Who is Alex Ross

A misconception about Alex Ross is that he has a photorealistic style. He does use photographs for reference, but he does not slavishly copy them;he slavishly improves upon them. The proportions and measurements he uses to improve the photos were learned by studying "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth," by Andrew Loomis.

Take note of the following images:



The image on the left was drawn by Andrew Loomis, which describes in detail the measurements for an ideal male, and the image on the right is a character study of Superman by Alex Ross. Notice how in this image, or any other for that matter, that Alex Ross renders, his heroes are drawn with the idealistic proportions set forth in Andrew Loomis' books.

Many artists have a hard time explaining how it is they do what they do. Andrew Loomis did not have that problem. In addition to the helpful diagrams and examples in his books, is an engaging, almost chatty writing style.

Here are a few quotes from "Figure Drawing For All it's Worth" that I especially love:

"May I confess that two weeks after entering art school, I was advised to go back home? That experience has made me much more tolerant of an inauspicious beginning than I might otherwise have been, and it has given me additional incentive in teaching."

"Every artist will do 'good ones' and 'bad ones.' The bad will have to be thrown out and done over. The artist should, of course, make a critical analysis to determine why a drawing is bad; usually he will be forced to go back to fundamentals, for bad drawing springs from basic faults as surely as good drawing springs from basic merits."

"I not only assume that my reader is interested in drawing but that he wishes from his toes up to become an efficient and self-supporting craftsman. I assume that the desire to express yourself with pen and pencil is not only urgent but amost undeniable, and that you feel you must do something about it. I feel that talent means little unless coupled with an insatiable desire to give an excellent personal demonstration of ability. I feel also that talent must be in company with a capacity for unlimited effort, which provides the power that eventually hurdles the difficulties that would frustrate lukewarm enthusiasm."

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