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jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

I worked really hard on this yesterday, re-drawing and erasing over and over, I generally have a hard time with portraits! (This is for somebody I know.)
Part of the problem is that even if you can accurately put all the lines in the right place, it still doesn't mean the same thing as "capturing" somebody. I always think about the scene in the Crumb documentary, where Robert Crumb is instructing his son, who is actually drawing a really well-drawn portrait of somebody - Crumb tells him that it's good but that he hasn't yet learned how to "cheat". THis line has been in my head for like 20 years! I think he mean that in order to really capture somebody, you have to exaggerate a bit, stretch things here and there just a tiny bit, not into an all-out cartoon caricature, but just to put a SLIGHT circus-mirror effect on certain features that intensify their personality/face. Is the person sort of chubby and drunk/happy looking? Is the person sort of arrogant/bored looking? Etc. It would mean the artist has to not just copy the lines/proportions that exist but also use their own knowledge of human faces and human expressions to add a little bit more of that extra "spice", to make the drawing look MORE like the person than a mere photograph would. For me, I'm just desperate to get the lines right at all! I'm not at the level where I can be so confident of getting the basic proportions that I can then go beyond what I see and start to mix in additional knowledge of subtle face anatomy and expressions! Anyway, this portrait from yesterday is NOT BAD and for me that's better than usual. I think I did a good job. I can always do a picture of somebody that is a "good picture," if I really try, but I still never feel like I know how to "capture" the person in that deeper way, i don't have the confidence to "stretch the truth", I have a hard enough time just reaching the "truth", I can't yet go beyond it... usually.

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

(of course it's impossible for anybody seeing this portrait to judge whether it's a good portrait of the intended person, without knowing the person... it's a good drawing, but without seeing the original person there's no real way to tell if it's "captured"...)

Dav · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:06 pm Post subject:

I totally understand what you mean and i think that Crumb might be right. I think you did a really good job on the drawing you did of Ema and me, you really capture a little something in each of us. Would it be ok with you if i post the drawing you made?
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jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

yeah you should post that one! I remember thinking that one came out good. Especially you; I had a harder time with Ema, I needed to re-draw her a few times till I was happy with it!

Dav · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:49 am Post subject:

Jeff was nice enough to draw our wedding invitation :

Thanks again for that Jeffrey!
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Dav · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:54 am Post subject:

These posts are really interesting, it's cool learning about how comic books are made and different aspects of drawing in general, real interesting.
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jack fe · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 865

I'm with you there Dav. It's really nice to see a different style. It seems like such a different form to the comics, even within (basically) the same medium. Not a higher or lower art though. Saying beautiful or moving or exciting things in a comic is just as wonderful as a portrait.

That scene in the Crumb documentary always stuck with me too. I think it can be applied to all kinds of art, really. Having a comfort and awareness in your own work to lie! Or not be simply representative. And knowing the tricks of the medium.

The portrait is really great. It feels so similar to comic art in some ways too.
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misshelenc · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 943 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK

That's so gorgeous, your wedding invitation. If I ever find a man with low enough self esteem to actually think he wants to marry me and never do any better then a unique wedding invitation like that would be amazing.
I agree I love the drawings and learning on this site. xxx
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