Creative Composition Class
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I think characters are more intimidating lols. I am learning a fair amount in CED - we are still working through it - though I am not entirely sure how to translate it to more children’s books.
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@Coreyartus I feel like you could go a lot further with simplifying the shapes. Stripping master works down to their core has helped me understand composition better. After making detailed thumbnails in our CED group class I actually went back to redo the exercise with more simple 3 tone shape studies.
For me, these were actually a better learning experience than the more detailed ones. @Will-Terry always talks about the 3/30 rule (should look good from 3 feet away or 30) and details only matter up close. Give it a shot and see if breaking it down even further helps you see the bigger picture (no pun intended) more clearly.
In the CC class they mention the book Framed Ink, which I purchased, and it pushes even more simple 2 tone thumbnails. That book's thumbnails make mine look overly complicated.
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@Amber-Lynn-Benton Here are a few of my latest assignments in this course. I love it when they include a workbook like this-it really helps me apply the concepts presented.
As i mentioned earlier, the circus one was one of the hardest for me. And I've been finished them way less than you and @Coreyartus.
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@Susan-Marks I wonder if maybe I'm making more of the practice assignments in the workbook than I should be. As you and @JerrySketchyArt have mentioned, they're a bit blown out. I didn't look on the forums for any examples of how other folks had completed their work, and now that I've also done the workbook projects for the Mastering Perspective class, I can see that maybe I complicated them by fleshing them out too much. In the end, I'm not sure I actually got what I was supposed to get out of each assignment... LOL! Keeping things simple is one of my personal hangups I think I have to work on. I really really like to over-complicate things sometimes, and I wonder if that's not a defense mechanism some artists have when they're trying to hide that they don't really understand at all... hehe...
Children's Illustration Portfolio: https://www.coreyartusillustration.com
Art Portfolio: https://www.coreyartusimagery.com
Mastodon: https://mindly.social/@Coreyartus
Pixelfed: https://pixelfed.social/Coreyartus -
@Coreyartus @Susan-Marks Since I'm late to reading this thread, you may have already figured this out but to make the pictures smaller in your post, resize them smaller before uploading them. On a Mac, you can resize them in Preview, or you can get free apps to resize them. I usually do 750 pixels on the longest side but you can go even smaller if you have several images for a particular post.
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@Coreyartus Indeed! I think being specific and simple and concise is much more difficult for many of us than to “just keep talking.”
Are you asking if you put more finish into your class exercises than needed? I always wonder the opposite, am I putting enough effort and finish into my assignments. I try to balance it with “Will I learn more, specifically related to the concept I’m studying? If yes, keep going. If no, then maybe do another exercise.” -
@Coreyartus @Susan-Marks I have been using the value thumbnail studies in the class as a guide though I think I'm taking them further than I would on my own because I'm posting them here
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@Coreyartus You're ahead of me so I have pondered those assignments yet. I love your forced perspective thumbnail. I would say that's a great example of drawing through. I agree with you - the random organic shapes seems hard to pin down. I think you did a great job with all of these, actually - I particularly like the toaster ;). I think where I see you struggle most is on the simplifying complex shapes exercise. I think it may just be the hardest exercise, though. I feel like you did a pretty good job with the tree and the hair, but the other two images still look pretty complex to me. Especially the grassy floral. Easy for me to say without having attempted it yet. :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes: Overall great job, though!
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@JerrySketchyArt Thats an interesting way of simplifying compositions, Jerry! Your simplifications make it fairly easy to locate the focal point or point of tension in each piece.
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@Susan-Marks I'm not sure you have to finish them as fully as I did. I think one of the biggest takeaways for me was to rely more on value/shapes than linework at the thumbnail stage. It's so far my biggest takeaway in planning new work.
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Here’s my Emphasis using value exercise. I have a feeling that this wasn’t supposed to be a lighting exercise but I had a hard time seeing another way to use value. Would love to see more examples of this exercise.
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@Susan-Marks I think your solution was much better on this exercise. I studied it again after finished mine. I may repeat this one!
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Attempt #2:
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@Amber-Lynn-Benton I think your second attempt is much better-reads clearer. It's so good to see how others approach each of these assignments. I'm taking "Dynamic Expression" (interactive class) and David Hohn (instructor) always says "well, the assignment is really clear in MY head." We do our best to understand!
