Welcome to DrawingFORCE.com, where I, Mike Mattesi, author of the FORCE drawing books and creator of the FORCE drawing theory teach you to understand my drawing apporach. Learn how to draw the figure using hundreds of video drawing tutorials, a friendly forum and mentorships.
I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City to pursue a career in the comic book industry and found my way into Walt Disney Consumer Products and Walt Disney Feature Animation where I had the amazing fortune to work on "The Lion King."
I then moved to the west coast where I entered the video game industry and then returned to New York where I taught at his SVA and many other studios and schools in the tri-state area. After many years teaching I decided to write a book called FORCE that would wrap up my teaching career. I launched a company called Contagious Concepts, an art resource company for the video game industry. This lead to work with Microsoft, Origin, Electronic Arts and other developers on many exciting titles.
After starting a family, we all then moved to Los Angeles where I taught at Nickelodeon, Electronic Arts and Art Center. This lead me to opening my own art school, Entertainment Art Academy, the first of its kind in the world!
After four challenging years I closed the Academy and moved to San Francisco where I reentered the video game industry and worked primarily as an Art Director across numerous game studios, Zynga my latest.
Now I return to teaching through DrawingFORCE.com, teaching at art colleges and entertainment companies in the Bay area such as , Pixar, The Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, and I travel around the world hosting FORCE Drawing Workshops.
My students land jobs in the following industries: Animation, Video Games, and Comic Books. The jobs they usually obtain are animator, concept artist, character designer, storyboard artist and comic book penciler and inker. Some of these students have become Art Directors, VPs, Producers and fine artists as well.
FORCE is a drawing process that ironically is not so much about the drawing but instead about the thinking and experience that creates a drawing.
I share with you how to empathize with the model and understand how they do what they do and why. There is the poetic and practical knowledge that you learn while drawing with FORCE. Because of these dialectical approaches you learn how to create drawings that present emotions and that make sense. After gaining mastery of these concepts, you then can interpret anything in your own way. You develop more of a designer and storyteller’s muscles. That is why my students land jobs primarily in the entertainment industry.
My focus is drawing with line and how you can express yourself with that line. Imagine drawing the figure because you are in awe of the drama he/she presents, through their humanity! Seek to understand how they function, why they took a particular pose, and experience the feeling of FORCE and the momentum of the pose with LINE, while you draw it! Drawing is exciting, challenging and addictive! If you are bored with the other methods, tired of watching an artist slowly measure and render the figure then chances are you are in the right place.
I guarantee that FORCE drawing will be a unique and engaging experience for you. I hope to join you in your personal artist journey.
Have any questions? Email me at [email protected]
Sincerely,
Mike Mattesi