Author Archive for Stan Prokopenko
Scribble to Discover – Draftsmen S3E02
Scribbling in your art can be an excellent starting point, or a disastrous dead end. In today’s episode, Marshall and Stan discuss how scribbling can reveal fresh ideas, how scribbling relates to categorizing thoughts, and how their training shaped the way they draw today.
Final Anatomy Demo
Stan has put all his artistic and anatomical knowledge into this Super Anatomy Demo! Stan takes you through his process from start to finish, going through each part of the body and how he pushes his figures and composition with everything we’ve learned in the course.
How to Shape Your Art Career – Draftsmen S3E01
Stan and Marshall are back with a new season of the Draftsmen Podcast! This time they are looking at different career paths for artists: Employees, Freelancers, and Entrepreneurs. They discuss the pros and cons of these different career options as well as their varying levels of independence. They also discuss how to speed up the process of learning from your failures as you try and create a successful business.
Proko Hip Hop Radio – Beats to Draw/Paint to
We are happy to announce that, through minutes of research and a hard look at what we do, we’ve decided to unveil the new direction of our channel: Radio for artists! Stan’s had a passion for radio since he was a little Prokolet, designing fire mix tapes and pushing them on all his friends and family. But alas, life can really beat you down and he had to give up his dreams of putting music to Youtube-algorithmically-specific titles and descriptions to squeeze the most views out of a video, to do something more practical like drawing.
The Value of Good Music For Making Art – S3E01
We have compiled the greatest collection of “art teacher a cappella” ever recorded and it’s only available for a limited time, so act fast! So many #1 hits and so many unforgettable melodies…it’s hard to believe they are all here in one incredible collection. Pure Marshall is not sold in stores so make sure to secure your copy of Pure Marshal while supplies last.
Creating a Knock-out Gesture Drawing with guest referee Mike Mattesi
Mike Mattesi is the creator of the FORCE drawing theory, and is no stranger to drawing dynamic body poses. That makes him the perfect judge for this month’s Proko Challenge, the Duel to the Death. Artists were tasked to Illustrate an action packed, one-on-one battle with two characters going head to head. Mike critiques and picks his top 3 submissions based on clear posing, dynamic gestures and the relationship of the characters to one another during their battle to present a clear story.
Drawing WITHOUT Imagination – When You Can’t Visualize ANYTHING
Professional concept artist, illustrator, and the creator of DrawABox.com: Irshad Karim (AKA Uncomfortable) explains the phenomenon of aphantasia and his personal experiences with it. Irshad gives us a step by step walkthrough of the creative process he uses when drawing from imagination when you can’t visualize anything.
Probing for Creativity with Ahmed Aldoori and Steven Zapata
Aliens have finally made it to Earth and these artists have illustrated the First Contact! This month’s Proko Challenge was to depict the moment when humans encounter another intelligent species. Join pro-artists Ahmed Aldoori & Steven Zapata as they observe and critique your submissions. They chose their top 3 winners based on creativity, draftsmanship, storytelling, as well as humble respect for the overwhelming scope of the cosmic community.
You’re Using Reference Wrong (Here’s How to Fix It!)
In this follow up lesson from Christian Bull, we jump back into exploring the idea of the Reference Sandwich. Christian shows us his process while creating a digital sculpture of the female figure, although these are lessons that can be applied to any medium. You’ll learn what kind of details you should be pulling from your reference, and when to throw that reference away and let your imagination carry the design. Christian talks about what kind of mistakes are easier to avoid when not bogged down by reference, and when it is appropriate to bring reference back or find new reference. He also talks about balancing multiple references without losing the essence of the piece.
Character Concepting Process – Loose Sketch to Final Painting
Game artist Dave Greco brings you into the world of character design and teaches you the basics. Starting from a blank canvas, he sketches a character from scratch and refines it while giving you tips and advice about the direction you can take your characters. You’ll also get more insight into the tools and techniques digital artists use that speed up the process.
