Subject: Harry Potter Roundtable Discussion II: Fan-artist’s Forum

[aah_mod]

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the Roundtable Discussion. Please refer here for the Roundtable Discussion guidelines.

Topic: A Place for Fan-Artists to Discuss the Experience of Being an Artist in Fandom - proposed by raitalaHere are some potential discussion points, but really this is just a friendly space for fanartists to get together and

Comments

[autumn_veela]

Hi everyone! *waves*

I'm primarily a writer who recently posted my first fanart, and would love do more in the future. I have a couple of question for the experienced artists out there:

1. What is the correct etiquette when using a photo reference for art? Do you need to mention it in Artist's notes? Do you need to link to the reference? And although I know that there have been many prior discussions on the "validity" of artists using references, I'd be interested to know what people here think. Do you feel art is devalued if you know that photo references have been used?

2. I'd be thrilled if anyone could give me hints on drawing backgrounds. Are there any specific methods or techniques that you find work well? How do you ensure the perspective and proportions are correct?

I'd be so grateful for any help, and am so excited for this discussion. : )

[autumn_veela]

At the moment I just draw (graphite, but I love charcoal as well), but I'm getting Photoshop soon and will be able to play around with that. : )

[hrymfaxe]

For drawing there is a website called drawspace, and you might also consider the drawing and sketching forum on wetcanvas. Neither are sites that have anything in particular to do with fanart, but they are good for getting advice on mastering the basics. Very friendly and welcoming. On wetcanvas there are forums for any traditional media you can think of, and also forums that concentrate on for example figure drawing, portraiture, plein air etc, etc.

Photoshop is an awesome tool, that I'm nowhere near competent at using, and there are a ton of digital art websites where you can get help. One where I look in a lot (because you can learn from the critique of others too) is epilogue, where there is a mix of traditional and digital artists. :D

[autumn_veela]

Thanks! I will lurk for a bit and see how I go...

[freckles42]

artbeta is a wonderful resource, and mostly full of fandom folks. :)

[cydienne]

Is it also cheating to use a ruler to make straight lines? ;)

But you know, it`s cooooler without a ruler :D and in art schools they could tell you that true art exists only when you don`t use things like rulers etc. They`re funny :D

References? I`m absolutely ok but drawing people when you at school or work it`s a good idea too. People are happy and, in time, you could have many sketches :)

[yumekutteikt]

*noted your advice about backgrounds*
Really, practiceX3 sounds very true! Now I feel motivated.:-)

[raitala]

[autumn_veela]

Thanks! You did some great PR about this on my introductory comment, and it's 4am here so you can tell I'm keen. : )

I don't know how to use a vanishing point, or even what one is! Though it sounds very useful...

[raitala]

[raitala]

[autumn_veela]

Oh wow. That's so simple but so helpful! Is there a rule as to where you place the dot?

[raitala]

[damned_queen]

I guess that a lot of artists just refrain from saying they've used reference on LJ because:

a) for other artists, it usually goes without saying that another artist uses at least some form of reference: hardly anyone can draw without any reference at all

b) people who don't know that won't appreciate the use of reference because they have this wonky idea of everyone being able to create these amazing pieces of art from imagination only

Linking to the ref pic seems to make a bit of the magic disappear, unfortunately

On DA, on the other hand, there are a lot of artists who want to draw pics that look as if they could have been a photo because they're so perfect. I guess that changes the statute of the ref pic too because the art is supposedly "better" than the original in this case

(hope i'm at least making some sense here)

[raitala]

[alienor77310]

1. If it's a famous photo, sure. Or a photo of a famous work or person. Otherwise, if you use a stock photo from Corbis or such, I don't think there's any need. I've done a Snarry series where I used reference photos for a lot of the basic body positioning. One was a view from above, for which I used a stock photo as reference. Another picture came from some porn site. *shrugs* I felt no need to thank cutenekkidboiz.com in my credits.

2. Practice and... use reference photos. The escape point method is best. One of the reasons I like digital art is that I can resize foreground or background until the results looks good. On paper, I have to erase a lot...