How To Draw In Your Sketchbook

Character Design with David Colman

Matt Groening

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening [ɡreɪnɪŋ/ gray-ning; born February 15, 1954]is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama.

Groening made his first professional cartoon sale of Life in Hell to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers. Life in Hell caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, The Simpsons, and named the members after his own parents and sisters — while Bart was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: The Simpsons, which has since aired over 486 episodes. In 1997, Groening, along with former Simpsons writer David X. Cohen, developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999. After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox in 2003, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes from four direct-to-DVD movies in 2008. Then, in June 2009, Comedy Central ordered 26 new episodes of Futurama, to be aired over two seasons.

Groening has won 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, ten for The Simpsons and two for Futurama as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. He will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Groening was born on February 15, 1954 in Portland, Oregon, the middle of five children. His Norwegian American mother, Margaret Ruth [née Wiggum], was once a teacher, and his German American father, Homer Philip Groening [December 30, 1919 – March 15, 1996], was a filmmaker, advertiser, writer and cartoonist. Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Mennonite, Plautdietsch-speaking family. He has Dutch Mennonite ancestors.

Matt's grandfather Abram Groening was a professor at Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kansas before moving to Albany College [now known as Lewis and Clark College] in Oregon in 1930.

Groening grew up in Portland, and attended Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. From 1972  to 1977, Groening attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a liberal arts school that he described as "a hippie college, with no grades or required classes, that drew every weirdo in the Northwest." He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal, for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons. He befriended fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry after discovering that she had written a fan letter to Joseph Heller, one of Groening's favorite authors, and had received a reply. Groening has credited Barry with being "probably [his] biggest inspiration."He has also cited the Disney animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians as what got him interested in cartoons, as well as Peanuts and its creator Charles M. Schulz as inspirations.

source: wikipedia

Sergio Aragonés

Sergio Aragonés Domenech [born September 6, 1937, Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain] is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer.

Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is widely regarded as "the world's fastest cartoonist."The Comics Journal has described Aragonés as "one of the most prolific and brilliant cartoonists of his generation."Mad editor Al Feldstein said, "He could have drawn the whole magazine if we'd let him."

Born in Spain, Aragonés emigrated with his family to France, due to the Spanish Civil War, before settling in Mexico at age 6. Aragonés had a passion for art since early childhood. As one anecdote goes, Aragonés was once left alone in a room by his parents with a box of crayons. His parents returned sometime later to find that he had covered the wall in hundreds upon hundreds of drawings. Aragonés recalled his early difficulties in Mexico, saying, "I didn't have too many friends because I had just arrived. You're the new kid, and you have an accent. I've always had an accent... When the other kids make fun of you, you don't want to get out of the house. So you stay at home, and what do you do? You take pencils and start drawing."

Aragonés used his drawing skill to assimilate. "The earliest money I ever made was with drawings," he remembered. "The teacher would give us homework, which would consist of copying Chapter Eleven, including the illustrations... a beetle or a plant, the pistil of a flower, or soldiers-- that type of thing. All the kids who couldn't draw would leave a square where the drawing was, and I would charge them to draw that. The equivalent of a few pennies... That's probably why I draw so fast, because I drew so many of them."

He made his first professional sale in 1954 when a high school classmate submitted his work to a magazine without telling Aragonés. He continued to sell gag cartoons to magazines while studying architecture at the University of Mexico, where he also learned pantomime under the direction of Alejandro Jodorowsky. “I joined the class,” Aragonés recalled, “not to become a mime but to apply its physical aspects of movement to my comics.” In 1962, Aragonés moved to the United States. He currently resides and works in Ojai, California.

source: wikipedia

Jamie Hewlett - Gorillaz

Jamie Hewlett created the concept of the Gorillaz with Damon Albarn when they were living together in a flat in London in 1997. Although it has never been confirmed, it is supposed that these two comprise the 'Gorillaz Partnership', the company that owns the Gorillaz intellectual property and the Gorillaz songwriting royalty stream. Jamie is the visual director of Gorillaz; he created the characters that make up the band (though with some input from Damon, for example Damon asked him to 'tone down' Murdoc, and Paula, originally part of the line-up, was ditched in favour of Noodle after Damon worked with Miho Hatori on the debut album), and it is his drawings and sketches that all the Gorillaz art is based on. The musical side of the project impacts the visuals Jamie creates not only in the example of Noodle above, but also because Jamie visits Damon in the music studio to listen to works in progress and gain inspiration for ideas about the band based on the songs. Jamie has his own design and animation company Zombie Flesh Eaters who realise a lot of his visual ideas; for example, setting up and running the official Gorillaz website in the way he envisaged, designing record sleeves, possibly even some of the Gorillaz official artwork. He also created the basic story idea behing Gorillaz, although members of Zombie Flesh Eaters and Damon Albarn have also contributed to this, and the evolution of the characters. He co-directed the Gorilla Bites and the Gorillaz music videos.

