💼 Careercow Andrew Dobson (aka Tom Preston)

[Hummingbird]

No matter how many times I see this one, I can't help being amazed at how he plays the victim (read the description).

 

[Johnny Bravo]

There's a couple of things there. I've already said that I personally feel like his art shows talent. If I'm being honest I think he's a better artist than I am...but I'd rather produce my art than his any day, because at least I put in some effort.
The quality of his lineart has been steadily degrading from a not very stellar starting point - his pencil drawings actually look pretty decent, but his "inks" (whether actual ink or digital) are just terrible by any standards, destroying any credibility he might have had. That an his coloring's gotten lazier. Again, I say "lazier" because we know he can do it, I thought he did some nice things on that Splatoon fanart color-wise he posted a while back, he just chooses not to...

...but ultimately, ALL of this would be fine if he didn't present himself as a "professional" as some kind of leader in the art world and turn away anyone who tried to tell him that no, actually, his methods are kind of terrible and should not be emulated. Is he the worst? No, but he's interesting to me for all the bluster and wasted potential. His art never rises above "mediocre" because he doesn't try and that combined with his attitude are what make him a fascinating train wreck for me.

Does Tom free draw? There are a few pictures, like the one with the two dead dudes, that look like he blocked out the characters with simple shapes before adding features and detail but most of his stuff looks free drawn. Like he started with the eyes and just drew a head and nose around them. This is how children first learn to draw. It's not until they pick up their first "How to Draw" book or take an art class that they learn to use shapes and action lines. I would hope that Tom, as a college educated artist, is using what he learned (and by the way he should have learned it in fucking middle school at the latest). But when I see his characters looking so off model all the time, not to mention his terrible sense of proportion, it really makes me wonder. The avoidance of action lines could explain why so much of his art looks flat and boring, too.

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

Does Tom free draw? There are a few pictures, like the one with the two dead dudes, that look like he blocked out the characters with simple shapes before adding features and detail but most of his stuff looks free drawn. Like he started with the eyes and just drew a head and nose around them. This is how children first learn to draw. It's not until they pick up their first "How to Draw" book or take an art class that they learn to use shapes and action lines. I would hope that Tom, as a college educated artist, is using what he learned (and by the way he should have learned it in fucking middle school at the latest). But when I see his characters looking so off model all the time it really makes me wonder. The avoidance of action lines could explain why so much of his art looks flat and boring, too.

Amusingly, I've read that some Japanese animators back in the 1980s free-handed their stuff, and they actually look pretty nice. Not that it excuses Preston mind you. But still, just a nice little bit of trivia to share.

Also, that picture YHE posted needs a better caption/title than "Entry Barrier". "Brick Wall of Butthurt" maybe?

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Japanese animators are gods. That said, are you certain it wasn't rotoscoped?

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

Japanese animators are gods. That said, are you certain it wasn't rotoscoped?

Nope, I read about one of them who used during that era it here: http://vanishingtrooper.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/masami-obari-part-2-influences-and-style/

 

[John Titor]

Amusingly, I've read that some Japanese animators back in the 1980s free-handed their stuff, and they actually look pretty nice. Not that it excuses Preston mind you. But still, just a nice little bit of trivia to share.

Also, that picture YHE posted needs a better caption/title than "Entry Barrier". "Brick Wall of Butthurt" maybe?

One of the most coveted abilities an artist would love to have is the ability to draw without guidelines. People who have this ability most likely practiced every waking hour. Dobbles on the other hand wants to work "at his own pace".

 

[Nova Prospekt]

Oh my.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME ME ME!!!

 

[Hummingbird]

But when I see his characters looking so off model all the time, not to mention his terrible sense of proportion, it really makes me wonder.

He's got a response for that. If he did any real study on cartooning and animation, he'd know that comedy characters are allowed to have shorter head ratios than realistic ones.

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

One of the most coveted abilities an artist would love to have is the ability to draw without guidelines. People who have this ability most likely practiced every waking hour. Dobbles on the other hand wants to work "at his own pace".

I would love to practice drawing whenever I wanted. But alas, that seems impossible with my fairly hectic schedule combined with my inherent laziness.

He's got a response for that. If he did any real study on cartooning and animation, he'd know that comedy characters are allowed to have shorter head ratios than realistic ones.

So what Preston's trying to tell me is that his fucking bear isn't perfectly proportioned? And that he hates that? Why the fuck is he still an artist?

 

[Hummingbird]

So what Preston's trying to tell me is that his fucking bear isn't perfectly proportioned? And that he hates that? Why the fuck is he still an artist?

I think it's that "proportions are dumb, especially for comedy characters" is what he's going for. I'm sure even Charles Schultz used some kind of guidelines when doing his comics.

 

[Sonic Speed Monkey]

I think it's that "proportions are dumb, especially for comedy characters" is what he's going for. I'm sure even Charles Schultz used some kind of guidelines when doing his comics.

As they always say with proportions, you have to know the rules before you can break them.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

I've been looking at Schulz's work trying to figure this out. I'm very much a casual artist, but here's what I've come up with.

