Process from comps to finish

[Paul Distefano]

One of the most challenging things I have come across is solidifying one unified process.  Each course I take emphasises having a process which allows you as the artist to break down the work into manageable chunks.  This is true of how we approach any art, whether it is a 2 minute drawing or a 10 hour oil finish.  As I grow my major focus is to create a process akin to the old masters, and yet with the use of photography  we can work from reference far easier then they ever could.  There are down sides to working with photo reference, as we all know.  Such as the distortion factors and the easy temptation to lean too much on the reference itself, but from my own experience I notice my work is better when I work from reference, as I’m sure others can attest too.

So here’s my question, When do you start working from reference?  Do you start with an idea and then quickly seek out reference before you start playing with comp design and or figure design?  Or do you work much like the old masters, drawing straight out of your head until it gets to a point where you can not progress further without reference?

One of my major growths I’m seeing is how I am loosening my grip on my own process, and allowing for work to have a multitude of options from which a piece can be born.  Still, I see the path to making a large body of work is finding one process that works for the majority of your creations.  Obviously, as Mr. Vilppu so eloquently says, “there are now rules, there are only tools.”  At the end of the day either option as well as an infinite number of other options will work.  Still I’m curious what other’s find work best for them?

 

[Joshua Jacobo]

“When do you start working from reference?  Do you start with an idea and then quickly seek out reference before you start playing with comp design and or figure design?  Or do you work much like the old masters, drawing straight out of your head until it gets to a point where you can not progress further without reference?”

 

It’s completely up to you. Many approaches work exclusively from life or observation (photo). Most realist artwork is done this way. Of course this is not how the Old Masters worked.

 

You can try sketching from imagination to develop your composition. Sketches, thumbnails, and whatever else you need to draw to help you figure our your idea. Then if you need reference to help you, you can find it online or on our site or of course use yourself and your family and friends to photograph, pose, or use a mirror. This process is a reflection of your taste and your personality and ultimately what the work you’re interesting in should look like.

Personally I am most interested in working from imagination and as time goes by I work less and less from reference and the times that I do I learn more because I’m correcting my own notions.

[Author]

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