Pin-up demo by Scot Drake "the book club"

Tom Hanks by Paul Moyse

Drawing Still Life 02

Drawing Still Life 01

Wacom Cintiq 24 HD Trailer EN

The Cintiq 24HD is the flagship product of Wacom's Cintiq range and has been designed for professional use.
This interactive pen display sets a new standard for everybody working in 3D design, animation, game development, industrial design and visual effects that is no longer willing to compromise when it comes to image quality, ergonomics and comfort.

Shamcey Supsup Bb. Pilipinas 2011 Talent Competition

Nick Vujicic

"Motivation gets you through the day, but inspiration lasts a lifetime."

Nick Vujicic

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso in 1962

Blue Nude

Guernica

Three Musicians

Girl Before Mirror

The Dream

Boy with a Pipe

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Head Sculpture Chicago

 

 

The Old Guitarist

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso [Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaβlo ˈrwiθ piˈkaso]; 25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973] was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor who lived most of his life in France. He is widely known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon [1907] and Guernica [1937], a portrayal of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a realistic manner through his childhood and adolescence; during the first decade of the 20th century his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. His revolutionary artistic accomplishments brought him universal renown and immense fortune, making him one of the best-known figures in 20th century art.

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth”
-Pablo Picasso

source: wikipedia

wacom inkling

The Periodic Table of Typefaces

The Periodic Table of Typefaces is obviously in the style of all the thousands of over-sized Periodic Table of Elements posters hanging in schools and homes around the world. This particular table lists 100 of the most popular, influential and notorious typefaces today.
As with traditional periodic tables, this table presents the subject matter grouped categorically. The Table of Typefaces groups by families and classes of typefaces: sans-serif, serif, script, blackletter, glyphic, display, grotesque, realist, didone, garalde, geometric, humanist, slab-serif and mixed.
Each cell of the table lists the typeface and a one or two character "symbol" [made up by me simply based on logic], the designer, year designed and a ranking of 1 through 100.
Ranking was determined by statistically sorting and combining lists and opinions from the the sites listed below. The final overall ranking was achieved depending on how many lists the particular typeface was presented on and it's ranking on the lists [if the particular source list used a ranking system; some did not, in which case just the typeface's presence on the list boosted it's overall score.] After averaging the typefaces appearances and rankings a composite score was given and the list was sorted on a spreadsheet then finally given an overall score of 1 through 100 based on its final resting position.
Unfortunately, the typefaces could not be sorted exactly numerically on the table while at the same time keeping them in groups of families and classes. It had to be one or the other. Of course it COULD have been done but I would have had to seriously sacrifice aesthetics of the overall design [i.e. it wouldn't have come out looking AT ALL like a traditional periodic table.] However, upon close inspection, you find that at least the typefaces are ordered within their family/class groupings.

source: creativebits.org

Interactive Reaction 2009

Steve Jobs Onstage: Full-length Video

source: creativebits.org

Creativity is just connecting things

When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that's too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem.
The broader one's understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.
- Steve Jobs


source: creativebits.org

coming soon from wacom

Paul Budnitz of Kidrobot

Paul Budnitz is the founder of Kidrobot in New York, which produces limited-edition toys and apparel, fusing graphic design, fine art, illustration, industrial design, graffiti, and music. Over the past five years, he has launched a Kidrobot store and gallery in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

read more: graphics.com/modules

5 Rules for a Creative Culture

Ben Chestnut, founder of MailChimp shares his views on what it takes to create a creative environment:

1. Avoid rules. Avoid order. Don't just embrace chaos, but create a little bit of it. Constant change, from the top-down, keeps people nimble and flexible (and shows that you want constant change).
2. Give yourself and your team permission to be creative. Permission to try something new, permission to fail, permission to embarrass yourself, permission to have crazy ideas.
3. Hire weird people. Not just the tattoo'd and pierced-in-strange-places kind, but people from outside your industry who would approach problems in different ways than you and your normal competitors.
4. Meetings are a necessary evil, but you can avoid the conference room and meet people in the halls, the water cooler, or their desks. Make meetings less about delegation and task management and more about cross-pollination of ideas (especially the weird ideas). This is a lot harder than centralized, top-down meetings. But this is your job -- deal with it.
5. Structure your company to be flexible. Creativity is often spontaneous, so the whole company needs to be able to pivot quickly and execute on them (see #1).

 source: http://creativebits.org/inspiration/5_rules_creative_culture

29 ways to stay creative

source: creativebits.org

Eveything is Remix

source: kirbyferguson

The Life Cycle of a Good Idea

source: creativebits.org

hugh jackman

Hugh Michael Jackman [born 12 October 1968] is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.

Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters. He is known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series, as well as for his leads in Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, and Australia. Jackman is a singer, dancer, and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz.

In November 2008, Open Salon named Jackman one of the sexiest men alive. Later that same month, People magazine named Jackman "Sexiest Man Alive.

A three-time host of the Tony Awards, winning an Emmy Award for one of these appearances, Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.

source: wikipedia

Maria Kreyn Messengers 2011

http://www.mariakreyn.com/

Seoul International Design Competition

The Seoul Metropolitan Government endeavors to implement a communication- and empathy-based administration with a view to growing Seoul, a UNESCO City of Design, into one of the world’s top 5 cities.

