I agree with you that attaining a good level of drawing skill requires Work, Exercise, and a kind of Obsession. (There's also the aspect of getting over our fear of failure - fear of drawing badly.) But there's one aspect that can't be aquired by obsessive work & exercise: Taste. R Crumb has an instinctual appreciation for beautiful line work. No matter how imperfectly he draws something, it always contains his good taste. His lines may wobble, his proportions may bulge or skew. But the results are always appealing and enjoyable. (Of course I'm talking about his lines, not his subject matter.) So for us aspiring drawers: while we diligently practice, we also need to make sure to express our personal sense of what is beautiful.
Great review, earl gray! Those hefty books look very interesting and with a reasonable price tag, The limited slipcase edition, unfortunately is another beast all together.
the slipcase book from Zweitausendeins is not so different from the rest... or actually: it IS the same material, reproduced in the same way as in the old Zweitausendeins-softcovers, only hardcover and sewn binding. But they got rare and therefore pricey over the decades... but I don't think that they can keep these outrageous price tags since they have to compete now with the books from Taschen which are not less beautiful.
The option to use a wider margin really doesn’t make sense since tese drawings were all, i believe, made in sketchbooks originally with no concern about page limits. It would interesting to known how far they were resized, either up of down....
exactly what I was thinking... I believe the reproductions in the older books were about the original format & you can tell that they haven't shifted the drawings to the middle to give them a wider margin/frame and make them "look nicer" ... but Taschen did...anyway, one mistake doesn't make the new books bad, because otherwise they're awesome.
I do have sketchbooks... actually they are more diaries or "containers" for everything that strikes and interests me at a time: drawings, newspaperarticles, quotes, private stuff... and the latter is sth I want to keep private, so it would be difficult to make a video about it (but hey, I managed to make a video about Crumb's sketchbooks with almost no nudity in it... so....)
I have old tomes of doodles and private notes like that...but heavier on the diary and skimpy on the sketches... Thanks, by the way, for keeping it "clean" as I watched at work...
just recently passed on the zweitausendeins releases (decent offer on ebay but someone happened to be faster than me) - if you're still on the fence, I'd buy these for an affordable price. Though I have to admit, the alternative looks tempting, I only knew of those insanely expensive limited books taschen put out. But the new editions are reasonably priced!
oh yes, I just realized that there was a Taschen release before... but that sounds really like a total rip-off. Each volume with a "signed color art print of a Crumb original" lol... he signed some reproduction, big deal! What did the guy get for his 2001-books eventually? But in regards whether I sell them or not: I'll wait until I have all the new 6 Tachen books & then I decide if I want to keep the old books (since they contain drawings that are not in the new one and vice versa)
Hey earl I live in San Diego county a very populouse county even in the late fifties when he was there. So he lived inside a majors metropolitan area during part of his youth, Oceanside had more then 60,000 its 180,000 now for several years in his childhood and It's a beach town suburb even when he lived there, however I think did live in some country towns becouse Crumb's moved to several different states during his youth.
absolutely... in my teenage years he was a bit of a shrink for me, much better than these old adviser-guys in teenage magazines... my head was boiling with all the uptightness and psycho-ness that's typical for that age (even though I wasn't aware of the fact that I'm not the only one in that situation) .... and then there was this dude, openly showing his messed up fantasies. It was an invaluable relief to see someone being more messed up in the brain than me (and getting away with it)
thinking of it... didn't you mention that you are working at schools as some kind of social mentor or sth? Have you recommended a comic or sth comic related to the kids... maybe to keep them distracted, put sth into perspective in order to help them???
wow, amazing the spine drawing! As if that most symbolizes what Crumb is about...I think that might be the one thing he expresses some regret about ...
... and it could have been done easily so much better, since he HAS different characters that could represent the different eras of his work: Fritz the cat on the spine of vol.1 (since it appears already in that one) & later on: Mr.Natural etc. and on the last one this fashion lady whose english name is escaping me right now, but who was pretty prominent in the later comics
Earl Grey my man! i'm waiting for my copy of R. Crumb: From the Underground to Genesis, Drawn Together (with Aline Crumb) and On the Crest of A Wave. great review, friend!
