Glenn Vilppu.

This is the sixth in a series of articles on drawing for animation. In these articles I will be presenting the theory and practice of drawing as a "how to" instructional series. The lessons are based upon the Vilppu Drawing Manual and will in general follow the basic plan outlined in the manual. This is the same material that I base my seminars and lectures on at the American Animation Institute, UCLA, and my lectures at Disney, Warner Bros. and other major studios in the animation industry, both in the U.S. and their affiliates overseas. Most lessons will also be accompanied by short QuickTime clips of me demonstrating the material discussed. If you have not seen the previous lessons starting in the June 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine, it is recommended that you do. The lessons are progressive and expand on basic ideas. It is suggested that you start from the beginning for a better understanding of my approach.

In the first five lessons, we have gone through the basic elements, or tools, that we use to create form. All of the work we have done so far has been on the presumption that we were doing a procedural drawing where one element was built on top of the previous rather than a direct type of drawing where each line essentially was the finished line.

A Plan of Action
In this lesson I will outline a basic procedure showing how all of the elements that we have discussed so far fit in. The essence of this approach is that we go from the general to the specific, and that you essentially concentrate on one thing at a time. What we are talking about is a general plan, not a set of rules, but a plan that has to be responsive to the situation or needs of the drawing. As I mentioned in the introduction, there are three elements necessary to accomplish anything. First, you must have an approach or plan of attack. Second, you must have the knowledge to accomplish the task, and third, you must have the spirit to carry it through to completion. Drawing is essentially a logical and practical process.

As I have already mentioned, the basic structure of this approach is going from the general to the specific. In drawing terms, general means the "total." In drawing the figure, this means the action or attitude or, in another words, the gesture. Artists throughout history have done gesture drawing in many ways, this being determined by their personalities and the prevailing styles for any given time. Yet they all have essentially done so in a similarly logical manner. What is important at this point is that you concentrate on communicating the action in its totality, and not get sidetracked into copying details or becoming preoccupied with specific contours unless they somehow assist in communicating the overall gesture. A fundamental truth that seems to get forgotten is: the lines that you draw are what the viewer looks at. This may seem obvious and simplistic but it is true. This was the point of Lesson No. 1. Illustration No. 1 gives you more examples.

Illustration 1.