TEACH YOURSELF | How To Lead The Eye

Recently, I made about 1800 thumbnail studies from How to Train Your Dragon. Every time there was a cut or a camera move, I would hit pause and draw the shot. I got the idea to do so from a CalArts classmate, who in turn got the idea from a post by Emma Coats. While I did the sketches, I paid close attention to the composition of each frame. As Coats instructed in her post, I asked myself a series of questions about the shots, such as, where are the characters positioned? Why was there a cut? How is the frame divided? How are the angles and lines positioned in the shot? What do they lead the eye to? Where is the camera positioned?

I did this exercise to study what makes up a ‘good’ composition. I had come to accept that to learn about composition from movies, it is not enough to simply watch a lot of movies. In fact, when a composition is well made in a movie, it is often difficult for the audience to notice it – it flows into the storyline so well that that the audience gets carried away into that world.

To many people, myself included, composition can therefore be a bit of a mystery.

The first time I heard about composition was in my Art History classes during high school. In these classes, we would analyze paintings from around the world and how they reflected the thought pattern of a given society during a specific time period. When we got to the Renaissance and Venetian art, we learned that these artists used shapes, such as converging lines and figural pyramids, to purposefully guide the eye through the painting and convey the ‘mood’ of the time. We learned that Renaissance artists used composition as a tool for creating visual depth and figurative meaning.

(Source: Marsha Russell)

Still, I wasn’t sure what makes a ‘good’ composition. If composition is the arrangement of shapes within an image, then at what point does it become a ‘bad’ combination?

To settle the ins and outs of composition, I took a class at CalArts that covered composition. I found that composition is really just about making art that looks good to you while being mindful of the purpose behind the composition. 

In a nutshell, composition is about not settling before you’ve reached a point at which you’re happy with the ‘flow’ of the piece.

That being said, there are a few basic ‘rules’ to keep in mind.

To reinforce and remind myself what I have been taught, I have started analyzing movies on my own, like I did How to Train Your Dragon. On top of that, I like to scout online to find any resonating insight. In this post, I’m going to share some of the handouts and videos that have been helpful in understanding how to lead the eye through a composition. Most of these sources agree that good composition is about clarity, i.e. leading the eye to a point of interest, while being mindful of what you’re trying to communicate story-wise.

Advice

Artist Rad Sechrist thinks about the relationships between shapes as he makes compositions. He has made a handout on his site Rad How To that analyzes a painting and how the artist guides the onlooker through it.

(Source: radhowto)

Another example of leading the eye is to point everything toward a single center of interest:

(Source: andreasdeja)

Having the perspective lines converge where you want the audience to look is another way to guide the eye.

(Source: Marsha Russell)

Yet more ways you can guide the eye through a composition is by contrast. You can create contrast though lighting, colors and/or patterns. Whichever element stands out the most (creates the greatest level of contrast to the rest of the elements) in a given composition will be where the eye looks. So for instance, if you have a composition with a majority of circular shapes and then one triangular shape, the audience will be attracted to the triangle.

(By Loui del Carmen, source: theartcenter)

Here is a video by Ahmed Aldoori that analyzes some paintings by Paul Felix. Aldoori explains how Felix uses some of the principles I have mentioned above to create his compositions.

I hope these links and explanations help!

As always, thanks to all the artists who shared this advice online!

-Christine-

TEACH YOURSELF | How To Storyboard

(Source: sevencamels)

There is no way in the world anyone will acquire this kind of expertise other than practice, practice, and more practice… In The Seascape Painter’s Problem Book by E. John Robinson, he says (I take the liberty to substitute to word “paint” for “drawing”), “Your ability to draw will be no stronger than your determination to learn” 

Walt Stanchfield, Drawn to Life 

When I decided I wanted to delve into the animation industry, I knew that I was signing up for a life-time of learning. Based on the advice of people successful in the industry, I sensed that the skills required to get your foot inside the door go beyond what you can learn in a classroom – that the art of understanding animation and storyboarding depends on your desire to study the basic principles throughout your life and on your own.

So when it comes to learning on your own, an important question, of course, comes up: what is the best way to go about studying to become better at drawing/animation/art?

