Charles Dana Gibson

Its hard to imagine how certain things would be possible without the instantaneous source of information that the internet offers. As time progresses we experience so many various things, some deeply embedded in mind, and always afresh, several others hidden a bit too deep.

One such piece of information is about an illustrator who drew some fantastic pictures for the famous story The Prisoner of Zenda. While at high school I always used to look at awe the beautiful illustrations accompanying the stories, and wondered who drew all these magical pictures. some had their names, some not.

Recently I stumbled upon a beauty of an illustration in Glenn Vilppu's website, and upon a little googling it lead me to the illustrator of Prisoner of Zenda. Charles Dana Gibson

There are plenty of his art work available for the pleasure of study on the Net. Looking at which one can be certain Gibson was a huge influence on the Golden Age Illustrators.

Learning to Draw (Three Great Teachers)

It is no doubt that we learn to draw by drawing. more often we hit a plateau and find it hard to jump up to the next level. Over the years I have been reading, and tyring to learn from various texts and references on how to draw. while there is always something to learn from every book, there are certain books from great teachers, which will always take one to the next level. I list three such authors here, who I guarantee will make an impact.

(1) The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides


This book would create an impact, no matter at what level one is in their drawing ability. After a long period of lull this created a storm in my artistic endeavor. It is a great place to begin, since it teaches the foundation of art, how one should approach drawing, what is it you draw, what is it that you strive to capture, what is it that you create. Using the simplest of the tools - a scribble, one begins to draw. everybody can scribble. and that's all you need to begin learning how to draw. Gesture, weight and modelling are three fundamental aspects that can be captured by deep observation, and just scribbling. and by practicing this, you can draw anything and everything that you see and over a period of time just from your mind!




(2) Vilppu Drawing Manual by Glenn Vilppu

In a series of chapters , one building on top of the other, Vilppu teaches every aspect of drawing, and introduces the basic tools needed to draw. Vilppu says, drawing is all about capturing gesture and form. Representing 3 dimensional form in two dimensional paper. drawing is all about capturing and creating form, the relations between other forms. How you go about doing this, is all that Vilppu talks about with countless illustrations. Gesture, Form, Light and shade,Atmosphere and so on are different aspects that make the picture more and more convincing. Vilppu introduces simple tools such as Sphere, Box, Cylinder and combine them to create complex forms. these are techniques that come down from the great masters of the renaissance.

(3) Figure Drawing books by Burne Hogarth

At this stage we understand how to go about drawing. mostly we become good at drawing from observation. and possibly retain some knowledge and recreate from the mind.

But if one were to understand the details of the complex human figure, one need to study the wonderful books from Hogarth. Nowhere else one can find such clear renderings of the human form, so easy to understand and hence so easy to add to our mental library of reference. Hogarth analysis the human form in such detail and clarity, all it takes is one look.

By studying the numerous drawings and constantly practicing them, and creating our own actions and figures, one can produce stunningly realistic human figures.

And then of course we need to draw, all the time, from life and from imagination to hone our skills. There are so many subjects, animals, nature, numerous man made stuff and so on for which we seek other teachers, books and references. But these three authors will create a definite impact on the way we go about drawing and will set us on a strong foundation.

Burne Hogarth

Tarzan ! What an epic in the world of sequential art. Taking us all into the deep jungles, full of danger and adventure, the rich visualization was possible thanks to the genius and draughtsmanship of Burne Hogarth. Never before was such vivid details of the jungle, the animals, the daring Tarzan, ever captured so realiztically in this medium. Burne stretches his imagination while wielding his pencil and takes us on a magical journey.

Hogarth gave the secrets of his great talent to those he aspired, by establishing and teaching at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York, later renamed as the School of Visual Arts. His series of books that are perhaps derived from his teaching,are landmarks in art instruction books. Dynamic Anatomy, Drawing the Human Head, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Drawing Dynamic Hands,Dynamic Light and Shade, and Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery.

Perhans the most effective anatomy lessons can be found in these books. Dynamic Anatomy, Drawing the Human head, and Dynamic figure drawing are outstanding and essential for any stundent of art.So much of information is condensed between the covers of these books. One quick look at any picture can be worth hours of reading a text. Truely the adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is never more adept than for his illustrations found here.