a reportage zine by sophia brown
how to draw Humble tips from an amateur.
rule #1
make a move. you have to start somewhere. brace yourself and go.
Looking at subject............
90%
Watching pencil...............
40%
Thinking about what else this all means.................
TOTAL.........................
50% 180%
e
rule #2
xhale
(and inhale).
repeat. add 20% to effort count =200%
rule #3
don’t watch netflix while you draw. Are you kidding me???
rule #4
don’t make shit up because you’re too lazy to translate it from real life to paper.
Don’t be lazy. Period.
ove
rule #5 sacrifice reality for concept. a.k.a., exaggerate. delete something if it over-explains. shift something if it makes your composition better.
erlap let two things
if both definitely matter somewhat and you can’t decide which one matters more.
rule #6
stay inside
the most
important
lines most ImportInt lajnz n. pl.: the box protecting what is conceptually original and interesting to exclude what is simply boring. i.e., a shield against negligible homicide of your entire drawing.
rule #7
abandon the rules your mother taught you. 1.
Don’t share. Microns run out fast.
2.
Stare unabashedly.
3.
Eavesdrop like a spy.
4.
Forget about political correctness; adjust it retroactively.
5.
Deliberately stalk weird people.
d Science experiment: Whose brain works harder, the intramural athletes or the artist trying to draw them?
rule #8
Don’t fear self-destruction. It is inevitable.
dragon Fight the
and start anyway.
created by sophia-brown drawings from january–march 2015 made for a visual journalism course at washington university in saint louis / all drawings were sketched on-location around the city of saint louis / most were edited or remade later in studio / all content is property of the artist.