From 4 Minutes to 5 Seconds
I'm the type of person who needs some sort of structure in my life, even in my hobbies and artistic pursuits. I've really enjoyed getting back into drawing (after a 35-year absence), working through some books that have been helpful, but still lacking in various ways. I recently got a book through interlibrary loan which is really teaching me a lot: Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti. This book actually was recommended in another book I recently read, Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor by Lynda Barry, which I hope to eventually work through.
One of the first exercises in the Brunetti book is to take an ordinary object - such as a car - and spend 4 minutes drawing it. Then draw it again, but in 2 minutes. Then again in 1 minute. Then 30 seconds. Then 15. Then 5. (5!!???) Especially during the last two drawings, you really only have time to doodle. What you're looking for in cartooning is something in the middle - more than a doodle, less than a detailed work. Here's what happened to me with my first such exercise, drawing a car:
Four minutes is a really long time, so I found myself drawing a driver and a cat in the backseat. The 2 and 1-minute drawings aren't really all that different. Even the 30-second one isn't too bad - probably would've been better if I'd ditched the driver and the cat...
Here are the other exercises in the lesson: a cat, a castle and a telephone:
You start to see some patterns... Again, most of the 4 and 2-minute drawings aren't really that far apart. (I will say that the 2-minute cat is awful, but the 1-minute cat looks kinda cute...) Even in most of the 30-second drawings, you can (hopefully) tell what's being drawn. But the 5-second doodles? Impossible! Yet I've seen artists crank out some amazing-looking cartoon sketches in about 15-30 seconds. It can be done. (Just not by me, at least not now!)
And just for fun, here's my self-portait sketches:
My favorite is the 1-minute me, but Cindy thought that one looked like I had a do-rag. If I ever see the 30, 15, or 5-second versions of me in the mirror, I'm either heading straight for therapy or the plastic surgeon.
The learning journey continues...