Alright, so I decided to spend some time looking at Toni Cassano’s work today. Been seeing it around, and there’s just something about the style, you know? Feels really dynamic.
So, I cleared off my desk. Well, kind of. Pushed the junk to one side, anyway. Pulled out my old sketchbook, the one with the coffee stain on the cover. Remember spilling that latte last year? Yeah, that one. Grabbed a few pencils, nothing fancy, just the usual HB and a 2B.
Getting Started
I started just trying to sketch out some basic forms, trying to get that flow Cassano has. It looks so easy when you see the finished piece, right? Like it just flowed out of the pen. Let me tell you, it didn’t flow out of mine.
My first few attempts were stiff. Really stiff. Like drawing with a ruler I didn’t know I was holding. I kept trying to mimic the energy, the quick lines. It’s tough. You gotta be loose but also kinda precise? It’s a weird balance.
The Process Mess
Spent a good chunk of time just making messy circles and lines, trying to warm up. Found myself getting frustrated after about twenty minutes. Almost packed it in, honestly. Thought maybe I’d just scroll social media instead.
But I stuck with it. Focused on one specific piece I’d saved. It was a character leaning forward, lots of movement in the pose. I tried breaking it down:
- The overall shape first. Just a rough outline.
- Then the main action line. Tried to feel that curve.
- Adding some volume. This is where it got tricky again.
Lots of erasing happened. My eraser got pretty worn down. Had to keep blowing the bits off the page. Made a mental note to buy a new kneaded eraser sometime soon.
I wasn’t really aiming for a perfect copy. More like trying to understand how those lines worked together. How Cassano suggests form with just a few strokes. It’s clever stuff.
End Result… Sort Of
After about an hour, maybe a bit more, I had a page full of scribbles and one sketch that was… okay. Not great, definitely not Cassano level, but it felt a bit looser than when I started. You could kinda see what I was going for, maybe?
The main thing I realized is how much control is needed for that ‘loose’ style. It’s not just random scribbling. There’s thought behind it.
So yeah, that was my practice session today. Didn’t produce a masterpiece, far from it. But I feel like I chipped away at understanding something. Maybe I’ll try focusing just on the way Cassano draws hands next time. Those are always impressive.
