49 - Lessons in Visual Storytelling
Hello. This week I’m sharing lessons in visual storytelling from a Satyajit Ray movie, and some recent art.
Faces for India
I started the Faces for India project with the idea of drawing 100 portraits to raise money for COVID relief in India. But just as I reached the 100 mark, the project was featured on local Vancouver news and radio. There was such an outpouring of support and enthusiasm from the Vancouver community that I decided to offer more and more spots.
My humble project has raised over $10000 in aid of vulnerable populations in India. And I have decided to close at 225 portraits. Of this, there are 10 spots left to be claimed. If you’ve been waiting for a chance to grab a portrait, visit here to contribute!
Below are some recent portraits I enjoyed drawing.
I write about these drawings on my website. I think about each person I draw. It is such an incredible opportunity, to connect with so many souls around the world. Every portrait is an invitation to be part of another life, to help memorialize a special moment or person in another life. It is a privilege and a responsibility. Click to continue reading…
The portrait above is for a colleague in a writing group. She writes the most wonderful weekly newsletter - Womaning in India. I highly recommend you check it out. I was delighted to draw this family portrait for Mahima in exchange for her support.
Here’s a video of the drawing!
Ep 19 - Building Platforms with Teoh Yi Chie
Did you hear the latest episode of the SneakyArt Podcast?
Last week, I shared Episode 19 of the Podcast, where I speak with the wonderful and prolific Teoh Yi Chie. We talk about his artistic inclinations, what brought him to urban sketching, and the different ways he communicates with his vast audience on YouTube and Instagram.
This conversation is for you if you’re an independent content creator on the internet, if you’re looking for ways to learn to draw or paint, and if you’re generally curious about what is known as the “creator economy”.
Visit here to listen to our conversation!
Lessons in Visual Storytelling
After Satyajit Ray’s 1966 classic, Nayak, my next watch became Ganashatru (or, Enemy of the People).
This was an interesting movie for a couple of reasons -
The plot is driven by conversation and dialogue
The entire movie is shot in 3 indoor sets - a living room, a newspaper office, and a town-hall.
Restricted set design makes for interesting visual storytelling. How do you use it to convey the various intangibles around a scene? What can it say about power equations between people? Can it be used to identify protagonists and antagonists? Can symbolism help us empathize with a subject?
Among other things, I discovered that great filmmakers will always reward you for deep attention. On my blog, I attempt to deconstruct what I learned, and share the reward I got for my attention.
Drawing scenes from movies has helped me before to internalize lessons in scene composition, color theory, and perspective. In this case, I learned something about visual storytelling.
And also here is my previous piece about Nayak.
SneakyArt
I went down to the sea-wall to find some tiny people.
To see stories and read descriptions, visit my Instagram.
People Drawing Workshop
I have some spots left on my people-drawing workshop for 27th June. This is a 2 hour Zoom-workshop NOT suited for complete beginners. It is intended for people who draw or otherwise doodle, and have difficulty with human figures or with composition centred around human activity. We draw together almost the entire length of the workshop, while I bombard you with my best tips, tricks, hacks and techniques.
If that’s interesting, consider signing up here.
Facebook Group
If you enjoy the SneakyArt Podcast, don’t forget to join our private Facebook group. Here we discuss latest episodes, and I run polls and share ideas about my future plans.
I received an endearing message from a listener/supporter this week. If you enjoy my work and would like to support it, visit my BuyMeACoffee page to do so.
Busy week ahead for me, and a wonderful episode to share next week. Thank you for your time and attention. See you then!