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i think by now every animator and artist alike know the importance of life drawing in animation....this so called relevance of Life Drawing in animation is my working dissertation title....basically what i am talking about is the use of Life Drawing at the start of the animation era...It was braced as a traditional art form practice and so was put into practice with the animation medium....Mainly you could say Disney Began it as fashion..then the spread into the fifities when cartoon Modern took over and style became more important and then nowadays when it seems to be an almost fashion again...basically i wnat people to try help me in a direction to go in and what in paticular to look at!thanks its always nice to get other peoples help

Hmmmm...Well if you're looking for the importance of life drawing in animation from other sources than Disney, then check out Winsor McCay, father of american animation and creator of the "Little Nemo" shorts (not to do with the Pixar film;) ), and "Gertie the Dinosaur". He says in his 1927 book, "From Sketchbook to Animation", that, "If I were starting over again, the first thing I'd do would be to make a thorough study of draftmanship. I would learn the human figure, both nude and clothed, and surround it with the proper setting." If one needs further proof of the importance of life drawing than the words of father of modern animation than I don't know who to quote:)

Also check out the different books on him. I think you will be pleasantly pleased and surprised at how fabulous (and prolific) an artist this one man was (I know I was), as well as what a strong believer he was in the study of life drawing and strong draftmanship.

"Daydreams and Nightmares: The Fantastic Visions of Winsor McCay", by Fantagraphics Books

"Winsor McCay: His Life and Art", by John Canemaker

and "From Sketchbook to Animation", by Winsor McCay (might be out of print)

Good luck!

Here's a link to a guy who taught life drawing at Disney, and goes into the subject somewhat in the written part.

http://www.animationmeat.com/notes/waltstanchfield/waltstanchfield.html

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like a good read.

On topic. There's absolutely no argument or debate to be had over this topic (I don't think there is one happening here, fortunately).
Drawing from life is an essential (if not the most essential) part of draftsmanship.
This is no different for animation. Anybody who would say otherwise is either uninformed or an idiot.

The relevancy of life-drawing?????

hah.

If an artist cannot pull off a decently passable rendition of an object or person in real-life repose--drawing from the actual subjects--then they cannot draw to any considered professional standard.

That's been the gauge for hundreds of years now--long before Disney came on the scene. All Disney did was embrace classical art standards as being the gauge for their own standards.

The relevancy today is that if you lack skills at life drawing, you lack drawing skills, period. That is why life drawing is pushed so hard.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

since early Disney Life Drawing has shown huge importance in animation....now its my turn to discuss this topic..this is part of my working dissertation title...so please people comment and let me know what your views are....
Thanks:D

What you are saying is not totally clear to me, so what is your statement saying about Disney and life drawing?

What you are saying is not totally clear to me, so what is your statement saying about Disney and life drawing?

Disney is purely an example, allim trying to get at is peoples responses to Life Drawing in general and its effext on the animation industry and process

[QUOTE=Ken Davis]The relevancy of life-drawing?????

hah.

If an artist cannot pull off a decently passable rendition of an object or person in real-life repose--drawing from the actual subjects--then they cannot draw to any considered professional standard.

That's been the gauge for hundreds of years now--long before Disney came on the scene. All Disney did was embrace classical art standards as being the gauge for their own standards.

The relevancy today is that if you lack skills at life drawing, you lack drawing skills, period. That is why life drawing is pushed so hard.[/QU

Ken do you think that since the fifites the era of Life Drawing has changed significantly purely due to the cartoon modern style....style over form?this still exsists today in many saturday morning cartoons...is the form that important?does it hold more importance to story or character?in other words is style not more important to animation rather than a beautifully moving character?

Here's a link to a guy who taught life drawing at Disney, and goes into the subject somewhat in the written part. I would also recommend the book Force by Michael Matessi. I learned a lot more about animation drawing from these sources, and from my life drawing instructor than I did from any of my animation instructors-- but that's a whole other story.

http://www.animationmeat.com/notes/waltstanchfield/waltstanchfield.html

I think this issue will come up again and again, with folks that seek software to compensate for a lack of skill.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

I think this issue will come up again and again, with folks that seek software to compensate for a lack of skill.

Hay, I resemble that remark. :D

Well, I'd say its important. According to some animation out there *cough* Adult Swim *cough* you don't need that skill. Has anyone seen Squidbillies. I'm not saying having an essential skill in that area is what makes the best panorama. Some toons have been great with the lack of.

My parting words are. There are some toons and movies out there that totally stink but, can be the most masterfully drawn and animated. Then there are shows that are horrid looking but, have awesome acting and great storyline. I think its a matter of personal taste. Not industry standard.

Brad Bird was on a podcast talking about life drawing skills and Pixar... look up animation roundtable (? I think). He gives his views on the subject.

Don't do nothing because you can't do everything.