I was playing around with a photo, wondering how it would look if I copied the image on paper. Got me a pencil, a standard letter-sized bond paper and just lightly lined and sketched.
I was enamored by the artists of old where they can capture expressions, emotions with just a few strokes of their pens and brushes. And I can never draw like that. Instead I developed my own, withn a few acquired skills learned along the way, I became a fan of the old Ripley's Believe It Or Not Illustrations and old woodcuts.
While it would be good to really emulate the styles, those artworks were borne out of the era it was made - nibs and ink, offset printing, thick paper and so forth. Our current tools, even the new technology cannot compare with the sheer talent and diligenece of these artists.
I remember staring wide-eyed as another issue of Liwayway was dropped from the deliovery truck to our dooorstep, because my Mother has subscriptions for our town. The works of Javinal are clearly something to behold.
Over the years, I developed my drawing by just that, drawing for whoever or whenever. Having worked in an animation company helped me further look for ways and styles to draaw, which nearly killed the way I illustrate since it was something I was doing day in and day out, 12-16 hours a day.
But I am back on track.
Not because I have new gadgets. far from it. Can't even upgrade to a mobile phone with a better camera option. But that doesn't matter. All I need are simple tools.
Some would say training with imaging software does not need any skill in drawing. Well, that may be true, but a well trained person may find himself at a loss faced with just a pencil and paper. it's like comparing driver who grew up within a family with a driving culture to another who just passed drving school. There is such a big difference with how they handle a vehicle.
Now I graduated from just typewriting paper to A3 sized velum boards, and started creating with poster sized paper.
Who knows what dastardly devious creations will come out of them.
