wray and I came to visit from Cali and see the Brandywine Museum.
ReplyDeleteGood lookin' drawings, I love the calligraphic lines you use to render the form.
Hey Tony, yeah I remember yoi and check your stuff out from time to time on the web, linked from Bill's site.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kudos on the drawings. yeah, I love line, but sometimes I just to break away and do tones, but I just want to keep at it...
You're right about the energy in that last one. I love it too--the movement back and forth, the small to big to small again in proportions, freedom of the lines--very cool.
ReplyDeleteBTW--For a second you threw me off with "Echo's" comments above. She'll be there someday though.....
Thanks Kelly, I typed that reply logged in as Echo..weird being a girl...hahahaha
ReplyDelete