How to Build Up Your Visual Library by Feng Zhu

[matt_3dtotal]

Digital art master Feng Zhu discusses how an artist can build up their visual library and how it can help them to achieve that elusive 'cool' factor in their work.

- VIEW HERE -

[astroAJ]

wow that was a brilliant tutorial

Highly recommend ppl watch it, it wasn’t what I expected.

[rocneasta]

well i saw this only because AstroAJ said it's briliant

however i have a few things to say, not trying to offend anyone's efforts or opinions

the entire research/tutorial is based on students or art - therefore these are all talented people by default - hardly a person with a highly developed "math" brain will enrol in such a college. What i'm trying to say is that the student B might have a lower visual library, but is talented nevertheless.

Everything said afterwards goes to further emphasise his theory but only affects people with that "gift" that can actually take their idea and turn it into a drawing that looks like something.

Growing up with a designer as a father i was tough to draw only one line to make a form, not few lines until i can get it right. I used more of a ruler than anyone and i even remember drawing a human face with a ruler in school - getting those anatomical proportions just right After i drew something i underwent reconstructing the drawing with straight lines and circles until i could get the curvature right with their combination.

As to things said i did travel all over Europe, read more book than i can remember, love museums as opposed to pubs, i grew up with nature channels and it's my main motive when i take my camera out for a day.

Point is i still can't draw - hence i use tools where technical knowledge sometimes does it's own magic

I do believe it's all in training, if i took that pencil and hard paper that i used for a week in order to make a drawing portfolio to enter my college, and used it every day for a certain period of months/years i would progress. With researching an idea, developing it by drawing different versions, concepts etc.

Louvre is great, especially when you get to see art in real scale, The Seated Scribe for instance amazed me with it's scale, cause i thought he was huge, while in fact he is well small

Any kind of experience is immensely important in life, travelling is one of those experiences that sticks with you, people, culture, way of life, architecture etc. But if you don't practise art and draw conclusions from things that occur in life - nothing will happen, visual library or not.

**sry for such a long reply**

[astroAJ]

I think that being able to draw is irrelevant to what Feng Zhu is talking about all he is saying is that students who have been exposed to the world and had their imaginations developed early on will be more successful designers at an early age, this doesn’t however mean that others can’t catch up by practice and exposure to the world.

I'm currently studying a general multimedia design course at uni and in the city I live in 3D isn't really taught and hardly anyone is any good at it. Thus the uni will let anyone and everyone study it and in my experiences with friends its quite easy to distinguish between student A&B.

At the end of the day it really comes down to practice and exploring the world around you. I can draw "ok" and have always had a strong interest in geography, biology and landscapes since a young age and I think that’s has helped me get ahead of my class mates as well as use this skills with 3D.

I interpret this video more as an opportunity to reflect and improve on areas of design that I am weak in.