# Glen Vilppu's DvDs



## Toshabi (Dec 10, 2013)

Ahoy!


So I got to go to CTN this year. At there, I ran into someone who I always seem to see every year, Glen Vilppu. Everyone there has such high regard and praise for this man, and rightfully too! I sat with the man for a good hour or two and he happily gave me a ton of great advice, demonstrations and instructions on how to go about studying the human body. I was expected to take classes with him in the New Year, however, travel arrangements going back and forth from San Diego to LA is going to put a heavy toll on my car. I was going to simply take the train, but well, I'd be looking to spend a total of about 300 buckaroos total. So the option to buy the DvD's came to light, however, I'm not so positive about picking these up just yet. Why I say that is because the audio quality on some of his class lectures online aren't really up to par with the amount of knowledge this man has to do his lecture's justice. 


So my question to FAF is, are Vilppu's DvD series worth investing money into? Is the audio quality as bad as the youtube uploads? Am I just better off saving my money to try to do classes in person later on next year?


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 10, 2013)

I remember watching a few of his lectures and birds were chirping and other activity going on that was somewhat distracting.


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## Toshabi (Dec 10, 2013)

Bleh! I had a feeling that that would be the case. :l


Been hoping around a few art sites and everyone has been noting how annoying the background noises are. They say they're annoying but the lessons are valuable. I can't really find anything too in detail about the overall content of the materials presented in the DvDs. Most of the responses I've found so far have been "They're good" or "Too much background noise". Do you honestly think $30 is an appropriate amount for someone to shell out for these?


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## Toshabi (Dec 11, 2013)

I'd be down for that, but classes are a 300 mile round trip for me per session. I'm looking for alternatives till a better situation comes up for me to attend classes.


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## MoxyDoxy (Dec 11, 2013)

He has online courses. The material is similar to his DVD's, and he also critiques your assignments, so it's somewhere in between a live class and just getting DVD's. There are also Q & A sessions for his online classes.

It's still a hefty price, but the critique alone makes it worth it. He's getting up there in age so his live classes are going to get harder for him to get to.

He also always says the phrase "Take and [...]". I have his VHS's from the 70's, I've seen the DVD's and I've taken the most elementary drawing course (recommended for all levels) and he really likes those two words for some reason.


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## Toshabi (Dec 11, 2013)

BlackDracon said:


> You could consider looking into local colleges and see what method their art professors are teaching for life drawing. I was lucky enough to have a professor, who was trained by Glen at some point in her animation career, who used Vilppu's Drawing Manual as the text book. And she was teaching us what she'd learned from him



It's not a bad idea, but I honestly didn't want to pass up a chance to learn from Vilppu himself. The conversations we had about figure drawing in general were so lucid. That and he was very personal with his approach towards me. It would be smarter to simply learn from someone closer, but I felt a strong connection with Vilppu as a student after my conversation with him. Silly, yes, but that's just me.




MoxyDoxy said:


> He has online courses. The material is similar to his DVD's, and he also critiques your assignments, so it's somewhere in between a live class and just getting DVD's. There are also Q & A sessions for his online classes.
> 
> It's still a hefty price, but the critique alone makes it worth it. He's getting up there in age so his live classes are going to get harder for him to get to.
> 
> He also always says the phrase "Take and [...]". I have his VHS's from the 70's, I've seen the DVD's and I've taken the most elementary drawing course (recommended for all levels) and he really likes those two words for some reason.



It didn't cross my mind to take the online courses. I'd prefer physical classes over them, but that definitely does sound like a great idea. I will definitely check to see what he has available online.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 11, 2013)

Have you looked at Michael Mentler's dvds? This one I was prepping to buy since he has some amazing studies. 

http://www.tsofa.com/index.php?page=inventory

[yt]aWYTGWRUrLs[/yt]


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## Toshabi (Dec 11, 2013)

Intruiging. Do you know how many lectures total come with the DvD length wise? Either or, for the price, I might invest into it. 


Thanks for the information everyone.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 11, 2013)

When I get a chance I'll look into it. I know it's been taking a while for these to be produced. But if you like to see the kinds of studies he does - https://www.pinterest.com/mentler/the-chronicle-journals/

I remembered seeing his thread on CA.org and it had a ton of useful information.


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## Toshabi (Dec 11, 2013)

That's exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks for the new lead. I'll see where I can go with these new resources. I'm going to give the lectures a spin next weekend.