The characters are proportioned, they're just proportioned differently. As you can see all the kids are about two and a half heads tall (measure with your fingers). One head for the head, one head for the torso, and half a head for the legs. Snoopy is also about two and a half heads tall. Because his head is smaller than the others he appears shorter than they are but is still proportioned. I think Woodstock might follow the same formula, but it's hard to tell here because he's sitting. If the average adult is about six heads tall this makes sense for the peanut gang, since they're kids.

Here's Schulz's drawing of two teenagers. They're between five and five and a half heads tall by my measurements. Again, this makes sense. Compare that to Preston's work...

Even though you can only see the human character's head and torso, the part of him that you can see is only two heads tall. Either this man is a midget or Preston has drawn himself screaming at a child. Good work, Mr. Preston.

PS - I should add that I think Preston does this intentionally with his strawman characters. He draws them with childlike proportions to infantalize them but gives them adult characteristics (hairy arms) and sets up the environment in such a way that they can be interpreted as adult sized (note the table). Our mind reads the strawman character as immature because that's the way Preston has drawn him. I would call this a clever use of proportions if it wasn't so douchey.

 

[MayMay]

I've been working to get a sense of proportion and now kinda moving deliberately away from that for expressiveness (mostly since with realistic proportions, it's hard to get a decent expression without closeup... that may just be my incompetence though) and/or cuteness
Like in things such as anime, it doesn't always have to be totally realistic even in less comedic series. Heck a lot of comics and such even the super serious ones have odd proportions (8-9 heads tall)

Problem is, regardless of whether you're going for 9 heads or 3 heads, you still need rules. Dobson's drawings seem to mainly be around 4-5 heads tall for humans. Perfectly fine on its own. However the infamous professor is barely if even 3 heads tall. It's not like with some characters where their proportions are a bit shorter maybe to make them look more stocky or bulky where the difference makes sense in terms of design. He didn't break some super universal rule all artists are bound by, he broke his own rules and not in the good sense.

 

[Gothicserpent]

I've been looking at Schulz's work trying to figure this out. I'm very much a casual artist, but here's what I've come up with.

The characters are proportioned, they're just proportioned differently. As you can see all the kids are about two and a half heads tall (measure with your fingers). One head for the head, one head for the torso, and half a head for the legs. Snoopy is also about two and a half heads tall. Because his head is smaller than the others he appears shorter than they are but is still proportioned. I think Woodstock might follow the same formula, but it's hard to tell here because he's sitting. If the average adult is about six heads tall this makes sense for the peanut gang, since they're kids.

Here's Schulz's drawing of two teenagers. They're between five and five and a half heads tall by my measurements. Again, this makes sense. Compare that to Preston's work...

Even though you can only see the human character's head and torso, the part of him that you can see is only two heads tall. Either this man is a midget or Preston has drawn himself screaming at a child. Good work, Mr. Preston.

PS - I should add that I think Preston does this intentionally with his strawman characters. He draws them with childlike proportions to infantalize them but gives them adult characteristics (hairy arms) and sets up the environment in such a way that they can be interpreted as adult sized (note the table). Our mind reads the strawman character as immature because that's the way Preston has drawn him. I would call this a clever use of proportions if it wasn't so douchey.

Jesus christ that face. I'm going to vomit.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Preston does have a 'way' of drawing his bear.

 

[MayMay]

Jesus christ that face. I'm going to vomit.

Tell me about it.
I almost, almost feel like redrawing that creepy ass bear to try and actually make it look presentable.
Either that or photoshop fedora bear in five night's at freddy's. One or the other.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

I'd love to see Preston's bear drawn as a FNAF animatronic. He'd fit right in.

 

[Coster]

Tell me about it.
I almost, almost feel like redrawing that creepy ass bear to try and actually make it look presentable.
Either that or photoshop fedora bear in five night's at freddy's. One or the other.

Two Nights at Tom's. You leave by the second night because he doesn't like that you're closing the doors on him and he just keeps whining and yelling about it all up and down the restaurant.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Name: Tom the Bear
First Appearance: Night 1 (does not become hostile until night 5)
Behavior: Tom can easily be recognized by his loud stomping and squeaking rusty gears. On camera he is always easy to spot, as he loves to stand in the light and make awkward poses, often with his mouth open and eyebrows raised. Like Chica he appears to have a second set of teeth. Tom will rarely attack the player directly. He will always approach from the East Hall, like Chica, and can also be seen through the window with his face and paws pressed up against the glass, staring at the player intently. It is possible to leave the door open with Tom in this position, as he does not often enter the office, but be advised that Freddy can still sneak in while Tom is there. When Tom does attack the player his scream differs from the other animatronics. Instead of a child's scream, Tom's scream sounds like a distorted middle aged man shouting, "DHHUUUUUUUUUUUR!!" On rare occasions he will actually attack in complete sentences, such as, "YA KNOW WHAT? I GIVE UP! YOU GUYS CAN'T EVEN GO A WEEK WITHOUT HARASSING WOMEN, CAN YA? CAN YA!?" Fans are still speculating on what this means.