Cleanliness is NOT the best policy

When we were in Kindergarten, teacher asked to write cleanly. Same continued in our primary school, when we got bonus marks for cleanliness. Writing clean, putting each mark cleanly on paper got into our veins.

All was fine, until the subject in question came to be drawing. We started approaching the subject of drawing in similar fashion. Whenever we try, we try to draw as neat as possible. We assume that to be the criteria of our drawing skills. We get impressed by Artists who draw neatly in front of us.

Incidentally that psychology happens to be the biggest hindrance in learning to draw as well as to create most expressive drawings.

Kimon Nicolaides, worlds most renowned art teacher, explored what is the most natural way to draw. Or what is the way the most successful artists have been drawing. Then he devised world popular drawing exercises for students to get hold of this way.

Gestural Study by Michaelangelo

The exploration of drawing process is real amazing and eye opening. Any drawing involves multiple components that should be there in it. The prime among these is gesture. This defines the meaning, the expression, the soul, the communication of the drawing. It is this component upon which whole of the finished drawing can be built.

And incidentally this component can be defined only in a very quick and rough manner. Why is it so is an altogether different subject handled by Betty very well in her theories of Right brain.

To create the most expressive drawing you are capable of, put all your faculties onto getting the gesture/expression/meaning down on paper and that is possible only in a quick, rough right brain approach. Onto that, define the contours and form. Later finish and clean it.

Following are the example drawings of the exercises by Nicolaides devised for responding to gestures/expression/meaning.

All Walt Stanchfield (renowned Teacher at Disney Studios) lectures focus developing the capability of capturing gestures and in unison with other masters he always advised to work rough and loose at this stage. Can be read very clearly in chapter discussing "Drawing style for animation" and most of other chapters of "Drawn to Life". He has specifically indicated how stiff drawings become if we try to make them clean at the very outset.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their historic book - Illusion of Life mentions following about Walt Disney - 

"Walt was quick to recognize that there was more vitality and imagination and strength in scenes animated in a rough fashion and he asked all animators to work more loosely" - Illusion of life.

Another quote - 

"In some cases, the drawings were so rough it was difficult to find any cartoon figure inside the tangles swirl of lines.." - Illusion of life.

The all popular quick sketching rough approach of classical animation discovered and advocated by Shamus Culhane fully rely on working in this gestural fluid creative mode.

6 seconds rough by Shamus (from his wonderful book "Script to Screen") -

Storyboard roughs by Shamus - 

Nicolades gives excellent exercises for students to make them capable of working in this free flowing gestural mode which is so expressive. I strongly recommend doing complete Nicolaides Art Course for getting full hold on this magical mode of drawing.