What type of art do I want to make?

September 7, 2015 1:13 PM

What type of art do I need to study or get lessons in or look up tutorial of in order to draw in a style similar to Bradon Boyd (of Incubus - I can't link where I am but a quick Google should bring it up) and other - I don't know - "graffiti" style(?) Art? I want to be able to put what's in my brain to paper. Please help!
posted by jitterbug perfume to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Best answer: That style reads as "modern tattoo" to me FWIW.

I assume by "study" you don't mean art school, which would definitely teach you how to put your brain on paper.

However, before I went to school for it, Betty Edwards taught me how to draw. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain will teach you how to look at stuff so you can draw it. You have to treat it like a class and do the assignments. That will give you a technical foundation, then you can develop a style.

The ultimate answer is just to start drawing, though. Try to draw things you like. There is no "drawing in this style" course of study.
posted by cmoj at 2:19 PM on September 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Also, if that's the specific style you want to draw in, totally copy some of his drawings that you like. Don't try to sell the copies or anything, but there's a reason the old masters spent years copying others' work before doing their own stuff.
posted by cmoj at 2:23 PM on September 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You're talking about this right? If so, it even says on his website title, it's ink and watercolor.

Therefore you'll want to study watercolor, line work, pen and ink, illustration, watercolor illustration, etc. That gets you the basics of how to work the tools. The rest is just how to use them all together. YouTube is a great resource for learning, especially watercolor applications as they can be tricky to work with.

You'll want to start with a set of good pens - the thin line sharpies are okay but many prefer Micron pens or (my favorite liner) Copic pens. Whatever ink/pen you use, be sure it's waterproof and permanent. If you try to put watercolor or washes over it, it will bleed unless it's permanent. You can then get some watercolor or drawing paper. Try smoother or more textured and see what you like. With more fine-line drawing you probably want a smoother finish watercolor or drawing paper. It needs to be a bit thicker so it doesn't warp as much with the watercolor.

Then you need watercolors. Something like this would be a pretty great starter set. Many people prefer liquid watercolors (they come in a tube) but they're much more saturated and a bit difficult for beginners to work with. It also seems like the work you're trying to replicate has more a less saturated look.

Then don't forget some brushes and masking tape. (it helps to tape down your edges so you paper doesn't wrinkle as much.) You may want some sort of board to tape things to.
posted by Crystalinne at 5:07 PM on September 7, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: OH! And, depending on how into it you get, some people don't like to mark with pencil first but prefer to trace with pen only for cleaner lines. Since tracing on watercolor is difficult since you can't see through it then you may want a lightbox. I use this one that plugs into the computer through USB. It can dim too. It's great for tracing through watercolor paper. If you DO want to trace the final drawing then sketch it out first on some thin tracing paper (thus less layers of paper for the light to pass through.)

But, I'd say you want to work on the basics first and maybe do this as a treat as it's a little pricey, and not completely necessary to learning the basics. #ArtKid
posted by Crystalinne at 10:59 PM on September 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sorry so late - personal health issues came up. I looked at what Crystalline posted that you looked at to reference his work, and while I can't link from here, I can point to his work in White Fluffy Clouds as even more exactly what I meant. Do your recommendations (which are endlessly helpful - thank you) still stand? Thanks fellow artists.
posted by jitterbug perfume at 4:41 PM on October 1, 2015

Best answer: Just saw your update, pretty much everything in terms of lineart still stands. Get a lightbox and/or tracing paper and good pens. That work seems to have more solid color which you can get with acrylics (and you can thin acrylic with water) , thick watercolor, or markers. Though I'd probably do something like that with acrylic. You may have to go on top of the acrylic with more lines again.
posted by Crystalinne at 5:31 PM on October 1, 2015