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## Judge Spear (Dec 11, 2013)

You know you're a boss when you can do that shit in chalk like it's 2+2 in first grade.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 11, 2013)

Yeah loved a lot of his studies had photocopied them and put them in a binder for offline studies.

The one thing he tipped me to that I didn't think about was how they eyesockets don't sit straight but they're at a tilt.

Another find may be Michael Hampton, who also hosts courses but they tend to sell out pretty quick.
http://2d.cgmasteracademy.com/2d-foundation-track.html


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## Pogonip (Dec 12, 2013)

BlackDracon said:


> I think if you have the chance to take his class in person it be well worth the investment.



Totally is worth it. Got to attend his week long workshop. The guy is old, but when he sits down to draw it is like watching magic flow out of his pencil. He makes it look so easy. He also took us to the museum, gave us a history lesson and broke down compositions of classical paintings there. He's a good teacher and he does a good job of giving everyone some 1 on 1 crits. 

Marshal Vandruff is another good anatomy teacher to look at as well.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 12, 2013)

Yeah liked Marshall Vandruff's lecture (I have one from CA I got long ago) he's local too.


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## Toshabi (Dec 13, 2013)

I just bought the Michael Mentler lectures today. I'm going to watch them while I'm on the train today and give my thoughts on it all. Thanks again Arshes and everyone here for all the information you've provided me.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 13, 2013)

Toshabi said:


> I just bought the Michael Mentler lectures today. I'm going to watch them while I'm on the train today and give my thoughts on it all. Thanks again Arshes and everyone here for all the information you've provided me.



Please let me know how they are. I intend to buy this one as well I had forgotten about it since there were delays.


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## Toshabi (Dec 15, 2013)

I'm going to watch it tomorrow. The problem I had is that the volume on the digital copy isn't loud enough fot mobile device view. That or my headphones are awful. Either or, this is something you'd probably want to watch at a nice desk.


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## Toshabi (Dec 15, 2013)

So I finished up with part 1 of this series. I can honestly say I'm amazed with what information was provided to me for only $40 so far. Michael Mentler has a very fantastic and lucid way of breaking down the skull in its entirety to the smallest details. The lectures also present a small fade aways after each section of the skull is explained that shows (in a digitally drawn diagram) of what you just covered and what is going to be drawn next to sort of prep you for the next wave of info. Michael also goes over very common mistakes and misconceptions by addressing them the instant he reaches a specific part of the skull and explains on how to overcome making said mistakes by showing how it compares to the skeleton he makes great use of throughout his lecture. 


The thing I love the most about Michael's lectures is the fact that he works so closely with a skeletal model and very clearly points out the reasons behind each stroke he makes by showing you exactly what he's looking at on the skeleton. If you honestly look away or get distracted for just a second, you lose out on so much info. I found myself constantly going back a few times because I would miss a thing or two as I was drawing along side him. It's A LOT of information packed into so little time. My only real problem with the lecture is that they will have elevator music playing in the background throughout the entirety of his lecture, but it doesn't impede too much on his explanations and you completely forget its there as you continue on with the lectures. I found myself completely focused throughout the entirety of this section due to him being so well versed in how he presents the material. The editing done for the lectures is phenomenal and I highly recommend spending every penny on this lecture, because $40 is a fantastic deal for what you get here.


I plan on reviewing each part a few times before going onto the next 2 sections. 1 hour and 30 minutes of lectures don't seem like much (each section being roughly 30 minutes long), but when you sit down and start watching, you'll find yourself overwhelmed with how much information he gives you. And I'm saying that in the best way possible.


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## Judge Spear (Dec 15, 2013)

I honestly have to thank you for this thread. I've been using the refs of this guy nonstop to tweak how I currently draw. Specifically the Pintrest Arshes linked. I must say I'm quite pleased with the results.


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks much for the review, I'll probably get it by the end of this week or sooner. I used to love watching his threads on CA.org but sometimes while his handwriting was incredible, it was also at times hard to understand. Getting something with Audio will definitely help.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=313809 was another of his old thread. Book of Bones on CA.org has a lot of dead images unfortunately.


If you think chalk drawing is badass try a cookie! (Courtesy of Sheldon's Art Academy)

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## Judge Spear (Dec 16, 2013)

Oh my god. This man drew with fucking baked goods. 

Exceptional...


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## Arshes Nei (Dec 16, 2013)

I wish Mentler would put out a book of his drawings. 

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=72362

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26748

He did quite a few drawings that weren't just figurative but how he was able to construct more mythical creatures with his knowledge. Unfortunately those may be dead links in those two threads.


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