Animation drawings | Drawing Tutorials Online Blog

Dan’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Jan 19, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 2 comments

Dan has got to be one of the nicest people I have ever met. He is extremely talented and very respectful. I really love having Dan as a student is class. His appetite for learning is so infectious. Dan is always asking questions, always looking for more feedback on his work.

Dan’s life drawings are truly amazing with a ton of power and vitality. He is in a really good place with his artwork right now. The future is bright.

The one thing I wish for Dan moving forward is to allow his growth to happen naturally. Dan wants to improve, like now. I know that feeling, you are improving, but not fast enough. The one thing I have learned over the years is that you cannot force how fast you can learn.

Our mind is like a sponge, it can only absorb so much information in any given period of time. You have to allow your mind to take in the information and process it. Putting what you have learned into practice does take some time.

I like to compare learning to the growth of a tree. A tree can only grow so much in one year. You cannot force it to grow six feet in a year, that’s just not natural. How we take in information and apply it is very similar to the growth of a tree.

Allow yourself to enjoy the process of learning. Yes push to improve, yes be extremely competitive, strive to be the best. However enjoy the process of learning how to draw. Set your eye on the destination and enjoy the sights along the way.

Dan thanks once again for sharing your art!!

Check out Dan’s Instagram. Thanks again Dan for sharing your art.

Emily’s Third Sketchbook – A Long Time Ago

by Matthew | Dec 16, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 1 comment

I’ve had Emily’s sketchbook video on my iPhone for quite sometime. I’m about to start filming my current student’s sketchbooks this week. So what better time to post Emily’s third sketchbook.

What can I say, Emily was the heart of her class last semester. She brings so much energy and passion to everything she does.

Emily is all about constant improvement. I trust you will find some value and inspiration when flipping through her sketchbook with me.

Check out Emily’s Instagram. You can really see her improvement there too. Thanks again Emily for sharing your art.

Emily R’s Second Sketchbook

by Matthew | Nov 10, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Emily was a student in last years foundation drawing class for animators. I really miss having Emily in class this year. She is a massive Beatles fan with a with a great sense of humor.

His sketchbook drawing are so much fun to look at. I’ll let Emily’s work speak for itself in the video below.

Emily love your work, thanks so much for sharing!! Come back and visit on day.

Check out Emily’s Instagram. Thanks again Emily for sharing your art.

Lin’s Sketchbook

by Matthew | Oct 13, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 2 comments

Gosh I’m really not even sure where to start with this blog post. Lin was a student enrolled in my drawing class last year at the School of Visual Arts. I guess I can start with the fact that Lin was the heart of the class. She really is the nicest person ever. Lin is the hardest working student truly devoted to improving everyday.

The cool story about Lin was that she started watching student sketchbook videos years ago when she was in Junior High. The student sketchbook videos were what inspired her to attend the School of Visual Arts.

When she arrived in class and told me her story I was blown away. Lin was pretty much the first to arrive each week which was great because we developed a friendship very early on. I really enjoyed talking with Lin about her home state of North Carolina. A place I would really like to move to in all honesty.

I must say Lin is voted most improved student no doubt. Lin arrived to class with a solid base of skill. Her skillset really took off in the Spring semester after a few frustrating classes. It was great to see Lin fight through the plateau’s every artist has to confront from time to time.

Lin continues to visit my class letting me know the scoop of what’s going on at SVA which I love. I also love to see her progression with her latest sketchbooks!

Check out Lin’s Instagram. Thanks again Lin for sharing your sketchbook.

Song’s sketchbook – Visiting Student Day

by Matthew | Mar 31, 2018 | Sketchbook Videos | 3 comments

Song was a student in my class a couple of years ago. She visited my my class recently and lucky us, she brought her sketchbook.

I remember back in the day when Song was a student in my class she was a little lost. She was completely unsure of herself. Her confidence was just not there.

However she perservered and her skill set began to grow. Her confidence also started to grow. It’s really amazing to see her progress. She always had a natural talent within her, it just needed some nurturing to allow it to flourish.

We all periodically lose our confidence when it comes to creating our own artwork. The key is to keep creating. Never stop learning new techniques, never stop taking classes.

Yes you want to be aware of the talent around you. Yes you want to have role models too. But there comes a time when you just have to put your head down, cut away all of the noise and get to drawing. Get to working on you.

That’s just want Song did and I’m happy to say that she chose me to be her thesis instructor. It should be a wild ride and I’m totally ready to help in any way I can.