The Emotion of Art

Don’t draw what you want them to see, draw what you want them to feel. In addition to being a good draftsman, concept artists, designers, animators, and art directors need to pay a great deal attention to mood, lighting, color, pattern etc.

As artists, our goal is not to draw what we see (a camera can do that), but to draw in a way that makes the viewer feel a certain way. Our goal is to tell a story visually relying heavily on emotion.

I think one reason I love animation so much is that it is so expressive. You have many art forms (writing, drawing, color, movement, sound design, voice acting, art direction, etc.) colliding to tell a story around a core story with powerful emotional themes….or very cartoony or light hearted themes depending on the genre.

So today when you pick up your stylus, mouse, brush, pencil, pen, marker, or the like, remember to draw the emotion and tone you want to convey.