always use reference!
Added 2020-11-05 15:50:52 +0000 UTCSharing two books that I’ve owned and referenced since 2016!! Tekkonkkreet is a studio 4c animation (favorite anime studio in japan!) that came out in 1999... these books are the concept art collection for the film. Shiro (white) contains all beautifully colored backgrounds and complete concept works. Kuro (black) contains the meticulously hand drawn blueprints to the environment, world, and props.
When I first started going to art school in 2012, I was super egotistical and felt like I was the best and worst artist in the world. I had come out of highschool as the art jock champion basically and the intro to drawing/light/perspective courses felt too slow for me. I cruised and never practiced and worst of all: I refused to use reference. My teachers kept telling me to humble myself and study but I felt like using reference was just a cop out or stealing or a sign you’re not a creative person. It was purely my ego in the way. I did other things like only draw with pen but I’ll get into that later haha... anyway near the end of art school it started to finally dawn on me that I had zero creative swag. I was technically advanced and had the spatial understanding to maybe even be a professional draftswoman (this carried over very well for my 3D work) but I lacked the creative flair to make something uniquely mine.
Until I found Studio 4C :) I admit I was pretty late compared to some of my anime historian fans but once I understood the value of reference I haven’t been the same!
I’ve been referencing this film for most of my work for nearly 5 years now. It’s always a marvel to me how they managed to create this 20 years ago. If you’re not familiar, I highly recommend it!
