Video Response: Inspiration for Gabby and Crosshatching
This is the first of what will hopefully be many video responses to your questions about techniques presented in the video tutorials on this site and, soon, the DVDs that will be coming.
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Of course, everyone is more than welcome to watch the drawing tutorial videos.
Hi Darrel,
Just to let you know I purchased & received all the videos & 5 Pencil Method kit. For two weeks now, I have been veiwing and working with your
method, and I cannot begin to tell you & thank you for this. It was never
my intent to do portraits, but to render my drawings in more of the fineness of the portrait details. I am amazed beyond words at what I am
learning and applying. I just couldn’t be happier, and the inspiration
I am getting grows off the charts now. I can draw!!!….and there will never be an end to improvement. Having the videos to refer to is priceless. I hope to get to the point soon to send you a before and
after, and I am sure I will continue to share my excitement wit you as I grow.
Thank you with all my heart, k c cascone
Hi K C,
Thank you for sharing that with me. I couldn’t ask for more and I am very pleased. There is much more coming! You are so welcome…
Darrel
Darrel,
I just found the link on Facebook to submit work/pieces to you
to be critiqued. This I do intend to do soon. However, I wanted to just
ask you if you feel that using ads, magazine pics, papers, etc., in addition to personal photos would be considered infringement? I have a
collection of these references….which I do use…..which date back over
30+ years. When I was very small, I would cut out and draw from the Sears
& Roebuck Catalogs. I have continued doing this all these years. I mostly
design and draw what I call female models, and fashions for them. I do not
do portraits of them, but, rather just use them as reference. Where an
ad is only half a subject, I challenge myself to fill in the rest using my
imagination. Before studying with your method, for the past few years I
took up colored pencil; learning from Ann Kullberg and Arlene Steinburg. Its exciting that in many instances, they teach some of the same
fundamentals as you. But, practicing with your method is pulling it all
together for me. I have no doubt that with all the practice I am doing
now, that eventually I will be able to render a true likeness to any of
these subjects from any source. However, I just want to know if it would
be permissible to include my souce, ad/pic, with my render to you to critique?
And, in your video layout….you mentioned that you had your photos taken by a lady up north named Zimmerman. I was wondering if she would be related to the famous portrait artist/photographer Dick Zimmerman? His
web site is: dickzimmerman.com. I just recently met him briefly as he
came to our home looking for my husband. They were childhood friends in
New York, and lost contact. His site is really worth seeing.
Thank you for your time and consideration, KC Cascone
Hi K C,
I am glad that you have found my site.
The use of others printed and copyrighted photos or art is a huge problem. It may be tempting to use something from a magazine etc., that inspires you, and you can, if it is just for your own viewing and practice. But it is illegal to sell, print, use it for display in any kind of public showing, or give the impression that it is your art in any way, without express written permission from the original creator of that source.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t use the idea as inspiration for shooting your own reference. When you do shoot your own reference, it is automatically protected as well. Even though I recommend that you should make the effort to have it officially copyrighted through the library of congress. This gives you additional protection and the right to claim damages, the right to claim any profits made through the use and infringement of your copyrighted work, and allows you to recover any court cost incurred in pursuing your case.
I can not post much of the work sent in to me for critique, because people have drawn celebrities or other people that they have not gotten permission to use as subjects.
This is why, I encourage anyone to make sure that they have gotten the necessary permission or made sure it is their own reference before doing something for any kind of display. It is a good habit to get into, because a drawing that you thought was just for practice, or for your own use, may turn out to be something that you are particularly proud of and would like to publicly use, publish, or even sell.
There are many more opportunities to find royalty free material to use, especially because of the internet. Other art and photography, where the copyright has expired and is now in the public domain, can be found through the library of congress.
Many around the world, use my art without permission, because either they or someone else has taken off my name and or copyright notice and then claimed they had no idea who did the work, or they claim that it was in the public domain. It is frustrating to say the least.
I think that looking at the catalogs, books, magazines, and other’s artwork can be great for inspiration and a terrific source for ideas. You may also want to see how an arm, hand, body, etc., would look in that position or attitude. So, there are a set number of changes that you can make to consider it your own. But, that is subjective and tricky, and I feel more comfortable creating my own reference. Then, every facet is my creation and I do not have any worries. I think it is better to be safe than sorry…
I am responding in the middle of the night, and I hope this information and opinion makes sense and is useful to you.
I hope you have fun drawing. Thank you for allowing me to share with you!
Darrel
does the type of paper mean anything to your portraits how many pencils of shading on a single portrait you do im duying for my work to look like yours i been an artist over 10 years and still cant make it like yours
Hi Ronald,
I am sorry for the delay in answering you. I have been filming intensively for the past couple of weeks.
The paper and the pencils are very important and I have described the reasons pretty consistently in the core concept videos. The reason that the name is the “Five Pencil Method” is because I use five specific pencils. Have you had a chance to work through those? If you would like to learn my technique well and give yourself the best chance to come up with the same results, feel free to watch al of those free tutorials on what you should know before starting and al of the core concepts and exercises. They do not cost anything even though that and more is available on the DVDs. If you have not started from the beginning you will have different results, because the technique and the way that I use the materials is many times unique.
I hope that this helps. Have fun drawing!
Darrel
Dear Darrel Tank,
I know you’ve probably heard this over a thousand times, but i just wanted to thank you for helping me realize just how much potential i have in pencil drawing. I’ve looked at all your videos, and i was wondering if you could help me with drawing hard, smooth, solid objects in contrast with rougher less dense objects such as a polished gold watch on an aged wrist, or the glass in a window next to the painted wooden frame. Thanks.
Hi Christian,
It is always good to hear that someone has been encouraged to to get into art and often find that they have the capability to create and express themselves in ways that they never imagined. I am so glad to have the opportunity to share with you.
The techniques and principles that I am sharing with you in the tutorials, will prepare you for the things that you are saying that you want to draw and interpret. I will show you how to do that and more. I don’t have anything specifically addressing your questions out yet, but I’ll get there. Sometimes these things will be addressed in a critique demo or portrait tutorial. I love contrast, textures, depth and contour, and lighting. Trying to capture the unique characteristics of surfaces, objects and people, are just some of my personal goals.
I am glad that you are noticing and appreciating the different textures.
Have fun drawing!
Darrel