Irshad Karim
Irshad Karim
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
I'm a concept artist at Silverback Games, I run drawabox.com, and I draw the web comic "Orc and Gnome's Mild Adventures"
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James Goodman
All this will do is lead me to spend a butt ton of time looking up reference.... I would like to just be able to open my sketchbook and draw. That's why my sketchbooks have one drawing per page and it's something I copied. Because I rarely have ideas and when I do, I don't know how to draw them.
Irshad Karim
While I'm a strong believer in the idea that people are more likely to discount their ideas so quickly that they don't even recognize the fact that they crossed their minds, sometimes we definitely need some help pulling them out of us. Recently I held a "Promptathon" event for the Drawabox community - basically a new prompt each day, with each one being detailed but open-ended, allowing participants to stick as closely as they like to it, or take it way off in their own direction. As a result, we have a bunch of such prompts which you can find here: https://drawabox.com/drawingprompts/random Perhaps these kinds of prompts will help you get started as a jumping off point, until you feel more comfortable doing so on your own.
Lucas Mostyn
amazing. i would like to record my own process in the same way that you did here but its hard when you want to put the project down and continue. Can I ask how you did a multi session recording and made it all look as one session? Thanks
Irshad Karim
Oh shoot, I'm sorry to have missed this question! Hopefully you're still around, although I imagine you may have found the answer elsewhere by now. The answer is that I recorded the one video over multiple sessions, as you stated, but I didn't actually talk while painting. I stitched the videos together in editing software, and then scrubbed/watched through the whole thing and wrote a script of things that would be relevant, and areas where I could go on somewhat less directly relevant anecdotal tangents. Once I kinda filled up everything I could say, I recorded it, dropped the audio in, then altered the timing of the various sections of the recording to fit. In other words, it was kinda movie magic, doing all of the important things at different stages. There were a few spots I think where I marked up what I had been working on - those I did afterwards, using keying (the act of removing a colour from a clip) to make it seem like I was just marking things up as I went. For this, I took a screenshot of the video recording, tinted the whole thing *very* strongly blue (so the keying would pick it all up, but so I could still see what I was marking up), and then drew on top of it in white. Once keyed, only the white remained. I hope that helps!
Caleb Asomaning
If you generate an idea that makes no sense and is an integral of purely unrelated entities, will it be possible to make a drawing out of, less difficult, and how would you be able to connect such entities by the smaller questions within those entities ? For example; what if cell phones could be charged by maize grains?
Irshad Karim
That reminds me of something Feng Zhu talked about in some of his YouTube videos a long time ago - creating a world that is just different for the sake of being different, rather than using the real world as a grounding for our ideas. The farther we stray from reality, the harder it becomes to make a particular design direction plausible to the viewer. Above all else, our responsibility is to solve a given problem while maintaining the viewer's suspension of disbelief - their willingness to set aside the obvious issues with the idea and just accept, "this is the way it is". That said, it's also really difficult to think of ideas that are so far out there that they're impossible to solve. Feng Zhu's example was, if I remember correctly, something like a world made of cotton candy or bubble gum or something - but the very fact that these are materials with physical qualities we can understand, things we've probably touched before, means that while they are challenging to bring into the realm of plausibility, they're not impossible. Similarly, the concept of needing to charge a cellphone is a relatable, familiar thing. Sure, in this world we'll use maize grains to give it juice, but who's to say we don't throw a bunch of corn into the charger, and that it undergoes a chemical reaction to produce a charge? We can do it with potatoes after all. Potatoes may not produce too much of a charge, but people would probably be willing to believe that corn might produce more, and they're not as prevalent in popular media for people to challenge that notion. The question comes back to one thing - we can design a lot of really crazy ideas into approximate plausibility, but will it serve a purpose? Phones and electronics being charged by maize grain is a good starting point for the whole world, but on its own it's just different for difference's sake. So we have to ask ourselves why would this society charge their phones with maize grains? An obvious reason would be that corn is so prevalent throughout the world that of your phone runs low on battery, it's incredibly straight forward to walk across the road to the corn field, grab a handful of kernels, and dump them into a small device plugged into your phone. But things that influence the way in which one technology is used should, in order to be as believably integrated Into society as possible, should also come up in other ways. Corn husks being used as a common crafting material for instance, a heavily corn based diet, and a society that itself is laid out to compress human housing use of land, and expand the use of land to grow as much corn as possible. No single idea is likely to be too weird to be plausible, but they're also never going to exist in a vacuum. These concepts layer on top of one another like threads in a tapestry. At the end of the day, everything we create works towards creating a larger cohesive world, not just a one off thing.
