Thanks everyone!

Hey Everybody,

First of all, I want to thank everyone who came out and made the first Naked Lunch a great session. I hope a good and productive time was had by everyone...

Before I post some pics, here is the link to register for the June 27th session, same time 1-4. Please register early folks we filled up this time.

Those of you who made it, please spread the word and if you would, send me some scans or pics of some of your drawings so I can post some.Thanks again to Danielle and Warren at Artseen Alliance for helping make this happen, and great thanks to Kelli Bland who was a fantastic model.

Thanks to Bruce Tinnin for taking the photos:

First model + recommended supplies

First off, I want to introduce the model of the first class: Kelli Bland

We are very excited to have Kelli for this class, and I think she has some good ideas for the class.

Also, I had some folks ask about recommended supplies. First, let me say, bring whatever you like. I know some folks are bring wet media, which is allowed at the venue. It really is up to you.

If you are asking for a recommendation, I would recommend conte crayons, at least two shades. Multiple shades allow you to play with shadows and highlights quickly.

Remember, these sessions are for quick sketches. I find having something you can turn on its side, and make thick strokes, forms, and fills really helps. Also, you dont have to dip, sharpen, clean, or peel like some pencils and pens. This saves time. Plus you get some nice Sanguine drawings, reminscent of the masters. I really like these:

I think you can pick up a pack of multiple colored versions at the Co-op and your local Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

As far as paper etc is concerned. This is personal choice too. Keep in mind there will be a bunch of poses. 45 in the first hour probably. You probably want something you can buy in bulk, and is cheap. Most folks would recommend newsprint, but just in case you make a drawing you like, I would recommend something a little nicer. Newsprint degrades pretty fast. I like recycled Strahmore pads 11x14". I like to draw bigger sometimes, but at this point I like to keep media the same size as the Cintiq I do cartoons on. I like sketchbooks as opposed to loose paper, just because I am messy and will bend loose paper up and destory everything before I get home.

Let me paraphrase a quote I am sure was paraphrased, "Every good artist has 100,000 bad drawings in them. Figure drawing is meant to get as many of them out of you as possible." Dont bring a sketchbook that is so nice you are going to be timid in it.

All of this being said, I would highly recommend constantly changing your media every few sessions so that you dont start repeating tricks you learn or working with symbols. For instance, one of my favorite things to do is bring an ice cube tray, ink, and brushes. You can create a gradient of grays in the ice cube tray with the ink and water and just work with light...

Feel free to post your own recommedations to others in the comments section.

Poster

Click on the image to see bigger. Thanks to Sam Deats for adding the fancy texturing and coloring to this. If you want a higher resolution copy of this to print out and post around town, shoot me an e-mail.

First lunch: May 30th, 2009

The first session is May 30, 2009-1pm-4pm

This first session we will have some props to work with weight. A staff to lean on and hold, so we should get some good dynamic poses.

If I can get some more info about the model I will post it.

Don't forget to RSVP to brad@powerhouseanimation.com. Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Naked Lunch: The 411

Welcome to the Naked Lunch Austin website/blog!

Mission: The mission of "Naked Lunch: Austin" is to have a figure drawing class that focuses on gesture drawings and short poses.

I have worked in animation in Austin for 8 years, and when talking with other animators about figure drawing, a major complaint has been that many figure drawing sessions focus on longer poses. Although "Naked Lunch" is for everyone, (not just animators), the entire 3 hour session will focus on gesture drawings and shorter poses.

No pose will be longer than the standard 7 minute length of a classic animated short.

We are hoping to get many participants from the great well of Austin animators, so that we can learn from one another and talk animation and figure drawing. There are some great former feature animators, video game animators, and other great artist's that call Austin home and hopefully we can all learn from each other's experience.

We are going to try to gather at least once per month. Classes will be from 1-4pm on Saturdays.


The name: The name "Naked Lunch" is not simply a lame attempt to reference a William Burroughs book. The name comes from the fact that Warren McKinney and the fine people at Art Seen Alliance are allowing us to host the sessions at The United States Art Authority at Spider House Cafe.

This means that people will have access to the fine coffee/drink/and food available at Spider House. Since the class is around lunchtime on Saturdays, and we are figure drawing...we are calling it "Naked Lunch."

If you never have been to Spider House Cafe, you should come just for that, it is truly a wonderfully unique Austin hangout.

The setup:
We are hopefully going to learn and adapt as we go, but here is how the class is going to initially work.

Hour I: The first hour will be dedicated to 1 minute poses, we will try to get 45 quick poses in, and then take a break.

Hour II: After the break, we will focus on 3 minute poses, so that we can get a little more detail and rendering in. After 25 more poses in, and then take another short break.

Hour III: Finally we will have 7 x 7 minute poses, so that we can work on more detail and some shading etc.

Over time, we are hoping to have both male and female models. Models will not be fully undraped. However there will be partial nudity, for those who have not ever been to a figure drawing course before.

Also, we hope do some themed and costumed sessions in the future to focus on character designing.

The details:
The United States Art Authority is next to Spider House Cafe at Guadalupe and 29th.
Click here for a map to Spider House. You can enter from Spider House, around the back or from the United States Art Authority.

The cost will be $10 for a chair, and $15 for a table. This is not a profit making venture for us.

There will initially be about 40 seats per session. If other figure drawing classes are a barometer, these classes will fill quickly. So please reserve your seat ASAP.

To reserve a seat, e-mail me at brad@powerhouseanimation.com



The blog:
I am hoping to use this blog to update folks about the upcoming class, take comments about the class, and hopefully if people are willing, post examples of art from the class.


Thanks:
Again, I want to thank Mr. William McKinney and the fine folks at Spider House and Artseen Alliance for making this possible.

I was surprised by how hard this little idea was to set up. I hit a lot of dead-ends while trying to set this up. So...

Please spread the word, we want to make sure we keep this thing going! I know finding the time on the weekends can be hard, but we would like to see as much of the animation community as we can at these events, that way we can share war stories and a have little camaraderie.

The store:
I am hoping to put together some Amazon links to some good animation books. Any profits made from this will go to the class.

Questions:
If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments...or e-mail me: brad@powerhouseanimation.com