I'm coming up on three years of drawing Theseus. Greek myth, humor, adventure, hedgehogs. These were some of my favorite pages to draw. But you can read the entire thing on my website (and buy books).
I think this is my best video. It's 19 minutes of analyzing the color theory of Aladdin. It never really took off on YT, so why not try it here? I'm not convinced people want long videos on here, but if it goes mega-viral (like art theory content tends to) I'll admit I'm wrong.
It disappointed on YT, so I posted it here 6 months later and now and it got me to 90k views on YT through the link. You all have 10k views left in you? I've never had a video break 100k and I may need it later for bragging purposes. If not that's ok but I'd be a fool not to ask
I think this is my best video. It's 19 minutes of analyzing the color theory of Aladdin. It never really took off on YT, so why not try it here? I'm not convinced people want long videos on here, but if it goes mega-viral (like art theory content tends to) I'll admit I'm wrong.
Hey if this blows up enough maybe somebody will know one of the Aladdin animators who can tell me why one scene uses the that amazing teal/red combo then just never touches it again like those palettes grow on trees.
I think this is my best video. It's 19 minutes of analyzing the color theory of Aladdin. It never really took off on YT, so why not try it here? I'm not convinced people want long videos on here, but if it goes mega-viral (like art theory content tends to) I'll admit I'm wrong.
I'm mesmerized by the artwork I see floating around Twitter. What I rarely see are breakdowns of what makes good work so good. So I'm nerding out on aesthetics, starting with the work of
@somartist
, whose landscapes pop up in my timeline every day.
I'm planning to create a
By viewer request, I did an aesthetic investigation into the brilliant illustration work of
@Alariko_
. These are just a few of my findings.
I also had a lot of fun saying the name "Alariko", though probably wildly mispronouncing it.
Well I posted one of my Youtube videos on here on as a lark. 24 hours later I sextupled my Twitter following and crossed 10k on Youtube. I can explain none of this, other than kind people retweeting the video. I appreciate that.
I experimented to see if folk would watch longer videos here like they do on Youtube. The video went viral and this is what I learned from the stats. 🧵
Since
@Adobe
has gone mad, I'm downloading Krita to vet for personal use and to replace PS in some of the courses I teach. The misty landscape in the background had a familiar feel and sure enough it's the work of
@somartist2
. A good omen.
The Highwayman from Over the Garden Wall not only haunts your dreams with his alluring dance moves, but he's a prime example of how loose ends in a story make the world feel big.
Today I'm musing over the work of
@Minotaur_Man
Paul Reid --part of my ongoing project to examine great work I see on Twitter to understand just a few of the variables that make it great.
If you have ideas for artists or artworks I should examine, tell me (I'm making a folder).
@artbyhumans
"I tried to go on a hike but I couldn't get past all those hideous trees."
"I tried to hug my child but couldn't get past their creepy miniature arms. Get bigger, arms."
@TheNazzaro
I stopped on this scrolling through my notifications because the color in your profile pic is superb. I see you know the secrets as well...
@GPrime85
It has a lot in common with language. You can study the components forever and have a strong working knowledge, but eventually you've got to speak and stumble all over the place before you get the intuition for how it all fits together. Tough to teach, tough to learn.
This is a neat color theory breakdown. Aladdin was one of my main influences for Spinstress. I tried to implement the same theories to varying success on 4-5 page scenes with multiple panels and a hodge podge of different Disney render styles.
Whales can't fly. Yet
@GFromenteau
seems to have made us okay with seeing them defy gravity. So let's delve into the madness and obsessively examine the techniques and the art historical precedents in four minutes or less.
Sorry for not responding to more of you —my video went viral the day before I was traveling. For all new followers I also illustrate things. Multiple comics and currently prepping this Greek mythology card game for crowdfunding. More about it at the link in comments.
How Over the Garden Wall builds its magnificent world. New video. Uploading the whole thing here. Watch it and prove this is a video platform. Any benefit to me is obviously unforeseen serendipity.
@somartist
Not to fear the ugly stage. Any piece of artwork has a stage where it's clear what you were going for, but it's as far from good as it can possibly be. With experience, you know that you're laying the foundation. When you're new, it looks like you failed.
Inking. I still struggle with it. But if I try to break it down into something comprehensible, you get the following video. Full video link in comments.
Aladdin has some of the best color of any animated film. I've been looking for a way to talk about this for years, so I recorded an 18 minute video exploring it. Here's the first 2 minutes. Full version in the comments.
Anyone with a lot of experience in art probably knows this already, but this is one of the themes I try to give my students in critique --self-esteem (really the lack thereof) is a big inhibitor to critiquing art, learning from it, or even enjoying it.
@owenbroadcast
I show this to my university students along with 3 other paintings and ask them which best represents the concept of death. Isle of Death has easily won every time for years. Except this term, Oak Fractured by Lightning (Vorobiev) won handily. I'm still pondering the shift.
This is my favorite style of inking. The lines articulate the form with contours, builds the deepest level of shadows, and implies the textures all at once. Different inkers lean to different priorities, but this balance is my favorite.
I've used Photoshop almost every day for more than a decade, but it's...declining. It freezes incessantly, and prompts me to use AI with such tenacity I suspect it's taking bribes from Skynet.
What's the least painful illustration software adjustment? Krita? Gimp? Other?
I just noticed
#AncientGreek
was trending. And I make an
#AncientGreek
graphic novel retelling Theseus as adventure and comedy. This is the cover for the second volume that I'm sending to the printer in the next few days. Now the opportunistic pitch is complete.
Having used Photoshop for drawing for over a decade, it's definitely strange to open it for that purpose and be continually prompted with "but what if you didn't instead?"
The video did really well, accumulating 7M impressions with a 4.2% engagement rate. At least one of the QTs had even more than the original post.
It makes it clear that most things go viral by being amplified by bigger accounts. 2/11
@Tonpa2
I draw a graphic novel retelling the myth of Theseus as an adventure, comedy, and coming-of-age tale. Available online and in print. See profile.
In Venice, looking at this model of a lion sculpture by Canova, trying to understand how it has such a sense of WEIGHT. After mulling it, I think there are 2 key elements —1st is the complex morphing of the anatomy as it presses the foundation (very difficult artist stuff) 1/
I'm happy to make analyses of popular art/animation, but I also want to constantly remind that technique & theory can be learned by giving the same study to the indie artists. Here's an an re-up of a video studying
@Alariko_
's living buildings while I'm working on a new video.
I've analyzed these pages by
@dannyearls16
before, but I reworked and expanded it for YT. A maximum nerdy analysis of the visual hierarchy across four pages.
I'd like to get back into videos highlighting illustrators I see on Twitter. But for now at least here's a snippet from my new video on criticism pitfalls & methods talking through a couple of pieces from
@Rux_Dacoromana
. Artwork worth seeing.
@TeawithTolkien
The LotR Ext. Edition is a three day vigil occurring annually during the month of December, typically overlapping with the historical release days of the films (17, 18 and 19). The films are viewed in halves, with an intermission for thematic feasts (e.g. second breakfast).
How do you turn flat animated characters into highly rendered paintings? This artist breakdown from last year fell a bit under the radar, but it hinges on an that question. Focusing on the work of
@DaveRapoza
. Worth a watch if you have 4 minutes.
@DaveRapoza
is one of the first artists I discovered on Twitter. Here's an attempt to breakdown just a few aspects that make the work so unique.
Other breakdowns can be seen sequestered on the Highlights tab of my profile.
@Justinoaksford
I'm consistently bewildered when I hear things like this. What art faculty are teaching commandments? Art "rules" are about countering problems green artists constantly repeat. They should always be treated as training wheels.
@dannyearls16
brings an extremely unique set of design skills into his illustration. In my effort to better understand great illustration by obsessive examination, here's my 4 minute aesthetic breakdown of some of the best comic work I've seen on the web.
Art history saved me from horrible creative burnout early in my career as a graphic designer. Full video analyzing a work by Caravaggio as a means of becoming a better illustrator is in the comments.
This is ripping good color theory. Complementary scheme, good mix of temperatures and values. Red rim light and warmth pull the attention to the center. Despite being recessive there's still temperature variety in the greens. And the president is accurately depicted as nude.
Design. Play-test. Redesign. Print. Play-test again. Redesign a third time. Second prototype en route. Getting this game ready for late summer little by little.
@onemegawatt
A lot of artists hope that there's a way around it, but studying the physical world and the human body orients your understanding of shape and motion, and there's no substitute for it. You communicated well.
My Lord of the Rings joke comics are the most popular thing I make, but I can only do them when a joke strikes me. But one just struck me. Time to get sketching. In the meantime, here's an oldie.
If you only ever engage with one thing I've made, let it be my first (and only) animation The Bison and the Butterfly, which so mastered the fields of drama and animation that it was futile for me to pursue them further.
@DaveRapoza
is one of the first artists I discovered on Twitter. Here's an attempt to breakdown just a few aspects that make the work so unique.
Other breakdowns can be seen sequestered on the Highlights tab of my profile.
The shifts in the ink colors between characters gives this something extra. The values between the fills, BG and inks are carefully balanced for optimal contrast. These kinds of subtle choices by illustrators are what I love to hunt for.
You've likely seen this representing the "Fall of Rome." But it doesn't. This is the 4th of 5 paintings by Thomas Cole (c. 1833-6) in a series called The Course of Empire.
There's a political reading that Cole intended, but here's two more on nature and human psychology 👇🧵
I don't have a stat for this, but I noticed that QTs got a lot more attention than just RTs, even by the big accounts. QT seems to have a quality of endorsement that a simple RT lacks. Just an extra thing I noticed. 3/11
I've been under contract on a project for 6 months and I can't really share it yet. 2 months to go, so I'm sharing favorites from my archives. Here's an average Appalachian walk in the woods.
AI images have taught me how much I care that the artist lays down every stroke of line and color. It seems all along I've been marveling at how audacious it is that humans can do such a thing. Just knowing the story is there means more to me than I ever realized.
I joke because I love. And because I believe
#Tolkien
made the most significant contribution to the literary canon since Dante Alighieri. All of you have a happy Hobbit Day this Friday.