sandrarivasblog:

Here’s what John K just told me

1. Study construction; draw toys to strengthen your understanding of construction
2. Draw many caricatures; it forces you to be observant. But draw what you see rather than drawing what Al Hirschfeld or what Milt Kahl see. Drop everything and draw from your eyes
3. Do not repeat yourself; always experiment and develop more techniques. Never settle with a formula. Don’t draw things that have been done before.
4. Do not make blind imitations; don’t imitate Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, or Mary Blair. Understand how they approach to their work and style.
5. Animate all the time; everything has form in animation. Focus on the basic shapes first and then add the details. Make everything flow smoothly but with good timing
6. Construction and telling a story is more important than design
7. Do not go mechanical, make your drawings look organic
8. Apply everything you’ve learned into your own work
9. Avoid symmetry; no evened proportions
10. Draw everyday; make mistakes and learn from them. The point is to improve maybe not tomorrow or the day after but hopefully a year from now

You can either listen to all of his advises or just a few or none. You don’t have to think like John K, or Chuck Jones, or Walt Disney, or Milt Kahl.

Just be observant

Some good advice for any artist. Take it or leave it.