My Dinosaur Journey
Hi Friend:
Welcome to the first edition of the Drawing Connections newsletter. I came to art in my 40s with no formal art education, even though I was sure at the age of 5 that I wanted to be an artist.
I will use this newsletter to discuss my art and tools and share a few stories along the way. I aim to entertain, educate, and inspire others by openly sharing my journey.
I took a chance a year and a half ago when I started the Drawing Inspiration podcast to learn more about art. I am grateful for all the guests who generously shared their time and wisdom with me. I learned so much and made so many friends along the way. I want to thank the guests, listeners, and followers.
I took another big step this week by officially launching my online shop. I am starting with a small collection of open-edition prints but will add more over time. You’ll find a code for 20% off your order at the end of this newsletter.
I hope you will stick around as the journey continues.
-Mike
Stories Behind the Art
Everybody loves dinosaurs. I remember having books about dinosaurs when I was a kid. I made the connection between art and dinosaurs in my 40s, and the spark lit the flame under me to begin pursuing my creative passion.
I would often sketch with my daughters when they were young. We had some small animal figures from Schleich, and they were really into a show called The Dinosaur Train and The Land Before Time film series (yes, we watched all of them probably 100 times). I remember one day drawing a triceratops with one of my daughters and thinking it wasn't half bad. That Christmas, I gave my wife my first drawing of a chickadee. You can see it below against another chickadee I drew recently.
I hadn’t drawn a dinosaur since. I like to focus on photo references, and for some reason, it's hard to photograph dinosaurs in the wild in Ottawa, Canada 😀. However, this week, I saw an Instagram post from the Academy of Natural Sciences about their dino drawing classes. I started thinking I should try drawing a dinosaur again.
Here's the result. Maybe a little more dragon than dinosaurs, but I used a copyright-free photo reference online.
It's about 2.5 hours of work on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper using a Pentel Graphgear 1000 mechanical pencil with just a 2B lead. I have tried restricting my use of leads to one or two vs. a mix of darknesses all the way to 8B. Many artists will sketch with something like a 2H or HB pencil, which is quite light, and then move to 2B, 4B, 6B, or even 8B to achieve darker values. It's not to say one approach is better than the other; I didn't want to carry a bunch of pencils around when I used to draw in coffee shops. Yes, that was a thing in the "before time".
What did I learn? Dinosaur textures are wonderful but hard, and I need to do more research to understand current theories about how they look. Also, always be curious and bring those elements that brought you joy from the past into the present. You’re never too old.
From Mike's Toolbox
Pencil Extenders
If you work with traditional wooden pencils, whether graphite or colored pencils, they shrink over time as you sharpen them. If you are like me, you would prefer a pencil that doesn't change in length or weight. I mostly use mechanical pencils for that reason and also because I don't need to carry a sharpener. However, I still love wooden pencils like the Tombow Mono 6B.
So, I've purchased some extenders from Elegant Utility. You can buy extenders at most art shops, but these models are wonderful pieces with a nice heavy feel and intentional functionality. I used the original with my Tombow Mono, which worked perfectly. However, it didn't work with my larger-diameter Faber-Castell colored pencils. So I ordered their larger version, and it fits perfectly. This may sound like an advertisement, but I paid for them myself, and while they are not inexpensive, I believe they are worth it.
If you want to learn more about Elegant Utility, you can check out their Etsy shop.
Recent Drawing Inspiration Episodes
Here are some of the most recent “Drawing Inspiration” podcast episodes. The podcast is available wherever you listen to music.
44: Dog Stories, Animation and Creating a Positive Impact with Michael Relth
Michael Relth joins the podcast to discuss his journey from art school to writing and illustrating his first book. Michael talks about the need to make a positive impact with his art and how critical it is to have a circle of trust. He talks about his work with animation and the piece he did as a commission for Procreate. Michael also talks about the importance of establishing a routine.
45: Facing Your Demons, Fearing the Pinnacle, and Painting Eggs with Sarah Marie Lacy
Sarah Marie Lacy talks about her journey from Canada to France and back as a formally trained artist. Sarah discusses her early beginnings and how discovering an art piece in a coffee table book brought her to a Studio Escalier. We talk about the challenges with portraiture, the human body's beauty, light on cellulite, and the special connection between model and artist. To help you break out of your shell, Sarah then provides some "eggcellent" homework that may leave you a bit scrambled.
At the Movies
I finished watching "Into the Unknown: The Making Frozen 2" on Disney+. It's a short 6-part episode series covering everything from animation to voice work and very heavy on the music score. I have no plan to do animation, but I found it very inspirational from a creative perspective.
What's funny is that I have yet to see the movie itself. I will strike it off my list before the next newsletter. I did enjoy the first one. Let it go! Let it go!
The Bookshelf
"Drawing from Line to Life" with Mike Sibley is the book that started it all for me. Mike Sibley is a graphite artist from the U.K. and has been drawing animals and nature scenes for decades. The book is an essential handbook if you plan on doing any pencil work. He covers all drawing areas, including achieving textures through the thoughtful application of graphite, but also considering negative drawing. The book presents drawing in a way that makes it accessible to anyone. I was lucky enough to attend an in-person workshop with Mike a couple of years ago, and it greatly impacted where I am now. More about that workshop in a future issue of the newsletter. You can find more information about Mike's book and his online classes on his web site.