Todoroki Kawaii

"If a drawing looks clumsy, or lacks appeal, or no longer looks like the model, perhaps the animator is trying to show something that should not be shown.   When Fred (Moore) was giving a talk on drawing Mickey, he was asked,  "How do you draw him looking right down on top of his head?"  Fred responded, "Why would you?"  If the appeal in the design was based on the balance of the ears to the nose and the relationship of the cheeks to the eyes and the head shape, Fred wondered why would you deliberately throw all that away?   Why would you show a view that did not have much going for it as possible?   - Frank Thomas , Ollie Johnston , The Illusion of Life   -   "What happens is FACT.  TRUTH is what we think about. Write the truth."  - Robert McKee People often like to cite the 12 Points of Animation as described in the Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. In this very same tome is their once senior animator, Fred Moore's...

"Glenn Vilppu was the caliber level of work that we strove for." - Aaron Blaise, Veteran Disney animator/ director, artist.  www.creaturearteacher.com He has been teaching drawing in the animation industry for over 40 years. He's been called a legend. His teachings are part of the compilations notes of fellow Disney teacher, Walt Stanchfeld in Drawn to Life.   His original Drawing Manual is one the most coveted instructional art books in the world but sadly is the the most pirated globally.  His name:  Glenn Vilppu.    アニメーション業界でドローイングを教えて40年以上。 彼はいまやレジェンドと呼ばれている。彼の教えは、 同じくディズニーで講師を務めていたウォルト・ スタンチフィールドがまとめた「Drawn to Life」にも掲載されている。彼が著した「Drawing Manual」は、アートの指南書として非常に人気を博したが、 悲しいことに、世界中に海賊版が出回ることにもなっている。 彼の名は、グレン・ビルプ He humbly just calls himself an drawing teacher, but Glenn is a master draftsman whose teachings has enabled countless students, artists and professional artist to have the skills and confidence to pursue their dreams.   グレンは自身を単に「ドローイングの先生...

"Anything composed of living flesh, not matter how bony, will show considerable movement within its shape in progressing through an action." - Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston,  The Illusion of Life - Squash and stretch is not purely an animation concept. It has existed since primitive man was able to draw figures.  It has been used by the old masters. - We don't have to go into gross caricature seen in rubbery animation but it can inform the spirit of our drawings.   -  Some use it for exaggeration. It also can be used for clarity in the contour of the figure.   - It can also clarify the direction of forces in the figure.  -  It aids clarity.  It emphasizes dynamic and dramatic action! 

" Why do life drawing?  Because we learn the normal to have authority with the fantastic.  We learn where the weight is. We learn proportion. We learn where to place things. We learn clarity.  It broadens our range.  It's like working out in order to get fit. And we don't want fancy drawings----we need intelligent scribbles" -Richard Williams 「写生をする理由は何だろうか？　標準を知っている者には、奇想天外なことが許されるからだ。 ウエイトがどこにあるか。比率はどうか。 明瞭さとはどんなことか。 すべてのパーツがどのようにつながっているかを理解できる。 これが分かれば、ずっと幅が広がる。 健康でいるために運動するのとおなじことだ。上手な絵を描こう、 素晴らしい絵を描こうとするのは、無用なことだ。 私たちが目指すべきは、知的な落書きだ」  - リチャードウィリアムズ These works by German illustrator Heinrich Kley are perfect examples of drawings that have weight and clarity.  His ink illustrations are loose and have a vitality showing clear gesture or line of action.   ドイツ人イラストレーター、ハインリッヒ・ クレイによるこれらの作品は、 ウエイトと明瞭さを備えた作品の好例です。彼のペン画は、 ラフでありながら活力にあふれ、 明確なジェスチャーとアクションラインを示しています。 Kley found gesture in large, bulky creatures such as elephants and maximized the obvious ges...

"A figure is not done well unless action appears it in it that expresses a state of mind."   -   Leonardo DiVinci  "If you don't have the gesture and the action, you literally don't have anything."   - Glenn Vilppu World renown Disney, Dreamworks and UCLA drawing instructor  Glenn Vilppu   is returning to Tokyo again for his second drawing masterclass with Master Drawing Japan.   It will be a four day drawing seminar on November 7th, 8th and 14th and 15th. One of the most coveted drawing instructors in the animation and production art industry, Vilppu has taught the art of figure drawing for over 40 years in workshops around the world teaching principles and techniques professionals in the animation industry such as Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros.    Vilppu will help participants master techniques of drawing the human figure in the first session and teach a special class on the human head in the second session..     He...

"No rules just tools."  - Glenn Vilppu Internationally renown Disney, Dreamworks and UCLA drawing instructor Glenn Vilppu will be giving a two day drawing seminar in Tokyo on August 16 th and 17 th .     As a premier drawing instructor to the studios in Hollywood, Vilppu has taught the art of figure drawing for over 40 years and has done workshops around the world teaching principles and techniques of drawing to professionals in the animation industry such as Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros.   In each 6-hour seminar, Vilppu will teach participants the master techniques of drawing the human figure as well as anatomy.    It will be an opportunity to receive instruction and feedback from a drawing master whose instruction has been coveted globally by artists and illustrators for generations. Vilppu does not teach a style but teaches the tools to master drawing so that the artist to use them in any direction he or she wishes.   The event w...

These are the paraphrased words of Antoni Gaudi that will greet you entering the Mori Art Exhibition:: Takehiko Inoue Interprets Gaudi's Universe.   It would be plain to say the works of both Gaudi and Takahiro Inoue's were impressive and compelling. The greater thing to come away with from exhibition is the consideration of  artistic creation and expression come from.   We are moved and compelled by what we observe. Nature served a great part in influencing Gaudi's hand.  As for Inoue-san it seems that Gaudi, the man himself has compelled his hand rather than his expressive voice.  Indeed he has interpreted Gaudi in his own way -- interpreting his work with Gaudi's voice would be of course, just copying. "The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create, he discovers.  Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator.  Copiers do not collaborate.  Because of ...

Apologies to Mr. Blaise for copping his title. How could someone not be inspired by this man? Aaron Blaise is an accomplished and amazing artist, animator and filmmaker who has been extremely generous in sharing his work, insights and advice on his website The Art of Aaron Blaise ( www.creatureartteacher.com )   Aaron Blaise has produced beautiful work on films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan and Brother Bear which he directed.  All artists are always trying to learn, grow, build up on what they have spent years mastering.  Whatever motivates the artist,  there are always stumbles and outright obstacles.   Every now and then, the artist finds an oasis of information or inspiration that can help keep him/ her going.  Aaron's online advice is certainly one.  One of the most important things about the art process is that it's not so much "what you do" but "how you think" about your work.    This is one of the greatest areas of advic...

A recent graphic design assignment has availed me to discover and rediscover some great artists in graphic design.  Shigeo Fukuda being one of them.  Victory 1945 is perhaps one of his best known works.  Awesome, simple and effective commentary. Fukuda has a very stark and compelling sense of design that could make someone say, "a Japanese Saul Bass"  but Fukuda takes it one step further. Using planes that are clearly flat and 2D with subjects which had undeniable weight and volume make them greatly appealing. Some his work compels the eye to travel so well the images border on being animated. Fukuda was quoted, " I believe that in design, 30% dignity, 20% beauty, and 50% absurdity are necessary.  Rather than catering to the design sensitivity of the general public, there is advancement in design if people are left to feel satisfied with their own superiority, by entrapping them with an optical illusion." 

"A writer should be able to write simple sentences before he tries to be a poet."   - Andy Rooney.

Just a local Japanese female I enjoyed drawing the other day.