Hand Drawings

There is no question about it. Hands are one of the hardest things to draw. EVER, especially from life. Unfortunately, I don't really know any tips or tricks to make drawing them any easier. The only thing that I can suggest is drawing your own hands over and over. You could also look at tutorials online that break down the anatomy. For these drawings the requirements were to show one hand anticipating the action and the same hand carrying it out. I chose to show a hand grabbing a doorknob because I wanted to depict that twisting action that happens when you open a door.

When you start your drawing you want to keep in mind showing the volume of the hand as well as the inner structure. Structure is actually a whole section on the marking scheme that the professors use so make sure you show it in your drawings.

I used red (and blue for the doorknob) col-erase pencil for these drawings. I didn't go the extra step and do clean-up lines because I really liked the way these drawings turned out and didn't want to mess with them any further.

Good luck, don't give up and happy drawing!

Animal Drawing

Drawing animals can be incredibly challenging because you are trying to draw a subject that just won't stay still! The two drawings that I did for my portfolio were of my uncle's whippet and a miniature pony from the local animal farm.

This is perhaps the section of the portfolio that I did the most drawings for. I tried using the same techniques that I used for the figures in the last section (using conte and newsprint) but I found that none of the drawings turned out the way that I wanted. I ended up using col-erase pencil for structure and then did clean up lines with a 2B pencil (this is a very common technique in animation. If you don't have any prismacolor col-erase pencils I suggest you get some, I can't see anyone completing their portfolio without them). I felt that this approach was much more successful for me. However, gestures in conte are perfectly acceptable, in fact, I think that the movement that you get in these drawings can be very successful.

It's probably best to stick with mammals for the animal drawings. Go to the zoo if you can, draw your pets, or go to a farm. Keep a sketchbook with you at all times and draw dogs or other animals you see from life. Again, practise makes perfect. If you know what animal you are going to draw, do sketches of their muscle and bone structure. I have a rabbit at home and struggled to draw him because he was so fluffy, so I looked on the internet for pictures of a rabbit's skeletal and muscular system and did a few studies. After that, my drawing came easier because I knew what was under all that fur! If you understand the anatomy that makes up the animal, then it is easier to show it in motion.

On a completely different note, Sheridan has a Tumblr blog where second year students answer questions about the portfolio process, drawing tips, and Sheridan in general. It was an absolute life line when I was doing my portfolio! Here is the link:

Sheridan Ritual Sacrifice Blog

Life Drawing

First thing's first, if you are looking to get into Animation at Sheridan than you need to look at the requirements. Sheridan has very specific drawings that you need to complete in order to be considered. Here is the link:

Sheridan Portfolio Requirements

*Also, keep in mind that all of this work is my property, so please do not copy or reproduce this work in any way** 

This post is about figure/life drawing, which is the first, and arguably the most important component of the portfolio. If you want to apply for this program and have not drawn any nude figures before, you should probably start now. If you are uncomfortable with nudes than I think bathing suits are alright. However, in the program you will be drawing nude figures so I would recommend getting used to it as soon as you can.

Figure drawing is something that you only get good at if you do it a lot. Where I live there was no studios that offered figure drawing locally, so I had to drive for an hour to get to one that did. I didn't get to go as often as I would have liked (it's really fun!!) so I don't think that my figure drawing is my strong suit.

If you don't have any access to a live model, there are plenty of online resources that you can use that have high resolution photos. This is what I use to practise anatomy between sessions. However, I would use this as a last resort because your drawings tend to be stiff when you use photos. This is my favourite website:

http://www.artmodeltips.com/poses/

All of the drawings that I submitted for my portfolio are done in conte and newsprint, which are the most commonly used mediums for figure drawing. This is what I would recommend using because you can get a variation of thick and thin lines with the "chisel tip" of the conte. Plus, I think it is what you have to use when you are in the program.

When it comes to actually drawing live models, try not to get caught up with the anatomy and shading. What I mean is, your drawings should look anatomically correct, but don't fuss over a specific area too much. Try to get the feeling of the pose as a whole. Loose, gestural "unfinished" looking drawings are completely acceptable. In fact, gestures that take only a couple of minutes are what professors are looking for! Make a point in trying to draw the Hands and feet of every pose! They are incredibly hard, and the only way that you will get better is to draw them a million times!

There are plenty of other tutorials you can look at online to give you an idea of how you should be drawing. Here are a few that I looked at when I was doing my portfolio:

https://www.youtube.com/user/KarlGnassStudios/videos
http://sheridanportfoliotips.blogspot.ca/p/life-drawing.html
**look at this one, it has tons of great Sheridan specific information!**
https://www.youtube.com/user/Cre8tivemark

Keep trying and don't give up! I hope that this was helpful. More to come!

Sheridan Animation Portfolio 2015!

Hello internet! It has been about a month since I received my acceptance into Sheridan's Bachelor of Animation Program and it has taken me about that long to absorb that this is actually happening! I just can't believe that I got in!!

When I started thinking about my animation portfolio last summer I realized that my high school art education would not be good enough to get me into one of the best animation programs in the world. Needless to say, I was out of my league. So, I did what any desperate 18-year-old girl would do, I turned to the internet. I have come to the realization that without other successful portfolios from blogs just like this one, I would not have been accepted.

So . . . over the next few weeks, I will be posting the portfolio that got me into Sheridan's program, as well as some tips and tricks that I found helpful, in the hopes that it will help other aspiring animator's achieve their dream too.

Happy drawing!