Woah, you *actually* live in a mansion :P Love the Taschen collections; their artbooks are always great quality. Check out the Jamie Hewlett one if you haven't already!
*Finally* , some non-cape content on your channel! ;) Just kidding, man; I appreciate and value *all* your content! Kind of jealous to see all these beautiful books...damn, though, the Angelfood McSpade spine drawing seems like a, uhm, miscalculation, if I'm being generous?! I mean, wtf, Taschen?! I'm not too much of a fan of his early sketches, it's because that vertical, downward hatching that he does in that period makes everything seem wet. You know, all moist.. Anyway have a like from me, man! Cheers!
Lmao! btw, do you have any of the S. Clay Wilson Zweitausendeins releases? I think he put out a couple of books from them, one of which was an illustrated book of Brothers Grimm fairy tales?!
You may learn from a better source than Crumb for crosshatching. For example I've learned from Dürer: a sketch instagram.com/p/Bf4k1wcgJ3c/ and another sketch (both from imagination, without even a model): instagram.com/p/BcvzC4tAaLP/
I hear you... and there are of course the etchings of Rembrandt & Co.... but Crumb's drawings have the advantage to depict stuff that many tend more to relate to...
earl grey yeah, it’s true, it’s cultural, I remember how his stuff in the early 90’s (when I first saw it) had this air of underground (unlike Dürer lol, Goya and Rembrandt are doing better in this respect :P ). I wish he did some comics with the quality of his sketches though: when he draws comics he makes limbs like “barbells” (both swallow sides face each other), instead of making the typical for any good artist “serpentine like “ bypassing of subtle arching forms. But then, this is probably a communication trick of cultivating this more trashy look of his comics. Cheers!
I agree with you that attaining a good level of drawing skill requires Work, Exercise, and a kind of Obsession. (There's also the aspect of getting over our fear of failure - fear of drawing badly.) But there's one aspect that can't be aquired by obsessive work & exercise: Taste. R Crumb has an instinctual appreciation for beautiful line work. No matter how imperfectly he draws something, it always contains his good taste. His lines may wobble, his proportions may bulge or skew. But the results are always appealing and enjoyable. (Of course I'm talking about his lines, not his subject matter.) So for us aspiring drawers: while we diligently practice, we also need to make sure to express our personal sense of what is beautiful.
Thanks for sharing. I love Crumb's work.
Awesome I can’t wait to get my copy- thank you
Great review, earl gray! Those hefty books look very interesting and with a reasonable price tag, The limited slipcase edition, unfortunately is another beast all together.
the slipcase book from Zweitausendeins is not so different from the rest... or actually: it IS the same material, reproduced in the same way as in the old Zweitausendeins-softcovers, only hardcover and sewn binding.
But they got rare and therefore pricey over the decades... but I don't think that they can keep these outrageous price tags since they have to compete now with the books from Taschen which are not less beautiful.
Always loved those organic lines. Also watch Crumb so that you can have a fine evening with the whole family.
So good! Thanks for sharing 😀
The option to use a wider margin really doesn’t make sense since tese drawings were all, i believe, made in sketchbooks originally with no concern about page limits. It would interesting to known how far they were resized, either up of down....
exactly what I was thinking... I believe the reproductions in the older books were about the original format & you can tell that they haven't shifted the drawings to the middle to give them a wider margin/frame and make them "look nicer" ... but Taschen did...anyway, one mistake doesn't make the new books bad, because otherwise they're awesome.
Very nice! Thanks
Are there sketches books of young Earl G hidden somewhere waiting to be revealed?
I do have sketchbooks... actually they are more diaries or "containers" for everything that strikes and interests me at a time: drawings, newspaperarticles, quotes, private stuff... and the latter is sth I want to keep private, so it would be difficult to make a video about it (but hey, I managed to make a video about Crumb's sketchbooks with almost no nudity in it... so....)
I have old tomes of doodles and private notes like that...but heavier on the diary and skimpy on the sketches...
Thanks, by the way, for keeping it "clean" as I watched at work...
just recently passed on the zweitausendeins releases (decent offer on ebay but someone happened to be faster than me) - if you're still on the fence, I'd buy these for an affordable price. Though I have to admit, the alternative looks tempting, I only knew of those insanely expensive limited books taschen put out. But the new editions are reasonably priced!
oh yes, I just realized that there was a Taschen release before... but that sounds really like a total rip-off. Each volume with a "signed color art print of a Crumb original" lol... he signed some reproduction, big deal!
