This week's question comes from Vijay S., 14, Toronto, Canada. He asks:
"Do you think certain people are born natural artists? Or do you think anybody can draw awesomer with practice?"
Thank you for your question, Vijay.
Yes, it is a fascinating, ongoing debate among those with no lives. Just for you, I set out on my path to discover the true answer, whether or not "awesomer" is a learnable trait. Personally, I believe almost all of us are born with the inherent ability to draw.
From the early cave paintings to the hieroglyphs in Egypt, there is evidence showing that man has always had a fascination with creating. And as with anything, we have the need to perfect everything we do. So it only stands to reason that throughout the history of humankind, throughout generation to generation and culture to culture, we've spent our entire existence on Earth trying to discover the secrets of true beauty in art and form.
So what is it that makes certain art... awesomer than others? Does it have to do with composition? Aesthetics? Color? "Overlay" blend mode?
The correct answer is none of the above.
It's actually very simple. Think of it this way:
If you want to make food saltier, what do you add? Salt.
So, if you want to make a drawing awesomer, what do you add? You add awesome.
How to Draw Awesomer
I'm going to paint a portrait of a woman for my tutorial example.
Step 1. As with a lot of drawing tutorials, I start off my figure by drawing the basic skeleton for the woman. I draw in an oval shape for the head, with a line to indicate her spine drawn out from the woman's neck area. I then mark off where the shoulders will be, and include the woman's hands into the image. I now have my basic composition ready.
Step 2. The next step is to start fleshing out the figure. Using thin sausage shapes, I add in the woman's bicep and forearms. Then I start to outline around the figure, giving me the general shape of the woman.
Step 3. Fairly simple so far? I thought so. Now that we have the outline for the figure drawn, it was time to color the woman. I began painting over the woman using a skin tone, following my guidelines.
Here's the important part.
Step 4. This is the final step, the step where people often deviate. A lot of people choose to add crap to their image at this point. But I find you get a much nicer image if you decide to add awesome. And anyone can do it! Simply add awesome where there wasn't any. I went back to my partially colored example figure and proceeded to add awesome to the image. And after adding about a 67% dosage of awesome, I decided my image was complete. Feel free to add your own desired level of awesome. (Tip: The more awesome you add, the awesomer your image will become.)
There you have it, a simple way for anyone to make their art awesomer.
Had this secret been known earlier, the landscape of art may be completely different today.
For example, nobody knows why Picasso was heralded as an art genius. In this example by Picasso ("Tete de Femme of Dora Maar"), we can see many glaring flaws apparently not noticeable to the easily impressed art public of the 1930s.
Examples:
A) Picasso uses two completely different perspectives for the woman's eyes. (Human eyes don't do that. Feel free to check a mirror to confirm.)
B) Picasso lazily draws a figure eight for the woman's nasal cavities.
C) Apparently, this was supposed to be the woman's hand.
It's disheartening that such an amateur can be as successful in the art world as he was with his skills (or lack thereof). It's even more sad to realize that his weakness in drawing humans could have simply been remedied by adding more awesome where the awesome was lacking. If only I were around back then to teach him the ways.
Here's a rendition of the painting, had Picasso decided to add more awesome.
Picasso's original "Tete de Femme of Dora Maar" portrait was estimated worth 13-17 million dollars. To think how much more it could have been worth today for his estate had he decided to be a little more generous with the awesome during his time, boggles the mind.
Of course, we here at Aviary are on the ball when it comes to innovation, as an "Add Awesome" filter is already in the works for Aviary's image editor, Phoenix.
Here's a demonstration of the filter in action.
And there you have it, how to draw awesomer.
It's so simple it boggles the mind that the secret wasn't discovered earlier. To think that all the wasted generations of crappy art didn't have to be so. But no time to dwell on our losses now! Onward with your new found knowledge and spread awesome art throughout the world!
Meowza Katz is the Artist in Residence at Aviary, Inc, makers of the most awesomestest suite of design tools available in your browser. Before joining Aviary, he had no skill whatsoever and used to rent out his hands for second-graders to make Thanksgiving hand-turkeys. Then he discovered Aviary and became awesome. (It's all in the tools, baby.)
You can preorder his new tutorials book on Amazon.com and check out some of his more helpful Aviary tutorials online.
Have an art query or image you want to discuss? Feel free to drop him a line.
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Posted by jhwdesigns on 2008-11-10 20:24:56
WOW! and it's just that easy! You can bet I'll be adding this handy tip to every piece I do from now on!!! Thanks MK.
Posted by still laughing on 2008-11-10 21:51:03
LOL its just that easy no need for explanation you just added some awsome ness and you have a masterpiece Lmao
Posted by Laughing @ Still Laughing on 2008-11-10 22:44:20
" A lot of people choose to add crap to their image at this point. But I find you get a much nicer image if you decide to add awesome. " Define "crap" and "awesome". Please...
Whatever this "awesomeness" is I wonder if it comes available in a can to sprinkle on everything that sucks....
Posted by Ted Roo on 2008-11-10 23:26:59
You look like you did it with a special thing! I like the way your special thing works! If i had a special thing like yours i would like it more than the sun in my socks! Hah!
Posted by on 2008-11-11 05:10:47
love the tut, …:) well cool, ill send over my crap and you do the awesome :)
Posted by Xavi on 2008-11-11 06:11:29
hm.. picasso does that with the eyes not for lacking of skills, but because he wanted. look to the hair and you'll see this is a two faces woman (like that guy on Batman eheh). by the way, the problem is to pass from step 3 to 4. how can i draw that awsome woman with those lines so well delined?
Posted by icepigs on 2008-11-11 08:20:21
Unfortunately for me, someone removed my "awesome" plug-in. (or it was never installed). I wonder if Aviary will include the "awesome" plug-in when Penguin goes on line......
Posted by Avi Muchnick on 2008-11-11 09:31:35
Xavi, was it really not obvious that this article was a joke?
Posted by MadMonkey on 2008-11-11 11:23:40
My awesome filter refuses to work for me. I keep getting error messages saying "Some crap just can't be made into awesome. You're out of luck dude."
Sucks to be me.
Great work and hilarious as usual!
Posted by Yolanda on 2008-11-11 12:40:43
Where can I download the awesome filter? Is it expensive? Does it work with various apps or only photoshop? I've got some very good crap but boy I could sure use that awesomeness!
Posted by Snowcrash on 2008-11-11 13:46:24
This is fine, but the Awesome Filter is disallowed in most Worth1000 competitions. :(
Posted by hickchick33 on 2008-11-11 14:56:47
Thanks! Now I have to go back and add awesome to all my old drawlings!
Posted by Dan on 2008-11-11 15:43:25
This concept could essentially be expanded into everything. I know that if you ever decide to write the book, "Adding Awesome to Every Aspect of Life" I will preorder a copy and be at the initial book signing.
Posted by PS User on 2008-11-11 16:16:21
I'm a Phothshop user, will it be published as a Plugin for CS3?
Posted by Caroline on 2008-11-11 17:05:12
Oh, haha! You're so funny! Would be beneath you to actually draw or paint, NOT in Photoshop!? XD!
And that Picasso fellow, wasn't he way off?? ;)
But I like your humour, so I'm bookmarking you.
I suggest the next victim of a makeover = Vincen van Gogh?
Posted by Exaspera on 2008-11-11 19:20:34
I don't think that my old computer has enough RAM for that filter. :(
Posted by mervo on 2008-11-11 23:40:53
Picasso became bored with realism. Had you seen ever seen his self-portrait in bed, a concerned doctor looking at young Picasso and the candle flickering at the bedside, you would not publish such pure ignorance. He painted one such photo-realist painting in his life. Picasso was the most original and technically proficient artist of the 20th century. I need say nothing about your "art." Your words truly indicate your level of artistic intelligence and your lack of teaching skills are self-evident. Back to the drawing board junior. You are still a student, NOT a teacher.
Posted by Hemlock on 2008-11-12 01:30:47
I lost my Star Wars Jawa action figure like 17 years ago. I really liked it. Can I use this awsomeosity to find it again?
Also, I have a really bad totally un-awsome toothache. I really don't like it. Can the proper application of this way-awsomeness make my really bad totally un-awsome toothache better so that my tooth would be then, un-un-awsome?
I would be happy to place an order and pay just about anything for this new awsome if it's conducive to other things than just art and stuff. I'd like to totally awsome-fy my life, y'know?
Are Sea Monkeys edible? Because that would be awsome, too. Just saying, is all.
Posted by Sajid Iqbal on 2008-11-12 03:54:57
This is awesome but newbies cant learn this way I guess. It is really hard for me to draw such things.
Posted by shanethemainman on 2008-11-12 06:11:02
sorry can someone post a link to the awesomeness filter i looked and cant find it... sorry for being a noob...
Posted by Pendragon on 2008-11-12 10:39:48
Just wondering... can I use this to make my text entries on Worth1000 awesomer?
Posted by Jesus on 2008-11-12 13:10:13
DAMN! WHY DONT MY CS4 HAVE THIS AWESOME FILTER :( mE SO ANGWY!
Posted by Adrian on 2008-11-12 16:43:01
Wow.... yeah, I'm working on beingable to paint that well lol. What kind of medium did you use for that one of the woman with lace gloves?
Posted by Elrod on 2008-11-12 20:38:31
I honestly cannot tell if mervo was joking or not. And actually, I heard that a painter (might've been Picasso, I'm not sure) stumbled upon the secrets of simply adding awesome to his paintings, but died of overexposure after his very first go with the new technique. Apparently it helps to ease yourself into the process.
Posted by 1020Rocker on 2008-11-12 22:25:19
OMG This is AWESOME!!! Obviously! Thanks so much Meowza! I never knew it was so easy! "B) Picasso lazily draws a figure eight for the woman's nasal cavities." HA!!!! Love it!
Posted by Grow Up on 2008-11-13 14:14:10
You really should stick to watching daytime soaps because that's about what your opinion is worth. Perhaps if you had studied some of Picasso's or other real pieces of art you might have actually learned something. There's a progression in artist's work and any real artist will end up exploring all the ranges of work from high realism to the abstract.
Posted by JonJonLeprechaun on 2008-11-19 08:30:13
bwhahaha omg yer so full of crap LOL.. miss me? :P
Posted by makri on 2008-11-19 17:55:45
I find the outrage by the hordes of Picasso fanboys with no sense of humour quite amusing.
Posted by nope on 2008-11-20 11:27:17
I love all the stupid people who post "Nice try junior, get back to the drawing board" and "Picasso was a master, you're dumb". Are you really that dried up, dead, and void inside of anything resembling a sense of humor that you cannot see that this is obviously a joke? Jesus christ go F*** yourselves. ============================================================= Oh and for the record: Picasso's early work = decent. Picasso's later work = suck. Why? Because abstract art blows. Abstract = No Talent. Anyone can do abstract art and throw paint on a wall, but it takes a real artist to craft an image out of it that shows off his / her talent and conveys something to the viewer. Just because abstract art is a different "avenue to explore" doesn't mean its a good one. "Sure, I can drive downtown to 5th street, because, HEY! its another street to try". But ya know, I would most likely get shot. Its really funny because its seems to me that the people who defend abstract art, or Picasso in this case, are truly horrible artists who are trying to justify their shortcomings as an artist. Yay! Now start all the Baw comments!
Posted by jb701926 on 2008-11-22 19:56:04
Lol, nice vid. I wish I had an awesome filter... And a crap filter, that would be cool too! Haha
Posted by ????? on 2008-12-17 12:22:34
Interesting blog and creative writing.Keep up the good work.
Posted by zoey on 2009-01-21 08:34:17
oh thats nice.
piccaso sucks ballls
il check s'more of ur wonderful webite.
thanks lil nukes.
Posted by Jane Church on 2009-03-03 03:12:44
Wow, I never knew that How to Draw Awesomer. That’s pretty interesting...
Posted by Berthold on 2009-10-13 07:17:47
I totally agree that most of what Picasso painted was definitely lacking in the awesome department. Personally, I can't see why he is supposed to be the best thing since before sliced bread. According to the book I'm working with - Drawing on the right side of the brain - most of us are born with plenty of awesome, but don't get trained to use it. Apparently it's some use it or lose it deal, which is pretty s**tty. There is a way to rediscover the awesome though, and I've really made a bunch of progress just by drawing upside down. The awesome is in your right hemisphere people! Use it!
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Posted by Lea Morrow on 2008-11-10 20:04:49
Love your cheekiness Meowza! Awesome as usual!