Dominicque's Sketchbook

[Dominicque]

Hi Dominicque! Thanks for looking at my sketchbook! I read your intro post, you seem like a really deep thinker! I think I am too and it can really get in the way sometimes, right >.<

I'd heard somewhere about this art thief thing and people calling out younger artists and stuff, really sucks! Encountering that kind of attitude at 13 it makes sense you'd get those kind of ideas that it's bad >.< Hopefully you're getting past it now! And you're drawing a freakin' ton! so many pages of cool looking sketches ^_^

I watched a lot of interviews with manga artists, pretty much they all go "When I was a kid I copied characters from this manga, and that manga, then sometimes this other manga. I liked the way he did eyes, and she did hair, and that other artist did monsters". Their current art style is basically a blend of all those influences and they freely state that in interviews, with a lot of pride! that they can name their favourite artists as being part of what they're doing now! Any 'style' is new artists copying the older ones, mixing them together then adding a few unique things of their own. So... yeah! Copying and drawing everyone else is alllll good!!

Sounds like you're coming around to this anyway, but wanted to share it still ^^

What're your goals? What kind of awesome art do you want to see yourself making?! (apologies if you said this already somewhere!)

You’re welcome, it’s nice to see someone so motivated to improve and actually seeing/being apart of that journey. It reminds me of old skool ConceptArt.org. So, I am excited to see where your practice goes! True, it can get really entrenched in my thoughts that I don’t come up for air and ‘catch the bends’ with all the pressure I put on myself. To continue the water analogy. Yeah, you really see this a lot in the anime and furry ‘community’, of which I am apart of neither. However, I was afraid that controversy would rub off on to me, coupled with people making a career out of making fun of artists, I was afraid mine would be really bad. Younger artists are just starting out and should be talked to gently in the case they have make a faux pas, not demonised. Unfortunately, nothing really has changed there’s always ‘art drama’ going on around this. I remember someone ‘called-out’ for stealing/plagiarizing’, the they only referenced the design language and colour scheme. This is one of the worst I have seen, but the difference is they were actually called out. Petty Artists Mad About "Pose Theft" - YouTube

I’m sure you can imagine a young artist getting really confused over such conflicting advice as ‘copy from your favourite artists’, including artists they admire and then being confronted with attitudes such as those expressed in the video. The traditional art community seems the complete opposite, though. They encourage ‘master copies’ and to actively study from your influences and actively engage by routine imitation, not just via osmosis. In Japan it seems like manga is seen not just as an artform, but a craft. And, with craft comes tutorship and actively copying techniques and things you like to use in your own work.  I still have a trepidation over it. Not so much the study part, but the utilisation of those ideas and techniques into my work, but it’s easing. If you upload a study that’s obvious you can say so, but when you use multiple refences for a piece do you need to source every. Single. Reference? Being able to recently be privy to artists process, that seems not to be the case. I’m really thankful I came across Leesha Hannigan and her process pages. Process for 'Song of Madness' — Leesha Hannigan
'The Last Matriarch' process, or 'How I Use Reference' — Leesha Hannigan
They just use what they need and that could be from sources in the double digits that helps them realise their imagination, but not obsessively detailing over where they got everything from to save them from a controversy. Only they proudly and without guilt or reservation say what their influences are. So, I guess the conclusion is its not just the images that uses multiple sources but using this along the creative process creates a style. It doesn’t come from a vacuum, no matter what some malcontents might say. As Leesha Hannigan states the more references she uses now, the less she’ll need in the future. Because, she would have internalised them. That was what I was scared of and that’s what was holding me back. Still need to work on poses.


No, that's OK, I hasn't express my goals here, yet. I was going to make an intro post, but have probably covered most things in my sketchbook intro. Every since I was twelve I wanted to a writer and artist, and creates my own comicbooks. I kept on putting that off, because I didn’t think ‘I was good enough’, the usual depressed artist stuff. However, I know that point will continue to travel the more I realise how much I have to learn. So, I should start now and make it fun and this in turn will extend my visual library. I would also love to draw album covers and learn more about design. I want my artwork to traverse the boundaries between sequential storytelling, contemporary illustration and graphic design, like James Jean and Tran Nguyen.

I see that you are still struggling with perspective you could take a look at https://drawabox.com if you didn't already it not the best resource on perspective but it more than enough for the level you are currently at.I hope you don't underestimate the usefulness of drawing simple geometric form and give the exercise provided there a go.


Always remember to draw what you like regardless of what other people think by that i mean don't necessarly discard there opinion if you find something valid in what they say.There is people out there who make money doing Fan art but it still not your original work and you should develop your own voice i believe .Don't get me wrong even artist copy other artist to improve there work but it to improve there own original content.What is badly regarded in the art community is the idea that your trying to pass someone else work as your own.There is a fineline between being insipired and plagirizing that is not a easy concept to grasp for most people.I personally find that drawing other artist work is a way to cope with were own insecurity and gain confidence in were ability to copy what we see but it as also it draw back such as becoming a habit and a comfort zone that might be hard for some to leave and this make this person limited in there artistic expression.So i recommend being aware of the pitfall of drawing to much fan art if you want to develop your own personal artistic voice.

Perspective is on my list of things to learn, but I’m trying not to beat myself up for any mistakes. My focus is to try and create more finished pieces and post, even if I can see the mistakes. I have seen this linked before but thank you anyway. I am planning on maybe buying 3-D geometric shapes to draw, but they are hard to come by. I think there is a hell of a lot to gain by drawing for yourself, your own pleasure and fulfillment. There’s also the adage of ‘draw what you eventually want to be commissioned for’. 

There is a very clear black and white line people are tracing and/or doing artists copies and uploading it under the assumption it was all them. However, when it comes from taking elements or remembering a study to use later, that’s when it becomes more ambiguous. Whether it was the good kind of coping or the bad kind of copying depends on the ideological PoV of the viewer, and even whether they actually like the person. That’s where it gets very confusing.

What do you mean ‘cope with their own insecurity’? If you do an artist studies, for some it can be a confidence boost, because it proves to them with the right technique and know-how they can do it. Unless you are referring to ‘tracers’, who may know how to trace, but lack the underlying knowledge to replicate it themselves for themselves?
I don’t think drawing fanart is bad, and indeed if you want to become a comicbook artist, it’s imperative. You will need to know how to draw corporate characters and know how to be consistent with it. But, its always good to create your own characters and IP. Even if its just away to expand your range, doesn’t mean your influences can’t help.

Speaking of fanart...   

Sue and Ralph Dibny sleeping in bed. 
See I used references for this. 
Did some Adam Hughes and J.C. Leyendecker studies and combined them to create this. I would call this mine now. I drew it. I guess this would just be called influences at this point. 
  Daughters of the Dragon. Relatively happy with Misty, but Colleen was frustrating. May try again, but with references this time. 

Used references for both Colleen and Misty. Finally finished the Misty companion piece so I could finally post. Used the aid of a Japanese hand and arm reference book for her!



I feel I am improving with the aid of references.