The Drawing Codex Newsletter

Weekly Art Tips, Advice, And Theory To Help You On Your Artistic Journey!

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Greetings Artisan! Character design can feel like navigating a labyrinth, a maze of silhouettes, shape language, archetypes, stereotypes—it’s easy to get lost with all of the advice. There is actually a lot of great advice out there. But some of it is poorly labelled. I remember when I first d...

by Tim Mcburnie — Nov 10, 2024 characterdesign

Artists and Styles that Changed the World…

Greetings Artisan! Is it dangerous to stick your neck out and create something new? Something fresh? Something no one has seen before? Stupid question... right? Or is it? We often look back at when people took everything to the next level... with warmth, with affection, with perfect 20/20 hind...

by timmcburnie — Oct 30, 2024 artstyle design worldbuilding

Easily Defeat The Blank Page With This...

Greetings Artisan! One of the dreams we have as artists is being able to spontaneously create. To sit down in our perfect creative space, crack open a blank page, stare lovingly into the infinite of creation, and effortlessly create a masterpiece. But this is not how it always goes. Often, w...

by Tim Mcburnie — Oct 16, 2024 like list motivation sketching what do i draw

When I Started Learning Perspective, I Didn't Expect This...

Greetings Artisan! Why does learning to draw have to be so hard!?! Personally learning perspective was one of the hardest challenges I faced with my own art. But not for the reasons I first thought! If you have been trying to improve your Drawing or Illustration, you have no doubt struggled wi...

by Tim Mcburnie — Sep 30, 2024 foundation perspective

Can Messy Ugly Sketching Actually Help Your Art?

Greetings Artisan! Getting the right mix of gesture and life in your drawings is a challenge! But it's even trickier when we have to combine life and fluidity with structure and form. Often when we start our art journey, our art is messy. It lacks detail, it lacks… pretty much everything! Th...

Sep 21, 2024 comics sketching

The Creative Process Was A Struggle Until I Figured This Out...

Greetings Artisan! Ok let’s go down the rabbit hole! What do Akira Toriyama, AI Hype, and Drawing Consistent Character’s have to do with each other? Not much really. Except I talk about all of them in my latest Art Ritual video! You can check it out here: One of the things...

by Tim Mcburnie — Sep 12, 2024 art process

Should You Draw Your Comics Fast or Slow...

Greetings Artisan! There are so many cool art styles in the world! Especially when it comes to comics! And it's not just that they are different… it’s the striking ways that they can be different. It boggles the mind. Especially when you are trying to figure out what style you want to go wit...

by Tim Mcburnie — Sep 04, 2024 comics manga style

Refine Your Style: Follow The Breadcrumbs

Greetings Artisan! Who watches the Watchmen? Who influenced your influences? OK, so I want to continue discussing art style… as I think there are so many ways it affects us as artists. We all want to develop a style that allows us to express ourselves fully. It can be extremely frustrating t...

by Tim Mcburnie — Aug 27, 2024 art style comicbooks drawing illustration

These Painful Art Style Mistakes Taught Me A Lot

Greetings, Artisan! Is there such a thing as a 'mistake' when it comes to art style? Can you really mess anything up? Or is it just a matter of slowly but surely making your way to the promised land of 'your style'? Let’s take a closer look… I can share some of my personal experience with ...

Aug 19, 2024

Finding Your Art Style

Greetings Artisan! Finding your style as an artist is one of the most challenging parts of the journey. It's easy to see style in artists we admire. But there are often a seemingly infinite number of options. A kaleidoscope of artistic possibilities… We have access to so many different so...

Aug 09, 2024