Shreyas Gupta
What is the name of that "implied detail artist." Can you please mention it
Irshad Karim
Could you give me a timestamp from the video where I mention it? It'll help give me context with which to recall.
Irshad Karim
This curriculum tends to be floated around a lot, and Proko and Marshall brought it up in one of the draftsmen episodes a while back. I feel I should clarify something- The curriculum shouldn't be ascribed to Moderndayjames - it was put together by Alex Honeycutt (Radiorunner), and features a quote from Moderndayjames, though it's easy to understand why people think it was made by MDJ or involved his input in some way. As far as the curriculum itself goes, the only recommendation I have here is that if you're following it, it's best that you not apply its 4-weeks-per-unit pacing to the sections that have you following along with Drawabox. Drawabox *really* isn't meant to be shoehorned into a specific preconceived timeline, and when students try to do so, they end up rushing and missing big chunks of the material. When working through any Drawabox content, just focus on giving it as much time as it requires for you to complete the assigned work to the best of your current ability. Setting deadlines/timelines/etc can be very useful further into one's learning process, but I think that the foundation one builds up at the beginning of their journey is so critical that it should absolutely not be rushed.
@adamsteeves
Amazing!
Alex Fore
3yr
I tried changing the thread title after I realized my mistake, but I don't see how too. I think people get the point though. Thanks for the input. I can see how the timeline would make some rush. 4 weeks isn't enough time for me on some of this because I have other that come first.
@koreley
Once you get to a point where you have a question, how do you actually go about getting ideas down? Let's say my what-if was "what if dinosaurs were still alive and got domesticated?" what ideas would i generate first? and how would i go about doing research? I surely know nothing about modern-day or old technologies, or even invented technologies to resist stretches I'm unsure what questions to ask myself to come up with a good design for a t-rex saddle, for example, and looking at real life saddles would just lead me to copy-paste the saddle onto the t-rex. Is it just an issue of asking more questions, am i worrying too much, or something else entirely?
Irshad Karim
I suppose the easiest way to respond is to look at the question you've asked, and to identify all of the smaller questions within it: - How do saddles work? So for example, looking at real-world saddles, how do they stay on the animal's body, and how do they allow the person riding them to maneuver? - What kind of materials exist that could be used? You mentioned stretchiness yourself, that's one avenue to consider and explore, finding various materials that could suit that need, though you might consider stiffer materials and see what the benefits might be. If material stretches too much, it might not provide as snug and reliable a fit compared to a purpose-made saddle. Observing a saddle is definitely the first step, but it's not a matter of just copying it - it's about looking at physically what the interactions are between the saddle and the animal and the rider, and digging for more questions. This definitely is a skill in and of itself, one that develops through practice, and it's more one of thinking rather than drawing from observation. Drawing a saddle may well help you explore what a saddle is (that is, doing a direct study of one, both on an animal and off an animal, with and without a rider, etc.) but it's just a tool to get your brain juices flowing.
Florent Mounier
"if someone shared them with you [tips and tricks] you'd make it into the big leagues in no time." Kinda wanted to react and say i agree, this is somewhat of a silly thought, but at the same time... What are beginners supposed to think when they browse through youtube and 90% of advice are about tips and tricks? especially when these come from youtubers who are former pros in big AAA companies and like to brag about it so they can hook you on their content? I like to think it's not my case, but i'd be lying if i said my brain doesn't want to believe there are certain "shortcuts" to success. It's a tough subject since it basically means you gotta believe these guys have no idea what they are talking about and at the same time were able to force their way into the industry.
Irshad Karim
It's definitely a normal way to look at learning, and you're right - with the resources that are put out there and the way they're framed, it's a mistake we're often led to by no real fault of our own. At the end of the day, the majority of content that is put out is produced with the intent of generating a return. When content is put out for free, the focus becomes on making sure that it has as wide a reach as possible, in order to capitalize on passive monetization. That doesn't mean the information presented can't be extremely useful - just that it'll be marketed with a focus on how helpful and life changing it'll be, and might not take the time to establish what it *won't* teach you, or what you may need to know initially to benefit fully from it. At the end of the day, it's not that these people have no idea what they're talking about. It's more that the nuggets of wisdom they do have to offer aren't really going to have as much reach unless you... talk them up, maybe exaggerate them a little. You know, click-bait stuff.
Irshad Karim
I ended up opting for the non-art related career myself, many years ago, having majored in Interactive Multimedia, and getting hired after graduation as a game programmer at a studio that made educational software for toddlers. It was around the same time I got hired, or even a little before, that I firmly decided I wanted to pursue a career in art (which had been a hobby of mine for the previous decade). It's not that I don't enjoy programming - it's just that I figured I'd rather do game development for my own projects, for fun, and I'd be happier doing concept art and illustration for clients. I worked full-time - so 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I would definitely consider it to be cognitively taxing, but I did find that if I pushed myself, I had different pools of energy to draw from. After work, I sure as hell wouldn't want to push myself to do more programming at home, but while it felt difficult at first, I was able to coax myself into putting time into my art. Granted, it helped that I didn't have any other responsibilities - I lived with my parents, so while I helped them with chores in the weekends, I didn't have to cook dinner each night and had a fair bit of free time. I started making a habit of spending at least 3 hours each night on taking my art more seriously. First, I set a challenge for myself, where every night I'd do a photo study - a minimum of 3 hours had to be invested, and a minimum of 1 study. So if I happened to be satisfied with a study before that time was up, I would start another. If I got into the groove and wanted to go loner than 3 hours, I could, but of course I still had work the next day. I did this for 31 days straight, including weekends. Setting that end date helped, because I could see the finish line. It wasn't an arbitrary endeavor, so even if it was tough, I was able to push my limits knowing that it wouldn't be forever. I feel this had a pretty significant impact on me - it showed me I had it in me to pull from this separate well of energy, and that a lot of the time it could even help me unwind after work, even though I was trying to learn and train. After that, it was easier to invest that time in a wider array of exercises, in tackling illustrations that would be spread across several days and weeks, and to generally push beyond the limitations of a salary man. After about 15 months of this, I quit my job, took my savings and funded a 6 month trip to LA to study at Concept Design Academy. The rest is, as they say, history.
Siqi
3yr
Wow! Thank you for sharing your story, Irshad! I've also been working through the Drawabox lessons (thank you so much for those!!!) so I feel like I'm talking to a celebrity! Thank you for sharing the suggestion to set an end date. That makes a lot of sense as I think about my experience getting through the 250 boxes challenge. It felt SO difficult (and dry, haha) when I started, but having a concrete goal of 250 boxes really helped me to get through it. As you said, I knew it wouldn't be forever. It was such a good experience finishing it and realizing that I completed it in 22 days; when I started I felt like I needed an eternity... I think that would be really helpful for me to apply outside of the drawabox challenges, and I look forward to trying that! I had no idea that you didn't always have an arts career! I really appreciate hearing about people's experiences where they decide to take the leap from a job that they don't actually hate to an arts-related career. Of course it's a scary idea to let go of stability and predictability, but that's why it's so helpful to hear about and see people who have emerged successful on the other side! Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts, and for your amazing Drawabox lessons, Irshad!!! I never thought I would be drawing lobsters and shrimps and crabs but I can see the method behind the "madness"! :)
Irshad Karim
Feedback is useful at a number of stages - not just when you're done. Once a piece is done, it's done. Any feedback you receive on it can be used on the next piece, but this one's over. Lots of people seek feedback when they're at a crossroads and aren't sure which direction to take. Plenty of people post WIPs (works in progress) when they aren't sure about something specific. I think when posting unfinished work for feedback, the best things to consider are what specific issue would you like the feedback to address, and simply whether you yourself put a good deal of time into working through your issue on your own first. For the first one, "I don't know where to take this piece" is vague, but certainly still an issue worthy of feedback. If you can offer people something specific to focus on however, that is certainly going to make things easier on the one offering their time. That last one is subjective, but some people have a habit of valuing their time in this context a little too highly, and actively seek feedback early and often as a way to minimize their own time investment. As long as you feel you've made an attempt to think through whatever it is you want help with, then there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Worst case scenario, let's say you post something for feedback and you receive none - that doesn't mean posting your work was somehow wrong, a mistake, or inappropriate. It simply means no one had the time to offer in that instance. No harm done. Ultimately just remember that posting your work for feedback is not a performance. No one is looking for you to meet some standard or to please their sensibilities. They're giving feedback ideally because they want to help people grow. That's all. It's easy to forget that sometimes amidst the eternal pursuit of validation social media engagement.
