Tip 1: From a Professional Artist to the Aspiring Teen Artist.

Artist Lesogo Forster: Co-founder Hidden Hand Studios

Art Links: http://hiddenhand.co.za/

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"I am a former lecturer at The Animation School and Wits.

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I recently became the first South African Goblins Graduate and I want to see more young African artists travel to train and return with the skills to better the South African and African animation and film industries.

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My current main goals include teaching and directing in the company I co-founded, The Hidden Hand Studios.

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LIVE

"Animation has been defined as the The Illusion of Life. How do you expect to portray life when you do not live it? So as important as it is to draw consistently, it's equally as important to put the pencil and sketchpad away and just read or go outside with friends and do some activities.

You need a healthy balance."

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READ:

"Read…...read everything. It doesn't do you much good to draw unless you have something to draw. And the only place you can get something to draw is from outta that head. And the only way you can exercise the mind is by bringing new ideas to it and keeping it constantly surprised."

- Chuck Jones

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"I have often found that the things which inspire me the most have been stories I've read or heard. Yet, I do not become a machine of reproduction; I just take the idea and play with it.

As young African artists, you have a pool, virtually untouched by the world, which you can draw from. Use it.

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Make Drawing A Habit

"Drawing is where all that observation and all those ideas will come together.

So don't skip it. I know you have heard MAKE DRAWING this many times but YOU NEED TO TAKE A SKETCH PAD WITH YOU EVERYWHERE!

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Start with a small one at first so you don't stand out that much by making big strokes with your pen in public. Take a drawing tool which is dark and soft, you need to be bold when drawing from life, you are teaching your brain and hand to communicate.

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Also, you're not trying to make pretty pictures; you're studying how things and people actually look. They will become pretty later.

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Know Your Anatomy 

"No! I don't mean know how to draw humans but, this simple revelation changed the way I thought of drawing forever and I'm still re-discovering possibilities today. Wanna know the secret?

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Well...here it is. You have a: Shoulder, Elbow and Wrist. All of these joints work differently.

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The gestures, lines and arcs they make vary vastly. So be aware of this, research drawing techniques and play with them on different sizes of paper with different drawing tools.You'll find that you will understand the technical aspect of drawing a bit better. Eventually, with enough practice, you will begin to draw like a sculptor, conscious of volumes and space. "

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Fail Your Way To Success

"Remember to constantly challenge yourself. The area outside of your comfort zone is where all the magic happens. Wink! "

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