I think there are two ways to go about this:

1. Sketch and study real life and figure out what I find appealing

2. Seek out advice from artists I admire and learn what works for them

To this end, I like to scout the Internet – I go from blog to blog of people recommending one artist, who recommends another artist, and so on –  and I ask my teachers at CalArts and my classmates which blogs they follow. I really wish I'd searched the Internet more before attending CalArts. It is never too early to take education into your own hands! I have come to find that there is simply so much good advice online, on everything from what it’s like to be an artist to specific advice on drawing and the like.

One of the blogs I came across, by Emma Coats, had a post called “Teach Yourself X.” The post is about the importance of learning on your own from making your own art and what you can find online. I took inspiration from that for this post and decided I wanted to share the links of blogs I have found helpful.

I have divided the various blogs I like into categories of tips on storyboarding, drawing, character design, etc. I will begin to share each category in separate blog posts with descriptions and links. Even so, you can learn many things from each blogger. They each go beyond the scope of the category I have put them into.

The way I use these tips: I take notes as I read the advice and save them into categories on my computer. For instance, I have a folder called “layout” and within that I have folder named “specific stuff” > “point of interest” > “contrast” > “complex vs. simple.”

This way, I can return to the notes and keep reminding myself of these tips. I can save any new notes I take into categories as they pertain to the notes I already have, which makes these basic principles seem less overwhelming. Also, it helps me understand how to use these basic principles consciously for what I intend to get out of, say, a composition. For instance, I can know that if I want to guide the eye and create a center of interest, I can use principles such as rhythm, contrast, value, and scale because I can find all these tips under "point of interest." Then hopefully, one day, I will have absorbed all these basics and use them unconsciously in my art (all the while experimenting with finding my own solutions to creating "appealing" art in my sketchbook). 

I mention my sketchbook here because it is important to note that I try to observe things in real life first and express my own "discovery" of appeal. It should feel like tips from these bloggers "ring true" to something you intuitively already know --  and not like a formula you need to memorize. As Glen Keane said in one of his interviews, students often "forget that somebody once observed something. Everything that works is based on real life."  The blogs I share offer advice based on observations other artists have made, which can be very helpful. But while I study these blogs, I also make sure to "discover" my own observations by carrying a sketchbook and studying real life.

Without further ado, here are some links to blogs I have found helpful for story-boarding:

Mark Kennedy – The Temple of the Seven Golden Camels

Mark Kennedy is head of story at Disney Feature Animation. Since 2006, he has been posting tips on his blog, The Temple of the Seven Golden Camels, that are mainly geared toward story-boarding.  I only found this blog about a year ago – but oh how I wish I’d found it sooner! The blog not only helps me grasp story-boarding – it also teaches me about composition, contrast, how to guide the eye through a painting, character design, you name it! Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite blogs out there!

The Art of Griz and Norm

Husband and wife, Griz and Norm both work at Disney. Griz (Grizelda Sastrawinata-Lemay) is in Visual Development and Norm (Normand Lemay) works in Story. I heard about this blog through my teacher in Character Design at CalArts, Joe Pitt. I cannot recommend it enough! The two of them post advice called “Tuesday Tips.” These posts offer advice on composition, design, line quality, story-boarding, solidity, gesture – all the things artists in animation bear in mind as they make their art and/or storyboards. If you haven’t already, go check it out!

Emma Coats – Storyshots

Emma is a CalArts alum and has worked at Pixar before she decided to become a freelance director. She offers advice on how to get better at story-boarding, by studying camera angles, composition, lighting, perspective, and how to get hired in the industry. I heard about her through a classmate – so if you have friends who are also interested in animation, don’t be afraid to ask them where they get their inspiration!

The Art of Dave Pimentel

Dave Pimentel is head of story at Disney. On his blog, he offers some tips on making interesting and clear storyboards through visual tools such as rhythm, contrast, perspective, overlap, tone and value.

I also like to search Youtube for informative interviews/lectures. Here is one with storyboard artist Steven Macleod that I love:

Finally, here is also an interview with Disney story artist Lissa Treiman on what it is like to be a story artist at Disney Feature.

I hope you find these blog links helpful! I am going to make more posts with blog links that fall into the categories of animation and drawing. I also want to say a huge thank you to all the artists who share their advice and experience of the animation industry online.

-Christine-