Yifei’s Sketchbook – Number Two

Yifei’s Sketchbook – Number Two

by | Feb 22, 2020 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Yifei is such an incredible student to have in class. He really puts his all into everything that he does. From life drawing, to homework, to class projects, you can totally see the effort.

Yefei’s sketchbook is in essence, his diary. It’s a diary of his student life here in NYC. Yefei is such an incredible talent. He is able to draw in such detail, then switch gears and draw simple cute stuff.

For me the key takeaway from his sketchbook is the passion he has for drawing. You can clearly see that he uses his sketchbook in every part of his life. Today, many artists use their phones to document there lives. Yefei is using his sketchbook.

He certainly has a bright future. He is a true storyteller. I hope you enjoyed looking through his sketchbook as much as I did.

 

 

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

 

Jinny’s Sketchbook – Incredible Diversity

Jinny’s Sketchbook – Incredible Diversity

by | Feb 1, 2020 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog

Jinny kind of flies under the radar in class, she is super quiet. However, her art work is certainly not quiet at all. Jinny is super talented, she experiments with many diverse styles of art. In my opinion, this is what every first year student should do.

Jinny is the type of student that will, out of the blue, shock you with an incredible life drawing in class. It’s so cool flipping through her sketchbook, you are not sure what to expect next. It’s amazing to see how many styles she is flirting with.

Jinny is certainly using first year of college to find her style. I’m not sure if she will land on one particular style, and that is okay. She can pull that off.

There are so many drawings in Jinny’s sketchbook that I can just sit with and enjoy. I hope you will do the same.

 

 

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

 

Merlin’s Sketchbook – Details

Merlin’s Sketchbook – Details

by | Dec 14, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 6 comments

Merlin is currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts.

What I love about Merlin’s sketchbook is the variety. She challenges herself to draw many diverse things. From birds, to interiors, to the figure to fan art, variety is her thing.

When you are on a journey to learn how to draw, a great thing to do, especially at the beginning of your journey is to draw diverse things. This will open your up to see what you like to draw.

Merlin has such strong line, she is very confident with her artwork, she powers in the lines beautifully.

The other great aspect of looking into Merlin’s sketchbook, you can tell right away that she is having fun with what she is drawing. She is diving right into drawing difficult poses and things like complicated birds. Do your best to follow Merlin’s lead, having fun while challenging yourself to improve.

 

 

Check out Merlin’s Instagram. Thanks again Merlin for sharing your art. I look forward to your next sketchbook.

 

Coaching Options

Coaching Options

by | Nov 26, 2019 | Teaching, The Blog

Sean signed up to the One Month Coaching roughly three weeks ago. He was gracious enough to allow me to share part of his coaching critique with you.

Sean’s goal for the month is to improve his digital portrait paintings. He has improved immensely over the last three weeks. Would you ever consider hiring a coach? It is another expense no doubt.

I have hired coaches in the past, let’s just say I had a good experience. I hired a business coach, we met weekly. It was great to have someone on my side helping me achieve my goals.

There were things that he could see from the outside looking in that I would have never seen if I kept plodding along.

What I liked was being held accountable. It was certainly a challenge to fit the work in for the weekly deadline, but it was worth it.

I have also hired software coaches as well as a fitness coach. I felt empowered with their help. The problem is when the coaching is over. Sometimes we find ourselves going sideways instead of forwards.

That is why I have added an additional option to my coaching services.

Yes, I have the one month option which is great, not too short, not too long. I also offer the two-month coaching. Admittedly this is certainly for type-A personalities who are on a mission.

I have now added a bi-weekly subscription-based option for $87 a month.

What that includes is a forty-five-minute personalized critique followed up with a forty-five-minute phone call, every other week.

This new bi-weekly coaching option works great as a follow up to one or two month options.

Considering the time and effort put into the critique and call the price is well worth it. This monthly option will keep you heading towards your goals like never before.

 

 

 

If this sounds like something you might be interested in let me know. I would be happy to answer your questions.

To have a professional artist who has been teaching for twenty-two years at the School Of Visual Arts study and analyze your work to see how you can improve for $87. per month is totally worth it.

Not to mention having either years worth of experience working as a freelance illustrator for some of the biggest publishing companies in the world, including National Geographic Explorer, Bantam DoubleDay Dell, as well as Scholastic just to name a few.

You can find out more about the coaching here.

Digital Painting Critique

Digital Painting Critique

by | Nov 6, 2019 | The Blog, Video Critiques | 3 comments

It does not matter what medium you work in, digital, traditional, watercolor or pencil, it’s super important to get feedback on your artwork. Sure watching high-quality video tutorials online is a must.

However, what will push you to a higher place of learning is getting feedback from a teacher you trust and like. Some teachers are highly skilled and competent, however, they might not be the right fit for you.

It’s also very important that just because the teacher says you should do a, b, and c, does not mean you have to do a, b, and c. Let your voice come through, cherry-pick what works best for you and use that.

There have been many times where I had two teachers contradict each other, it can get confusing as to who to listen to. Most teachers have very good intentions in mind. Just trust your gut and utilize techniques that feel right.

It’s also very important to tweak and modify what teachers offer up in the classroom and online. Think to yourself, how can I take what this teacher is teaching and make it my own.

In Arjun’s critique, I certainly do not expect him to listen to everything I say. If he takes one lesson from the critique, then I feel I did my job.

Be selective in which teachers you learn from. Anyone can grab their iPhone nowadays, film themselves drawing, and call it a tutorial. Do your homework, see how much classroom experience the teacher has. Do they teach in a kind way, or is it all ego-based. Are they good at communicating techniques to you in a way that makes sense?

It can be hard sometimes to put your work out there for a critique. That’s why I say learn from people that you feel comfortable with. Getting feedback is something you must strive for.

Thanks so much for checking out Arjun’s critique!

 

 

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