During my senior year of college, I spent most of my free time between classes in the library copying illustrations out of books. I'd jot down the book and page number, then take a sampling of things that interested me: poses, anatomy, costumes, etc. Sometimes there would be a theme, a day concentrating on eastern textiles, then the next on art nouveau.
I had misgivings about copying at first. I was afraid of becoming too reliant on it and losing the ability to create on my own. It's hard to find joy in having a camera and scanner as rivals.
But I found that in following someone else's lines, the motion and modeling became more instinctual. It wasn't so much training precision as it was natural flow. I learned the lines of Mucha and could combine them with Munch's tone. Or give an asian monster a touch of grecian style.
Studying as much art as I have, it'd be impossible for me to make anything sincerely "unique." But now I use that experience as a throwback in my art. My drawings are me because they contain all the things I've loved and learned before.
In a way, you're studying another person's rhythm and movement, and adding it to your own voice. Animators for traditional animation have to do that all the time: copying the same style and keeping it consistent....you're not losing something, but rather gaining how to draw something from another perspective. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's how I taught myself to draw cartoon characters and facial expressions, but looking at another artist's style. Studying it to the "t". :)