Article on Writing and Drawing

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vombatidae

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kkbe

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I was an artist in my past life. I've had my share of life drawing classes and believe me, I tried for that gesture. Never could get it down. I was more like, Look at those lips. I have to draw those lips;" appreciating the whole but tripped up by the parts.

I see what the writer is saying. Details are important, they hold the story together. But if we focus too keenly on details, we run the risk of missing the big picture. First we need to capture the essense, the grand gesture, the arc, the broadstroke. Sketching before rendering. Acknowledging that, like the human form, a story is more than the sum of its parts.

Finally, this:

Appreciate the gesture; could do without the snark.

Which has nothing to do with your interesting post, vombatidae. I just thought of that and I kind of like the way it sounds. :)
 
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Filigree

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As an artist, writer, and - yes - a former art model, I can see the author's point. The snark didn't bother me;I barely registered the presence of snark, to be honest. What I take from this essay is the lack of foundational training in many current art and writing classes.Gestural drawings (and their literary equivalent) are a strong tool in the creative arts. At the very least, they help break new students of the misconception that every line has to be perfect.
 

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Ah, got it. The bad side of having a Rhinohide is that sometimes I cannot tell when I've actually pissed someone off with my blathering.

And you're right. The article does offer some interesting conclusions. I wonder if empirical research through MFA art and writing programs would support or refute them? I run across a lot of recent BFA grads who haven't a clue about drawing, but that could just be a result of their specific programs. I try to avoid MFA writing students in real life, which is easy (erotica, romance, and sf&f venues often don't appeal to them.)
 

kkbe

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Ah, got it. The bad side of having a Rhinohide is that sometimes I cannot tell when I've actually pissed someone off with my blathering.

You? I can't imagine. :)

And you're right. The article does offer some interesting conclusions. I wonder if empirical research through MFA art and writing programs would support or refute them? I run across a lot of recent BFA grads who haven't a clue about drawing, but that could just be a result of their specific programs.

speaking of which, I was in a graphic art program, advertising design. UGH. You know what I remember most? One of my professors saying point blank, If you want to make it, you have to draw cars. That's it. This was at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

I refused to believe that. That ain't me. I got my BFA and got a job at an art house. Guess what I was doing? Auto-related crap. Which I eventually decided wasn't gonna be my end all. So then I went back to college to be a teacher and did that, then I started writing and I'm writing what I want. That's the key for me.

MFA? My education for writing has been writing my kind of stuff. Like you are. Who needs a degree, who needs somebody saying, write/draw this or you won't make it?

I do not believe that.
 

RedWombat

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One of the best pieces of advice in drawing I've ever gotten was "Draw what you see, not what you know is there."

Seriously, my art got SO much better when I believed that, because it's true. I had too many ideas about what was actually in front of me and was letting my brain override my eyeballs.

(Which some clever person could probably apply to third-person narrators or some such, I'm sure, but still.)
 
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