As an effort to make Seoul an attractive place to visit, work, live and invest, the 2011 Public Design Competition has been organized. Your sparkling idea will contribute to establishing an enjoyable urban environment.

Theme: design that offers pleasure and convenience for users.

There are two categories:

• Bench or chair
• Any other public facilities that citizens encounter in their daily routines, including sculptures and recreational and sports amenities

There is no entry fee.

Eligibility
Anyone with an interest in Seoul, regardless of nationality or residence is eligible.

Prize
The following prizes will be awarded in both official categories:
• Grand Prize (1) - approx. 4,500 USD, Trophy, certificate
• Gold Prize (2) - approx. 2,200 USD, Certificate
• Silver Prize (4) - approx. 900 USD, Certificate
• Bronze Prize (5) - approx. 450 USD, Certificate
• Runner-up (10) - approx. 270 USD, Certificate
• Honorable Mention (30) - approx. 90 USD, Certificate

Join here: http://design.seoul.go.kr/citizen/noti_eng.php

A Logo for Human Rights

How it works

There is finally to be a symbol for human rights – show us your human rights logo!

Background

At present there is no internationally recognized symbol for human rights. The “Logo for Human Rights” initiative wants to change that! Logos win people over through their symbolic power, distinctiveness, clarity and universal applicability. The initiative was established out of conviction that a human rights logo will make a peaceful contribution towards the global spread and implementation of human rights. In order to find this logo, a global creative online competition with cash prizes and open to everyone is to be launched. The initiative has the support of renowned stakeholders, supporters and partners from all walks of life.
Aim

The aim of the initiative is to create a human rights logo “by people for people”, thus making a contribution towards the global spread and implementation of human rights with the support of a large public.
Task

Show the world your logo for human rights!

What do you have to do?

Show the world your logo idea, whether it’s a sketch or a complicated design. What matters is that the symbolism is convincing.
How can you take part?

Upload your logo on to www.humanrightslogo.net. Discuss and assess the logo competition entries with people from all over the world, sup­ported by a team of experts. A prominent jury will make a pre-selection from all the entries. In a global public online ballot, the winner will be chosen from among the top 10.

Why should you take part?

Your logo can become the global symbol for human rights and be used wherever the focus is on human rights. What’s more, the winner will be awarded €5000, the runner-up €3000 and the third-placed entrant €1000.

Rules

The way you produce your logo is up to you: sketch the logo with a pencil on paper, paint it on a canvas, design it with the computer, draw it with a stick in the sand, etc.
It must be possible to understand the logo without a text.
The only words that may be used with the logo are “Human Rights”.
Purely text entries will not be accepted.
It’s not possible to upload video or audio files.

Dates

Starting May 3rd 2011 12:00 CET
Submission Deadline July 31st 2011

Tips: What makes a good logo?

• Above all, a good logo is based on a good idea.
• A good logo is simple and instantly recognizable.
• A good logo can be reproduced using many different media.
• A good logo can be reproduced in different sizes.
• A good logo can be reproduced in colour or in black and white.

Join here: http://humanrightslogo.net/

Piracicaba International Humor Illustration Contest

The 38th International Humor Exhibition, organized by the National Center for Graphic Humor of Piracicaba (Brazil), is now calling for entries.

Join here: http://salaodehumor.piracicaba.sp.gov.br/humor/

Billboard Art Competition Art Moves 2011

„Reality or fiction? Let’s pretend it’s not there”

There is no entry fee. The Competition is open and all artists interested in billboard art are invited to take part. The works should be submitted by the 20th July, 2011 via electronic mail to the address: artmoves@tlen.pl
10 most interesting works will be displayed on billboards in the city space during the Art Moves Festival in September /October 2011 in Torun, Poland. The author of the most interesting work will receive the Main Award in the amount of PLN 10.000 [about EUR 2.540, USD 3.770].

Artists are invited to prepare an artwork in response to this year’s competition theme „Reality or fiction? Let’s pretend it’s not there”.

This slogan can serve as a kind of a metaphor of the processes taking place in the contemporary world.
The slogan concerns daily matters and questions whether the things/situations in our daily life are real or fictional and how can we distinguish one from the other. Simultaneously, the slogan also raises a question what we, as individuals or as a community, are trying to hide. Are there any specific phenomena, processes or events we tend to intentionally ignore and pretend “it’s not there”?
Can we say that such social processes as: growing level of fear and alienation or breakdown of interpersonal relationships are real or fictional? However, negative aspects of life are not the only matter we can pretend to ignore. The positive aspects of human life also can be overlooked. Media informs us mainly about negative events and treats the positive ones as mundane and less exciting. By doing so, do they present a real version of the world or rather create a fictional picture? Do the Internet help us to reach something which is real or rather drags us into the world of fiction? Do the hi-tech forms of communication help or hinder our contact with reality? There could be a lot of different interpretations like these above and there are many different answers as well. We think that the question of what is real and what is fictional has a deeper meaning… If we stop asking ourselves what is real and what is not, what we discern and what we overlook, will we be able to say who we are and what world we really live in?

Join here: http://www.artmovesfestival.org/