Jonas Gezels
Thanks a lot for your reply, when it comes to meeting a standard I have this fear that was put into me during school cause of fear of failure and looking like the dumbass it's pretty hard for me to put that aside as I am in cosntant fear of ridicule.
Irshad Karim
I've got a bit of a spiel about style, and how it relates to the "fundamentals" - which is, in a lot of ways, what you're asking about in regards to style vs. realism. You'll find it in its original context here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/gpxkca/the_battle_with_style_vs_fundamentals/frpzxn1 but I'll paste it below as well. --- There's no battle between style and fundamentals. It's not an uncommon way people look at things, but it's not accurate. Instead, it's better to look at the concept of style as being a filter or a coloured lens through which one is looking at the world. The fundamentals are the world itself, specifically taking things that are three dimensional and capturing them - not hyper-accurately, but at least in a believable, tangible way - on the page. The fundamentals are about selling the illusion that what you're looking at in a drawing is real. Style is a series of choices an artist applies to their work. You can think of it as a recipe, or an algorithm. In that sense, it's not unlike how an instagram filter works. You've got an input (the actual thing being depicted), it goes through a series of choices, and out comes the final, stylized work. So when it comes to creating a style of your own, what you're doing is developing your own recipe, your own clear set of rules and choices that will govern the works you wish to produce in this style. The first thing you need to learn, therefore, is what are the recipes that others use? And really, what is a recipe? How do I apply it? You can do this by doing master studies - that is, studies that involve looking at another artist's work, and attempting to reproduce it specifically focusing on the stylistic choices they've made. You know how one might go about capturing something real at its most basic and most un-stylized (assuming you've got pretty solid fundamentals, which you should if you're worrying about style), and so you need to analyze how the artist got from that point to their end result, and decompile their algorithm. Find out what choices and rules they followed to achieve that cohesive look. Do this a lot. Do master studies of works you admire, do master studies of works that are in the totally opposite direction you'd like to go yourself. As you do so, you'll find little pieces, individual rules that will appeal to you, and as you gather these pieces, you'll be able to start experimenting on how those rules and choices can fit together into their own styles. These things will develop slowly - just like a chef testing out a new dish, they'll try things out, make tweaks, let things sit, scrap them entirely, and try again. And gradually you'll come to a style that has been tailored and engineered to suit what you want now. And you'll probably keep working on it even beyond that, eventually your tastes will change, and you'll find yourself desiring a new style altogether. And this is how you'll go about it again. But if you don't feel like you have a solid grasp on your fundamentals, on capturing things as they are (again, not hyper-realistic which is a style in and of itself), then you may want to strengthen those building blocks. That isn't to say you can't do master studies now, but that it helps a great deal when analyzing another artist's choices to have a good grasp on the raw material. --- So in this sense, understanding, say, how human faces are actually structured in 3D space will help immensely when it comes to understanding *why* other artists - say, manga, or cartoonists - choose to represent their faces in a particular fashion. It helps us understand why they're making the choices they are, and so in turn it allows us to better understand the choices we make. When we just attempt to create style without this bedrock, our choices become more arbitrary and less grounded. That said, if your art teacher is suggesting that you stop drawing whatever stylistic stuff you're drawing now - ungrounded and arbitrary as it may be - I staunchly disagree with that. I think there is a lot of benefit in balancing both areas, to draw the things you love most on one side, just for its own sake without stressing over whether or not it comes out well, or as you intend, and studying the fundamentals, reality, whatever you want to call it on the other side. Setting out separate periods of time for each will help you maintain balance. It's very easy to just delve completely into studies, and to lose one's sense of direction as a result.
@monke_sama
Thanks a lot irshad sir!
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