Having been brought out of retirement for the fourth time, I have been trying to impart some of the drawing know how I have gathered in these past years. (I started at Mintz’s Cartoon studio on September 13, 1937). I have incorporated the weekly “handout” which I think works better than lectures. They allow me to more thoroughly express the salient points that come to mind. Also they do not interfere with the already too brief time we have to draw from the model. What’s more, they are “collectables” that, in the future, may be reviewed when the need arises.
These handouts allow me to delve deep into my experiences and observations and come up with something that may be of help to you. I have concentrated on gesture drawing because that is one of the foundations of good animation. Necessary to good gesture drawing are acting, caricature, anatomy, body language, perspective, etc., so from time to time these topics are isolated and discussed.
At times I even play the “guru” and deliver a sermon of a positive thinking nature. I approach the subject cautiously for I realize each person’s background is different and sometimes deeply meaningful in terms of lifestyle and psychological undergirding. But psychology there is, and it cannot and should not be ignored. Your mental and emotional processes are you.
Your mental and emotional processes are what motivates you and without motivation you would accomplish nothing. And without enthusiasm, motivation would atrophy before you could make a quick sketch. Your mind is like a projector — whatever you choose to put into it is what will be seen on the screen (the choice is yours and yours alone). The switch is motivation and the electricity (power) that keeps the whole show moving along is enthusiasm.
Wally “Famous” Amos; the chocolate chip cookie man, in his inspiring book, The Power in You said, “Enthusiasm is the mainspring of the mind which urges one to put knowledge into action.” In his book he put key thoughts into boxes (which reminds me of a jewel in a setting) like these on the next pages