After browsing through DA, especially the "traditional art" section, I have come across a lot of comments that make statements such as "You are a good artist, but the drawing does not look real because there is no shading or depth." Statements like these bother me because (1)perhaps the artist was not going for full replication of the real (2)the piece may be a form and composition study rather than a color and light study (3) Realism may not be the artist's main style and (4)perhaps the person just hasn't yet mastered the medium or the technique. This last one is of particular concern to me, as I have ruined plenty of good drawings with poor coloring--in other words, a piece that looks very real in black and white or line form, turns out to look one-dimensional when color is applied.

Unfortunately as a photographer trying to cross over to pencil and paper, I graple with this daily. I want to reproduce things as I see them, but lack the skill to do so. Of course, I could just as easily pick up my camera, find a few items, arrange them, snap the picture and poof, instant gratification (well, not really), but that defeats the purpose of trying to learn a new artform.

So I am curious as to which style of traditional art you prefer--you may comment in the poll's comment box or in this journal. Since everyone has a different interpretation of these terms, I have explained them below the way I understand them.

Full Realism
The drawing is not stylized at all. Lighting and depth are reproduced as they would be in a photograph, e.g. graphite portraits. Essentially, what you see in reality is what you get in the drawing.

Quasi-Realism
This style is often employed in more "advanced" American animated films, such as "The Lion King" (the backgrounds appeared realistic, but the characters were obviously stylized)or the 80's Saturday Morning cartoon "The Real Ghostbusters" where the characters were drawn with proper anatomical proportions, though the coloring was more suited to a cartoon. In the words of one of the animators, "It was like drawing a portrait of the same person twenty times."

Simple or Minimalistic
The objects or persons are drawn as they appear in empirical reality, however, the coloring and shading are kept to a minimum.

Cartoon or Caricature
Self explanatory, though not to be confused with quasi-realism as I outlined it above.

Stylized or Abstract
Self Explanatory.


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