Building Your Foundation for a Future in Illustration

Dear Friends,

Last week’s post I have since removed from this blog. The post was badly worded, poorly thought out, and hastily written. And, unfortunately, it completely missed the point I intended to make. It also created a discussion completely off of my intended subject, and one that I had no interest in debating or pursuing further. I appreciate all who dropped in to read the blog and those who took the time to post some very thought-provoking comments.  I apologize to all those who took offense, and for those who missed it, let’s move on to more creative topics. (Dave waves his hand in the air cryptically and says in a low voice, “These are not the words you are looking for. Move on…”)

Next Topic: Maximizing Your Success By Learning Illustration Basics

When I was 19 and just learning my craft, one of the main things I  did was to draw…all of the time. I would sketch in bed, sketch at breakfast, practice at the drawing table, at work on break, and after dinner in front of the TV.  I had set a goal for myself to become the best illustrator I could, and  I knew I needed to work at my craft and invest as much time and work as humanly possible.

Dave Dorman Student Sketches, Circa 1979

Most artists have sketchbooks filled with the work product to prove it. Oddly enough, I have very few “sketchbooks” from that time in my life. The bound drawing paper-style sketchbook was way too restricting for me. It never laid flat, it was usually not good paper–at least not the sketchbooks I could afford as a student and military kid— and I could only review one to two open pages at a time.

Dave Dorman Student Sketch Sample #2

My solution? I discovered it was better for me to purchase packages of 5″x7″ blank index cards and use those for my work sketches. The paper was good and stiffer than sketchbook paper. It held up well for pencil, ink and watercolor. Buying a 500-sheet package was way cheaper than buying a 500-sheet sketchbook. If I was working on a series of images or thoughts, I could do them individually and lay them out like panels in front of me rather than flipping pages in a book.

Dave Dorman Student Sketches #3

As a student,  I produced literally thousands of these little sketch cards. I used them to

• Rough out ideas
• Work on form and structure
• Copy other artists to see how they worked out anatomy, body structure, and the dynamic figure.

This was my ongoing training daily, practicing my craft. Without this groundwork, I could not and would not be the artist I am today. For all of you students and up-and-coming illustrators, I believe the work you put into learning the basics will pay off enormously as you build your career. There is no magic or shortcut to it. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers summarizes it in two words: 10,000 hours. I sat down one day and calculated how many hours I would have put int before I reached my first professional sale. 10,000 hours seemed about right.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

My First Ever Dave Dorman Sketchbook Available Now

Dear Friends,

San Diego Comic Con 2011 is coming up quickly and this year, I decided to do my first-ever Dave Dorman Limited Edition Sketchbook! My new Sketchbook is packed with finished pencil art from some of my more famous paintings, some preliminaries for paintings I am working now in my studio, and certainly some of my fans’ favorite characters.

Here are the details:

First Issue Edition. This has been LIMITED to 250 copies. I will NOT be reprinting this book.

• 24 pages with black and white interiors and card stock duotone covers.
• Many of your favorite characters, including Batman, Captain America, Darth Vader… and a special first-ever preview of the preliminaries from my new CAPTAIN NEMO Triptych.
• Each sketchbook is signed by me, Dave Dorman.
• All orders made by Monday, July 18th, 2011 will be sent before the start of SDCC.
• Price is $10.00 and if you order online, shipping is $5.00. If you order more than one, I will deduct all postage over the initial $5.00 shipping.
• This is a PAYPAL only sale. If you cannot pay via PAYPAL , please do not buy.
• This is the perfect opportunity for those of you unable to attend SDCC this year to have this Dave Dorman Exclusive, One-of-a-Kind, Limited Edition Sketchbook. Due to the small print run of the book, I cannot guarantee I will have any copies after the show. I know a lot of my fans are unable to make the show this year, so please order your Dave Dorman Limited Edition Sketchbook ASAP!

Order now – here’s your link:

http://www.davedorman.com/sketchbook2011.shtml

If you are attending SDCC, I will be set up in Booth 4500, in your convention book under the name “Dave Dorman,” in an end cap booth near Door G. Please come by and say “Hello!” I will be doing autograph signings for Archaia and possibly Dark Horse, but keep checking back on my blog for updates and accurate information.

As always, I thank you for your interest in and support of my work!!

Dave.

P.S. For media inquiries, please contact my Public Relations Firm WriteBrain Media – Email is denise@writebrainmedia.com

P.P.S. Follow me on Facebook.com/davedorman, Twitter.com/davedorman (Twitter hashtag is #DaveDorman) and I am an open networker on Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman