Has 30 years made any difference?
So as I mentioned in a previous posting, I was going to redo the Tarzan drawing I did when I was a teenager in 1979. I redid it under similar "battleground conditions" as I had done it in 1979. I had no pencil sharpener, no eraser, no rulers or templates, no computer or internet, no reference ( except a printout of the '79 drawing ), and only an hour to do it in ( I did the original drawing in a junior high school art class ). I kind of went into this thinking I would blow my old drawing away, but surprisingly, it wasn't that easy. I had a hard time drawing the tiger completely out of my head ( Yes, I know there are no tigers in Africa. Didn't know that back then!) How did I ever survive without Google Images! The main difference I see is that I work a little more methodically now. A little neater and less careless. It was an interesting experiment. I may try it again soon, only allowing myself the luxury of my pro equipment and reference etc. Otherwise, I'll try this again in 2039!
posted by benton jew @ 10:48 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
wow.. interested experiment
*starts to date and save work*
You're a braver artist than I ;-)
I think it's also a measure of how good a draughtsman you were in your youth.
Love how you continually give yourself fresh artistic challenges on this blog! :)
More and more, I'm sad that I didn't see more of your work early on way back when= but glad to see them here now and then!
BTW..... is there an eta on the kungfu comix?
BJ, you were at pro standards then as you are now.
My only criticism is that the tiger's neck is way too short in the recent piece. I could be wrong though.
Stellar pieces.
Cool idea. You were really good for 15 and look at you now!
I was thinking the same as crazy_asian_man: each time I come visit here I find some interesting new challenge. Congrats Benton, and yes, you were damn skilled artist as a teen!
Malath-I recommend it to all young artists. Keep track of your progress and you will continue to progress!
Dominic-I'm sure your youthful work is quite good. My old work doesn't embarrass me so much as my new work. At least with the old stuff I have the excuse of youth and inexperience!
Crazy-If you still have those old NYAPAs you should have quite a few. I left NYAPA only a little bit after you did. I'll bet you've got stuff I don't have.
Les-You are absolutely correct on the tiger's neck crit. I want to do this drawing yet again sometime...only with proper reference and drawing time! I remember your schoolwork was pretty stellar as well....
Craig-Thanks, Craig. My goal is to always keep improving--even into golden years.
Roberto-Thanks Roberto! Judging by your current work, I'm willing to bet your teen stuff was pretty good too ( hint, hint )
Y'know, one of my earliest "published" pieces was of Tarzan as well! It was published in my local newspaper when I was around the same age as you when you did your drawing (I'm must a few years older). I was going through a Burne Hogarth phase--remember that Tarzan graphic novel he did? I think I have a clipping of that drawing filed away somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up. But I suspect you were a much better artist than me at that age (as you are now!)
What a scary exercise! I was once a talented teenager, but I'm not sure I want to compare that kid to me at 41!
Thanks for this...
as a 55 year old, i would dread revisiting my teenage art. You were pretty precocious at 15!
Post a Comment
<< Home