Old is New

 

I'm sure you've noticed the current design trend leaning towards the retro theme of the 40s, 50s & 60s.  Fast food and family style restaurants, insurance commercials, car advertisements, you name it; you'll see that old is new again. I am a big fan of retro design and like to use this style whenever possible. How do you like it?

Some cool retro font sites to get you started on a retro-istic journey:

The Font Diner

Lost Type

Sign Fonts.com

Give this style a try if you already haven't. Illustrators and artists: put some of this type into your artwork for a different twist. You may have some clients that like this and will appreciate an option from your usual art style. Let me know what you think, and keep it retro, dude!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

More Life Drawing

 

Keep going to your life drawing sessions.  Life drawing not only helps you practice seeing values, but helps you remember anatomy correctly when sketching from memory. This becomes invaluable when commissioned to illustrate a figure with a unique or unusual pose.

 

Some courtesy tips when attending open studio/life drawing sessions:

• Turn your cell phone off or keep it on vibrate. Disrupting other artists while they are concentrating will make you lose popularity points.
• Don't go around critiquing the other artists. Nobody asked you to. Plus you might get your ass kicked.
• It's ok to strike up conversations with a neighbor, but only do it during breaks.
• It's usually a no-no to take pictures of the undraped model without permission. If you really want to take a snapshot for future reference, be sure to ask the model first and even offer him/her a few bucks for doing so. Cash has an unusual power of persuasion.

 

Well, I hope this little blog will encourage you to go out and do some life sketches. Grab your charcoal and/or pencils and get to it, son!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration