WTF are Fundamentals? + Tips on How to Learn Them

Hey Past-me,

The theme of the year for me is “back to basics”.

I was never a good student back then, not really. I rarely reflected on what I learned, let alone write it down. I just drew things and hoped I would get better the next day. (it’s a sh*t strategy.)

But then one day I realized I didn’t want to wing it anymore. I didn’t wanna hope for the best.

I wanted to be in control.

Of my work…my art…my choices—

MY FATE 😳

Anyway…here’s this week’s stash of ideas to help you make your ideas.

In the box:

1. Spotlight on THE ART FUNDAMENTALS

2. Tips on How to Learn Them

3. A-ha! Quote on Pictures

4. Strategy for Practice*

5. Hits of the Week: FX Animation, Film Studies, Super Sonic ✨

Spotlight: THE ART FUNDAMENTALS

These guys have such a great conversation about the Art Fundamentals, it’s worth a full watch. I recommend this over and over, but if you’re a student looking to understand this world of picture-making, this is a great place to start.

Here are my key takeaways:

1. The basic elements of a picture: shape, edge, color (hue + value + saturation)

2. Fundamentals provide the foundation for all other aspects of drawing, starting with Drawing Basics: Rendering, Perspective, Composition

3. While fundamentals are important, it’s not the only thing that matters: Imagination and Creativity are skills we can sharpen.

Tips on how to learn them:

Learn by doing.

It’s the quickest way to get from 0 to 1. Just create and reflect and try, try, try again. (It’s even easier with a friend!)

1. The Daily Download: Every day, choose something you want to “download” into your mental library. Want to draw robots? Draw technology, machinery, car parts, computer parts, etc. Internalize it so you can infuse it into your personal designs.

2. Pocket Boredom: Get a cheap set or make your own pocket sketchbooks. Anytime you have the urge to pull out your phone, pull this out instead and draw whatever’s around you.

3. Sketch Games: Do a random search for 2-3 pictures and try to design a character, prop, or scene out of it. See what you come up with. @Ramon_N90 does a great version of this.

A-ha! I need to learn how I see…and feel.

It’s simple, but what we’re trying to do with our art is generate emotions.

I never thought of it that way when I first started and wasn’t introduced to Molly Bang’s book until years into my career. Give her book a shot, it opened my eyes with simplicity.

Strategy for Practice*

This is a “double-whammy” approach.

Develop a personal project while leveraging community challenges.

You might not have enough knowledge about what to do or no inspiration to do anything and all you want to do is make art and get better at it. So first start by developing an idea.

Sometimes ideas take seconds sometimes days. You want to get good at a range of them.

Start with small projects first and then expand the scope over time. Design a prop, a character, a set, a moment.

See how you perform in 1 day projects, 1 week projects, 1 month, 1 quarter, 1 year.

A full cast of characters, a world of backgrounds, a fake trailer…these take a while…

This is where Community Challenges come in.

Sometimes you’ll see on the internet, challenges like Inktober or Kaijune or Swordtober.

This is an opportunity to treat each challenge as visual development for a project of yours. See what other challenges are out there and leverage them as opportunities to practice and explore while also sharing in the fun and indulging in your ideas while contributing to your personal goals!

Give it a shot for the next challenge that rolls around!

_{*Practice: work that turns to play}

Hits of the Week:

@RenaudBAI shared these fantastic 2D FX Shots they animated on Wakfu Season 4

@mussieox shared this epic thread which I thought was gonna talk more about lore, but ended up being just awesome One Piece background designs. Still cool though 🥶

Lauri @4vyle1 shared another one of their frame studies, this time from the film Poor Things. So gooood.

@randomsakuga shared this clip from Blue Giant, animated by Vercreek and it blew my mind.

KotoriyRisuet said this masterpiece was practice 🔥

That’s it for the stash this week. Hope you found something useful here.

(Last week I promised a deep dive on Animation Design Team roles, but give me another week. It still needs some final touches; wanna make sure it’s a useful list.)

Talk to you soon,

—Future-you

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