What did the guy get for his 2001-books eventually? But in regards whether I sell them or not: I'll wait until I have all the new 6 Tachen books & then I decide if I want to keep the old books (since they contain drawings that are not in the new one and vice versa)
He ended up paying around 60 euros, not including the high shipping costs.
ah, that's definitely less than I would sell my copies for
Hey earl I live in San Diego county a very populouse county even in the late fifties when he was there. So he lived inside a majors metropolitan area during part of his youth, Oceanside had more then 60,000 its 180,000 now for several years in his childhood and It's a beach town suburb even when he lived there, however I think did live in some country towns becouse Crumb's moved to several different states during his youth.
Crumb. As fascinating a person as his art is.
absolutely... in my teenage years he was a bit of a shrink for me, much better than these old adviser-guys in teenage magazines... my head was boiling with all the uptightness and psycho-ness that's typical for that age (even though I wasn't aware of the fact that I'm not the only one in that situation) .... and then there was this dude, openly showing his messed up fantasies. It was an invaluable relief to see someone being more messed up in the brain than me (and getting away with it)
thinking of it... didn't you mention that you are working at schools as some kind of social mentor or sth? Have you recommended a comic or sth comic related to the kids... maybe to keep them distracted, put sth into perspective in order to help them???
wow, amazing the spine drawing! As if that most symbolizes what Crumb is about...I think that might be the one thing he expresses some regret about ...
... and it could have been done easily so much better, since he HAS different characters that could represent the different eras of his work: Fritz the cat on the spine of vol.1 (since it appears already in that one) & later on: Mr.Natural etc. and on the last one this fashion lady whose english name is escaping me right now, but who was pretty prominent in the later comics
I really don't understand what provoked them to put that on the spine.
Earl Grey my man! i'm waiting for my copy of R. Crumb: From the Underground to Genesis, Drawn Together (with Aline Crumb) and On the Crest of A Wave. great review, friend!
thanks... and ah, I love the comics that he did together with Aline
Woah, you *actually* live in a mansion :P Love the Taschen collections; their artbooks are always great quality. Check out the Jamie Hewlett one if you haven't already!
yupp, I've checked it out in the store... nice book... but I'm not fan enough (of Hewlett) for that one
*Finally* , some non-cape content on your channel! ;) Just kidding, man; I appreciate and value *all* your content! Kind of jealous to see all these beautiful books...damn, though, the Angelfood McSpade spine drawing seems like a, uhm, miscalculation, if I'm being generous?! I mean, wtf, Taschen?! I'm not too much of a fan of his early sketches, it's because that vertical, downward hatching that he does in that period makes everything seem wet. You know, all moist..
Anyway have a like from me, man! Cheers!
thanks...uh, from now on I will refer to Crumb's first period as the "moist period" :)
Lmao! btw, do you have any of the S. Clay Wilson Zweitausendeins releases? I think he put out a couple of books from them, one of which was an illustrated book of Brothers Grimm fairy tales?!
Brother Grimm with Wilson illustrations? Wow... sth else to look for!
no, I don't have any Zweitausendeins book about him.
You may learn from a better source than Crumb for crosshatching. For example I've learned from Dürer: a sketch instagram.com/p/Bf4k1wcgJ3c/ and another sketch (both from imagination, without even a model): instagram.com/p/BcvzC4tAaLP/
I hear you... and there are of course the etchings of Rembrandt & Co.... but Crumb's drawings have the advantage to depict stuff that many tend more to relate to...
earl grey yeah, it’s true, it’s cultural, I remember how his stuff in the early 90’s (when I first saw it) had this air of underground (unlike Dürer lol, Goya and Rembrandt are doing better in this respect :P ). I wish he did some comics with the quality of his sketches though: when he draws comics he makes limbs like “barbells” (both swallow sides face each other), instead of making the typical for any good artist “serpentine like “ bypassing of subtle arching forms. But then, this is probably a communication trick of cultivating this more trashy look of his comics. Cheers!
earl grey *typo “both: swollen sides”