T.C.Cor
T.C.Cor
You’d be forgiven for glancing at these pictures and thinking they were another set of fantastically captured photographs of beautifully proportioned pin-ups but you would be very much mistaken. They are in fact, undeniably awesome drawings by the artist T.C.Cor who is perfecting his ability to draw the human form whilst providing us with some of the hottest iCandy images ever to stimulate our senses! In this in-depth interview T.C.Cor tells iCandy about his obvious passion for drawing, his inspirations and tips for budding artists but it is without doubt, his art work that does most of the talking…
Had you always set out to be an artist?
No. Drawing has always been a big part of my life ever since I can remember but in my late teens I was more involved in music and the rock scene. Art was a hobby that I did when I was bored. I was around nineteen or twenty years old when my fellow band mates gave me the boot and my dreams of becoming a rock star ended quickly. It was then I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and there, in the darkest parts of my mother’s basement, I laid on my bed and thought about that question long and hard. Then it hit me…I can draw, I am pretty good at it… so from then on the pencil never left my hand.
At what point did you realise you could pursue your talent as a career?
It took several years to get off my ass and do something with my art. At the time I had no formal training and never went to college or any trade school for art, so I spent most of my twenties training myself to draw. Around 1996, when I was 29, I went to my first art and comic convention. I brought my art to show the other artists that attended the event. I was heavily into fantasy and fiction art and most of my work was pen and ink so I figured I would try to get my foot in the door by showing off my work to the other more established artists. I met an artist called Luis Smalls. We sat for a good hour or so looking over my work and I listened to what he had to say which played a big part in my decision to go forward in pursuing my art career. He convinced me to attend the spring convention in Michigan at the Novi Convention Center, Michigan’s biggest comic convention. It was an overwhelming experience at first but it was also a great learning experience and my work attracted several buyers. I have to admit I really loved the attention I was getting which was something I didn’t expect but it convinced me to hit the drawing board even harder and to attain the next level in my art career.
What’s your first consideration when starting a drawing?
That’s a great question and one that every artist must ask himself before starting any drawing. My first consideration would concern the pose and to ensure the shadows have good varying contrasts. When drawing woman the pose along with good dramatic shadows really seems to draw the viewer in and as an artist who uses photo references I try to find good images with good contrast and shadows as well as an interesting and sexy pose. This year I have decided to challenge myself and take the next step in my evolution which is working with colour, not only do I have to consider good shadowing and pose but how the clothing would appear if done in colour against the different tones of the skin variations which I still keep in light and dark grey tones or your basic pencil drawing.
You studied the human form in order to perfect it…what was the most difficult part to perfect?
Good visual observation of the photo reference. Being someone who works from photo references I take the time to really study the image I’m about to draw and think about how I’m going to tackle certain obstacles within the photo using good shadowing, shading and anatomy work in order to represent the different parts of the body without using lines, more so in hair than anything else. We, as artists, really need to look and to understand what it is we are drawing. To answer the question the whole drawing presents an equal challenge to overcome and perfect, but I would say hair was the most difficult to overcome because you really don’t want to fall into the trend of trying to draw every strand of hair but at the same time you want to create the illusion of each strand. Blond hair was very difficult due to the fact that light, red and blond hair has very little contrast when converting it to black and white.
Which image in particular are you most proud of and why?
I would say the piece I’m most proud of is Tearing Away because this image presented several challenges for me to overcome. The model Tony Franklin is a black male which is something I thought would present a challenge in a black and white pencil drawing. The photo reference presented good muscle structure, fantastic shadows, and various skin tones throughout the image as well as an interesting pose. Part of the challenge of this drawing was the varying skin tones of the black skin as well as the shadowing needed to represent the veins in the arms. I particularly like the dramatic pose and the white shirt being torn off which created a fantastic balance between the model’s skin and the white background making the piece visually pleasing to the eye.
Tell us about your books.
I’m currently working on my second book which is made up of my work from the last several years, including some colour pieces that I’m excited to be showing off. I consider all the work that will be included in book two to be an upgrade of the first book I completed called Lead Poison, which was self published in 2006. At this point I’m not sure who will be publishing the second book but I have my eye on SQP.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by the work of other artists who I admire. To me it is their work that challenges me to take my work to new levels. Also I would like to mention the various photographers and models that make my work possible. It is their hard work and images that I love to recreate in a different art form.
You give tips on your website to budding artists… what is the main piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to progress in the profession?
I would have to say the most important part of our profession as artists is to draw what you love to draw and not what you think will make you the most money. The love for the craft has to come first and you only do your best work when you’re drawing what you love to draw. Also try not to spread your skills to thin, that is, try to find a couple of mediums and stick with them. You can either be a jack of all trades and a master of none or you can focus on a couple and master them. I do understand that all artists want to make money at what they do so try to stick with what you know best and not to pick every assignment that falls in your lap. Most importantly make time to draw and challenge your skills so you can improve your techniques and take your work to the next level.
Can you see yourself pursuing a different direction within the artistic world in the future?
Absolutely, I plan on getting more involved in fantasy and fiction work. I’ll never stop drawing pin-up but the fantasy and fiction market is much bigger and has a larger audience. To be honest I got into pin-up to enhance my anatomy skills and improve my drawing techniques. It was fantasy and fiction that really got me into drawing in the first place. I really what to create some good fantasy work with the same techniques I use in my pin-up art.
What’s next on the agenda?
To take my skills and techniques to the next level…colour. As you can see most of my work is black and white pencil and there’s a reason for that. Back in my earlier years when I was just starting to understand what I was able to do, I jumped ahead of myself and began to produce colour work. The work, however, didn’t seem to have the quality that I was hoping for and, being someone who had no college education or training in the use of colour, my work seemed to fall flat and lifeless. There was only one thing I could do which was go back to the basics and see what it was that I was missing in my colour work. I spent several years training myself to improve my drawing techniques in black and white or pencil. So right now I think I’m at a pretty good and comfortable level with my skills that I’m ready to tackle the colour work again… .so fantasy and fiction colour work is next on the agenda.
And now for something completely different…tell us something about yourself totally unrelated to your art 
Beer, Sex and Rock&Roll… and a nice Harley between my legs… I think that about covers it, ha ha. But to be honest I would have to say my second passion is Martial arts. I spend all my time behind a drawing board sitting for hours and at my age that can take its toll on a person… the body aches, fingers get sore, the back cramps up and the rust begins to set in. I guess you can say martial arts and art both complement one another in the fact that one is mental and the other is physical, so overall I’m getting a complete workout. I compete on an amateur level and enjoy the work outs, it keeps my mind focussed and my body free of most aches and pains except when I’m getting hit of course…ha ha. Besides the martial arts and art I’m also a huge fantasy and fiction movie fan… give me a pizza and a good movie with tons of blood and guts being spilled……….. life is good…:).
To see more go here http://www.tccorillustrations.com/
Those pics are CRAZY! He's definitely mega talented!
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whoooaaah…. beautiful
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