Blog - Tim Lai - Cartoonist

October 27, 2015 23:33

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euclase:

armellin:

reapergrellsutcliff:

pridetothefall:

wolveswithhats:

eliciaforever:

Why do artists refuse to use references why why why.

It’s not a contest to see who can get by without them. It’s not cheating to look at a thing in order to know what the thing looks like.

You don’t get stronger or better by pretending. Nobody is impressed by the awkward whatever-it-is you just drew. Use references.

I don’t think a lot of people know that it’s not cheating. I recall seeing so many piece of art called out because they referenced a pose, someone recognized it, and then proceeded to shame them for it. There’s this belief, both by creators and the audience, that artists should just be able to translate the ideas from their head to paper, and if they don’t, it’s plagiarism, or not true originality (spoiler alert: there’s no such thing).

I myself didn’t start using references until very recently, because even I was under the impression that it was frowned upon. And that belief has seriously crippled and stalled my ability to improve as an artist.

As a restarting artist, I can confirm. I just never knew. I thought you were just supposed to know how to draw the body correctly and if you didn’t you had no talent.

(( I am going to say this again, loud and clear for everyone:

USING REFERENCES FOR ART IS NOT ‘CHEATING’!!!

If you can draw/paint without references, great! But if you need to use them, and feel that your art can be bettered by using references, please, use them! This is one of the biggest tips I can give to artists, is USE REFERENCES!

Anyone who would dare to attack someone for using references after ‘recognizing a pose’ is a dipshit, who doesn’t know a thing about art.

Do you know who else used references for their art?

Norman Rockwell

Alphonse Mucha

Gustav Klimt

Toulouse Lautrec

Vincent Van Gogh

Paul Gauguin

Edgar Degas

Gil Elvgren

Frida Kahlo

Pablo Picasso

Disney Studios

And thousands of others! So, artists! Go forth, and use references!!! ))

What do you think artists do when they ask someone to stand infron of them for 6 hours and then they draw this person. Do they cheat? Or when they place a still life and then paint it, cheating again? LOL

#literally one of the biggest fears I have #is for some douchefuck to dig out my reference #and point at it and say that I’m not a real artist #I don’t want you to dig out my references to prove that I didn’t make up a realistic picture out of fucking thin air #that’s not how art works #but especially on this site it happens CONSTANTLY #it’s so fucking scary #when people who’ve never touched a pen in their lives think they’re qualified to judge you #and ‘reveal’ how you’ve ‘scammed’ people

Soooo. I made this post originally on my personal blog (I’m eliciaforever), and it was nothing more than a little rant about a specific incident that I deleted after five minutes. But before I could delete it, it took the hell off on me, and now it has all these notes. And LOTS OF AMAZING INPUT.

And I just wanted to add in response to the above tags in particular, that shaming people for using references is something that happens to so many of us SO OFTEN. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are. People think art is supposed to be magical or whatever, and anything else is a crime. The reality of course is that art is a thousand times more deliberate than a lot of people think it is.

So yeah. Good info to pass along. Use references, kids. <3

Reblogging because I think it’s important especially for young artists to gain the confidence to use references.

Seriously, references are esssential! Use them!

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October 27, 2015 17:13

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micdotcom:

Casual reminder: Donald Trump does not have a rags-to-riches story. That $1M loan equals $5.3M today adjusted for inflation. Oh and his business acumen? Check the markets over the years, that myth has been popped too.

(Source: mic.com)

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October 27, 2015 17:11

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robertryancory:

Gravity Falls; Scary-Oke Rough Designs

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robertryancory:

Gravity Falls; Golf War

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October 27, 2015 17:10

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deanheezen:

Whenever I draw my brothers… I tend to draw them as if they were still 8 - 10 years old. In fact, They just turned 20. TODAY! It all seemed to happen so quickly. So today, my brothers, I draw you as the men you are. You earned it.

Miss you both dearly. All my brotherly love <3

Here’s to the next 20 years.

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October 27, 2015 14:26

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animationtidbits:

The Good Dinosaur - Matt Nolte & Peter Sohn

(Source: nerdist.com)

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October 27, 2015 14:13

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mollyostertag:

Lisa, telling it like it is in Strong Female Protagonist.

This hits a little too close to home.

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October 27, 2015 11:53

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b-rekks:

some beast!wirt to play around with inking

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October 27, 2015 11:52

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Love this.

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October 25, 2015 23:47

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brianmichaelbendis:

Joker (The Dark Knight) by Bill Sienkiewicz

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October 25, 2015 23:38

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whitebnf:

Note to comic book creators in the internet era :look up sound effects on Google before putting them on a page

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October 25, 2015 23:32

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iamsandrabullock:

The cast of Inside Out wishes you a Happy Halloween!

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October 25, 2015 23:31

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actual-ghost-boyfriend:

This show is going to kill me.

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October 25, 2015 23:26

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jordynb:

Precious feline wizard #inktober 🔮

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October 25, 2015 20:27

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Frank Chimero

spx:

nevver:

The New Yorker

The slug that works with any New Yorker cartoon. Now, for Monday I’d like eight to ten single-spaced pages on why this is so.

(Source: frankchimero.com)

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October 25, 2015 20:25

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themrock:

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejui…!

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October 25, 2015 20:23

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tombancroft1:

coryloftis:

Some of the characters from Zootopia.

This movie only gets better and better….

This movie looks amazing but Disney has been doing a terrible job with the advertising campaign.

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October 25, 2015 01:43

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caseymeeks:

I never, ever want context for this.

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October 24, 2015 22:48

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the-demon-colonel:

mysharona1987:

oshram:

liberalsarecool:

mysharona1987:

The GOP voters in Iowa, tho.

Why is Iowa influential? This is the epitome of whiteness as privilege.

We are the only country where being ill- or misinformed is an asset.

Seriously though. Can you imagine if most jobs worked this way?

“Yeah, I’m applying for this job in marketing. I know nothing whatsever about marketing though.”

“Great! You’re hired. That is exactly what we’re looking for.”

Damn, I fear for where this country is going

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October 24, 2015 22:47

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inverted-mind-inc:

Dogs.

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About This Blog

Hi, I'm Tim Lai! I'm a cartoonist living in Ontario, Canada. I like drawing cute and colourful things. This blog is a hub where you can find all of my Tumblr, DeviantArt, Flickr, Blogspot, and other posts in one place.

About My Work

I write and draw Lemon Inc., a comic about a seven-year-old who wants to be a business tycoon when he grows up. Until then, he runs a lemonade stand. You can read it at www.lemon-inc.com.

I have done some professional web and graphic design work, including designing the website for the webcomic, Just Joel. I'm also a member of the webcomic collective, Ink Bomb Comics.