Award winning and Internationally recognized character designer, concept artist, illustrator, screenwriter, producer, author and art instructor Iain McCaig is a busy man to say the least. His concept work, character design and storyboarding skills are highly sought after within the film community, where he has contributed to such high profile projects as the Star Wars prequels, Terminator II, Hook, Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, Interview with a Vampire, Peter Pan (2003), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He is also Co-Producer and concept design Director of Ascendant Pictures science fiction epic Outlander.
McCaig's screenwriting credits include his adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea for ShadowCatcher Entertainment and was co-author of People, an Emmy nominated animated special created for the Disney Channel. He also wrote and designed The Pied Piper for Imax/ Mainframe and made his directorial debut with the award winning film The Face in 2000.
Iain McCaig co-founded Ninth Ray Studios LLC in 2005, a freelance story and design group which has provided pre-production and development for several feature films including Outlander and both the Paramount and Disney/ Pixar versions of John Carter of Mars.
The images here are taken from his highly recommended art book "Shadowline: The Art of Iain McCaig", which is both a fictionalized story of a visit to an otherworldly studio and an intensive drawing course (I'd grab one while you still can)! McCaig's website is infamous for possibly being the longest "coming soon" website in history, but in the meantime he has started an inspiring blog which will hopefully continue well into the future. McCaig is also has four bestselling instructional DVDs available through the Gnomon Workshop.
"Wendling, Wendling! That's all I hear! And for good reason; look at her draw!"- Peter de Sêve
Born in 1967, this celebrated French artist graduated from the Beaux-Arts d'Angouleme in 1989. Later she won the prize "Alph'Art future" at the Festival of Angoulême. Wendling then joined Editions Delcourt participating in two anthologies, The Children of the Nile and Entrechats . In 1990, Claire Wendling began her first graphic novel series "lights of Amalou", written by Christopher Gibelin.
In 1997 she was hired by Warner Brothers and emigrated to Los Angeles to participate in various projects. Frustrated by the creative constraints of the studio , she returned eight months later to France to continue her career in graphic novels, game design and illustration. Her work is the subject of the rare and sought after art books "Desk", "Iguana Bay", "Drawers", and most recently "Daisies". All I highly recommend; they are available through Amazon.fr, Amazon.ca, Stuart Ng and Gallery Nucleus
Years ago when I was struggling with an illustration of a lion I asked veteran lead Disney Animator Ruben Aquino for advice in creating more believable lion anatomy. "Do you have any cats at home?" asked adult Simba's animator. I did. He added "Then that's all you need. It's the same anatomy and behavior; study your own cats, and you'll get the answers that you're looking for." Similarly, Claire Wendling's observations of her own cats have paid off in huge dividends and prove Ruben's point well. Her affection for her subjects is quite evident. When looking at her drawings of felines both large and small, one can imagine that the following illustration is semi-autobiographical:
It all starts with life drawing. As we study animal design in this week's module, take some time to sketch your own pets or those of a friend. If you don't have any handy nearby, try a pet store or animal shelter (go to www.petfinder.com to find those in your area). Those in bigger metropolitan areas may also have access to zoos and wild animal sanctuaries. Wendling's cat life studies can supply some inspiration. Don't stick with static poses alone; catch them in action, include sketches showing typical emotions and behaviors:
Claire Wendling's understanding of domestic feline anatomy and behaviors clearly has aided her in her drawings of bigger cats. It's obvious that she's able to "build a 3D model" in her mind that she can turn and move around into just about any pose imaginable. This is a skill that only comes from many hours of observation:
From the brutal:
To the adorable:
to the fantastic:
Without this through understanding of feline anatomy, designing successful graphic or "cartoony" designs of these animals simply isn't possible. Wendling's cowardly lion and big cat designs for animated films display her understanding of the feline form just as strongly as do the previous pencil studies. As always; study and a through understanding of real world subjects lays the foundations for great character design.
Exercise: do your own life studies of domestic cats, then view the following video, noting the similarities in both anatomy and behavior between domestic and their wild counterparts. Then try a few video life studies of the larger felines.
Can't find a figure drawing class in your area to work on those gestures? No problem! Just go to:http://www.pixelovely.com/tools/gesture.html and choose between all models or nudes only, male or female, or animals for variation. An automatic timer will change images from every 30 seconds up to 10 minutes. Now there's no excuse for not improving your draftsmanship skills through gesture drawing!
Anne London found her focus at the age of 19 while working for Tippi Hedren, founder of Shambala , a refuge for big cats, elephants and other species located in California. There, as she walked among the animals, she realized that the commercial art field was not for her, and she dedicated her life to bringing about awareness of the plight of endangered wildlife across the globe, and raising money for conservation efforts. London developed her skills while studying animals in the wild in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Initially she focused on engraving, but carpel tunnel syndrome forced her to switch over to charcoal and water media.
London's work has gained critical acclaim in both the art world and the scientific community. She has won the Society of Animal Artists' prestigious Award of Excellence and has been featured in magazines such as Wildlife Art News.
Instructor's note: often I find splashy, expressive techniques used over less technically skilled drawings as a distraction from poor draftsmanship skills. A.E. London's solid draftsmanship and understanding of her subjects anatomy were developed long before her expressive techniques with watercolor and charcoal were, as is evident by the drawings themselves and by the scratchboard etchings that can be seen on her website. Once you've developed strong, confident drawings you can begin to become increasingly expressive and experimental with them. Don't attempt to substitute style for substance.
Jeffrey Catherine Jones (b. 1944) is an American artist whose work is best known from the late 1960s through 2000s. She* provided over 150 covers for many different types of books through 1976, as well as venturing into fine art during and after this time. World renowned illustration artist Frank Frazetta called Jeffrey Jones "the greatest living painter"
In the early 1970s when National Lampoon began publication, Jones had a strip in it for a while called Idyl. (A strip by Jones, taken from Idyl, was used to illustrate the Sonic Arts Network CD publication Otherness, curated by David Cotner in 2007.) From 1975 to 1979 she shared workspace in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, with Bernie Wrightson, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Michael William Kaluta, collectively named The Studio; Dragon’s Dream produced a volume of their work in 1979. By the early 1980s she had a recurring strip in Heavy Metal titled I'm Age. Cartoonists Walter Simonson and J. D. King said at the time that Jones had a growing interest in expressionism, and did not pursue comic work as closely thereafter.
*****
I'm continually amazed by the power, sensitivity and passion in Jones' drawings and paintings alike. Her rock solid draftsmanship and confident line is rooted in a deep understanding of anatomy; both human and animal. Her comic art is lively and energetic, while her fine art perfectly reflects her nature; simultaneously strong and fragile, and always infused with emotion. You can see more of her work here: http://www.jeffreyjones-art.com/ and enjoy a trailer for an upcoming documentary about her life here:http://macabfilms.wordpress.com/
