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March 30th 2001 ************************************************ YouCanDraw.com's Insider Communiqué ************************************************* In today's issue: 1) Revisiting the Artist's Contract 2) Twenty five brand NEW "Vase-face" practice drawings 3) Perspective resource: The Royal Academy's Perspective Pack Good day all! 1) March has come and gone, can you believe it? We've a had a very nice chunk of new subscriber's this month too. Welcome aboard all! And for all the new people I'm going to reprint something first posted a couple three years ago, (kinda like when "Dear Abby" puts out a "reprint" - when she's out to lunch or out of town or just taking a little res pit but doesn't want it to look like that's what she's doing. ;-) This is the "Artist's Contract". It's from Julie Cameron's book "the Artist's Way" though it's modified a tad for learning to draw caricatures and faces. Print it out, read it, then fill it in! Here it is: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Artist's Contract I ____________________________, (your name) understand that in learning to draw/draw faces/draw caricatures I am undertaking an intensive guided encounter with my own creativity. I commit myself to weekly reading, __________(like 3,4, or 5 pages, or lessons or something I know I can reasonably commit to), and ... weekly drawing sessions of ____________ minutes (15, 30, 45...start short and sweet). I commit myself to completing one section of a lesson every ______ (3 days, each week, every 10 days), and to the fulfillment of each weeks tasks. I _____________________________, (your name) further understand that there will be days when I think nothing I draw looks right and that my future as an artist/portraitist/caricaturist will be limited. On those days I promise myself I'll accept those uncomfortable feelings and I'll keep on drawing. (Possibly after an hour break, a day break, some exercise, after doing something completely different - or even after a good temper tantrum - but I promise myself I'll get back to it!) Lastly, If I really get stuck, I'll buy Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" or something like it where I can remind myself that learning to draw caricatures or any art for that matter, is a passage (at times a painful one), to an expanded and enriched life. I'll remind myself I deserve praise and congratulations - not criticism - for trying. _________________________________Signature _________________________________Date --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Making a commitment is the first step Put in reasonable time commitments - a 15 minute drawing session 3-5 days a week is much more productive and much more manageable than trying to find a two hour block of time once a week. (And if you draw longer than 15 minutes, fantastic! That's a success. If 15 minutes is all the time you allot yourself and you complete it, that's success! Give yourself credit and stay hungry.) Also look at the "getting started" couple of paragraphs on this page - the 23rd of October 1998 - in the Archives: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/issuenum1.htm The Archives in general has lots of stuff that might whet your drawing whistle. Here's the general link to the Archives: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/archives.htm (If you've forgotten: username: xxxxxxxx password: xxxxxxxx please keep confidential) 2) Twenty-five NEW practice "Vase-Face" drawings And if you haven't started at all, I've added 25 practice "Vase-Face" drawings you can print out and complete. They're truly little brain teasers and are great introductions to getting in to your right brain. Make sure you do the complete assignment in Lesson One at least once - take your time! Learning is most permanent when you're learning at your leisure and not "cramming". You can find them at the bottom of this link: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/lesson1.htm 3) Advanced Drawing topics: Perspective book review For those of you advancing on, you're probably finding perspective and proportion as pretty confusing prospects. Again, the trick is always drawing what you see. But if you'd like some extra enrichment and like to learn some really simple tricks that allow you to draw three dimensional architecture-like objects free hand, keep your eye's open for The Art School Perspective Pack. It may be just what you're looking for. Perspective is an art all by itself and this package will give you a jump start in to it. What you get is this: a beautifully bound hard cover container with a 72-page soft cover text, full color illustrations using masters paintings for demonstrations, great explanations, a tool kit with framing cards, hinged rulers, gridded acetate frames (or as we call them, "formats"), a model of Escher's "Impossible Triangle", draftsman's graphed and "squared" paper. You'll learn more about horizon lines, one and two point perspective, drawing grids, how to draw perfect ellipses, how to spot perspective in seemingly very complex pictures, the behavior and placement of shadows in perspective, and a whole bunch more. It'll definitely keep you busy for a while. It's hardly necessary to learn all this perspective stuff to draw well, but it is a fun tangent. And it most definitely will sharpen your drawing skills. If it's out of stock at Amazon, check in with your local Barnes and Nobles or Borders or Crown Books or local art supply store etc. Here's the direct Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789435101/qid=985977928/sr= 1-2/ref=sc_b_3/002-1287291-7040012 If this link is broken go to http://www.amazon.com click on books and type in "perspective pack". Well that'll do for today all, remember all questions and comments are welcome and valued. Keep on drawing! PS - stateside: don't forget to set your clocks forward Sunday morning! Warmly, Executive Director http://www.YouCanDraw.com
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