Chris

[chrisneuenschwander]

I am new here, I just graduated High school and hope to continue my education in animation when I find the funds to do so. My ultimate dream would be a charecter designer just like everyone else. Hopefully I will be able to make it. Thats me, just introducing myself and would love to hear some feedback on my work, because I am way far away from my full potential.

[Ricky]

Hi There Chris. WELCOME to the forum. From what I see of your work - which is AWESOME by the way - you'll make it. Keep it up. Don't give up. Believe in yourself. Most important, have fun. Always try to do better with each drawing (don't throw anything away though because your bad drawings are what you really learn from). Everyone here is so nice and you'll learn lots from some really great artists and really great friends. Enjoy!

ricky

[toonMom]

Welcome Chris.

[chrisneuenschwander]

Well, I took a little break because I moved, so now I have access to internet and I am back into the rythem of drawing more regularly again, so youll see more of my stuff around. that kinda makes me a new member to the board because I had just started before I started to move, anyway, glad to be back...

[horate]

welcome Chris again.

[tooned]

welcome Chris

[ScottG]

I'm sorry I have been away for so long ....things have been hectic for a while......

Anyway Whats up Chris Great to see a fellow worker at sixflags on here...did you buy that china marker for me?

[chrisneuenschwander]

this is the same scott?! I did get the China Marker for you, whens the next time you work? I havent seen you on the schedule lately...

[Frank Zieglar]

What the...!?!

I don't remember ScootG working at six flags!?!

When did this happen?

Since y'all are talking about a china marker y'all must not be with Kamans...

But we'll love y'all anyways or is that love y'all more?

[chrisneuenschwander]

Frank, im a misplaced kamans artist...so where does that put me?! haha, six flags over here is fasen...

[Frank Zieglar]

Does that make you lucky or unlucky?

That's cool that you went from Kamans to Fasens - now you get to learn an entirely different way to caricature. Although I don't really mean different - just not the same.

Which SF are you guys at? You're in GA - so it must be Atlanta?

[craig]

I've seen in a few previous threads, the mention of amusment park companies " teaching" their employees how to draw caricatures, or rather their own formula.. I'd be real interested to know all about this as my attempts at live work so far suck! I know the practice, practice, practice method, but I'm a lazy sod that gets frustrated if I don't see quick results, any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

C ;D

[Frank Zieglar]

Craig - my experience with Kamans wasn't so much as 'How To Draw Caricatures'. It was IMO, more like 'How To Use These Tools'.

1) All my life I had drawn on A4 size paper - now I had to draw BIGGER on 12 x 16.
2) All my life I used a pencil and eraser - now I had to learn to draw straight from the marker.
3) All my life I had done little coloring - now I had to learn to use artstix.
4) All my life I had drawn freely on a table spinning the paper to help me get the angles/lines I wanted - now I had to draw upright on an easle with the paper clamped down.

Like I said very little of it was draw this way or that way. Draw eyes like this or mouth number 1 looks like this. They did suggest on an individual basis what each person should do to get it looking more like a caricature. For instace I've always cartoon and always drew circle eyes, noses, and mouths - like in the dailys. Now I had to really draw eyes, noses, and mouths.

My experience with Kamans was that didn't really teach me to draw their way, but with the way that I already drew and with what I was being shown - I just fell right into the 'theme park' style pretty easily. This is what happens to most park artist IMO. It's not that they don't have or want their own style but when you get six guys who were trained by the same guy and those six guys draw next to each other all day - they pick stuff up from each other. Then those guys get promotions and go to different parks and train more guys and so on and so on. Next thing you know the 99% of the guys draw like the original trainer (Dino Casterline). the other 1% manage to stay unique. Then some of those guys quit and open their own stand and train more guys and do parties. The next thing you know you can spot somebody who trained in a theme park or their trainer did. They (we) have so many similarties it's easy to spot and yet...

We each remain unique as we grow and learn.

Fasens, I believe, is much smaller than Kamans and so has not had as big an impact in caricatures, IMO. But I've been wrong before. At Fasens, as I understand it - they don't use markers or artstix. They use apparently from the posts above - china markers?!? They use pencils or someother type of graphite and airbrush for coloring. They use stumps for shading. None of this is anything I really KNOW how to do. I could fake it and make a non-artist think I knew what I was doing - but any body who knew how to use the materials would be snickering at me behind my back.

That's what I meant by learning a different way. But not really because Chris's style will still be recognizable probably - so that's what I meant by not really different.

Not everyones style is automatically transferable to different medium and Chris going from Kamans to Fasens might not make the change up real good OR he might take to it like a fish out of water.

[ScottG]

Yes its the same Scott...haha

I have to work at my other job every other weekend so I only come out there about twice a month..

The other company I work for is having a company day out there next Saturday so I will see you then...

[craig]

Thanks Frank, Thats real interesting.

I'm self studying facial anatomy at the moment, I think once I've got that sussed, the live work will (hopefully) slot into place.

C. ;D