Aaron: There's a blue heron right there.
Stan: Well, there's a coffee all over me [Laughter].
I literally just poured coffee all over myself.
I was like, there's a plane, I'm like where?
[Laughter] I just poured coffee.
Did you bring any paper towels?
Speaker 1: Nope.
Stan: This video is brought to you by Squarespace, the website builder with all the tools you
need to create your own site to showcase and sell artwork.
Hey guys!
Welcome to Proko.
My name is Stan Prokopenko.
I got Aaron Blaise here again and we're at...
Aaron: The Lake Woodruff Wildlife Refuge.
Stan: Cool.
And we're gonna be drawing, hopefully alligators but all I've seen are bugs and ants and trees.
Aaron: We're in Florida by the way.
Stan: Yeah.
Aaron: Yeah.
Stan: But he promised me alligators.
Aaron: Alligators and bugs, I guarantee that, you can get those in Florida.
Stan: While I was in Florida, I also got a chance to record Aaron's masterpiece demo
of a lion.
We recorded the whole two day process of drawing a large animal portrait, plus a lesson on
big cat anatomy.
You can find that at proko.com/blaise.
All right, we're gonna go draw.
Aaron: If you look really deep along the edges, sometimes you'll see a gator hiding up in
the grasses.
People will walk by and never know that it's there.
But that bird up there, that's called the Double-crested Cormorant.
You see he's trying to get rid of the heat.
He's opening his mouth and panting.
Stan: So, where's the spot?
Aaron: I was gonna take you on a little walk through the woods up here.
Stan: Okay, sounds fun.
Aaron: Is that okay?
We'll just walk around for a little while.
Do you trust me.
[Laughter]
Come on, poke your heads up.
They've got these really great red spot on the top of their head.
Stan: I don't have a red pencil...
Doesn't help.
Aaron: But see, I painted in red.
Stan: Oh yeah.
[Chuckles]
Aaron: You just put a black dot.
Stan: I got the groove, yeah.
I think I found a good shape.
I like the shape.
Aaron: I like that shape.
Stan: This is a bad shape.
Stan: Oh, they're coming in.
Oh dude, this is great!
Aaron: Yeah.
Stan: Oh, this is awesome!
This is where the shapes are.
Aaron: Yeah.
So this just loops around, comes back.
This is Florida's only native palm tree right here.
Stan: Oh yeah...
Aaron: It's also our state tree.
Yeah.
Stan: It looks a lot like -
Aaron: It's called the Sabal palm.
Stan: - a lot of [?].
Aaron: No, and then the black bears will actually pull the center out.
Stan: Centre of what?
Aaron: The center of the palm tree.
The small ones, they'll actually pull it right out and they'll eat it.
We call it swamp cabbage.
Stan: And it's good?
Aaron: It's really good actually.
Wish we could find one.
If we had a chainsaw, because we cut them up - cut them off with chain saws, then you
peel it back.
If you run your hand up or down...
Feel that.
Just push against it and move your hand up a little.
Stan: Uh!
Well, I can't move it.
Aaron: Exactly.
When I was a kid, I shimmied up one and then slid down it...
Stan: Oh! Goddamn it.
Aaron: Yeah, it was bad.
Stan: Is that what happened to your balls?
[Chuckles] Aaron: Yeah...
They grew five sizes that day.
Stan: Yeah, this is cool.
You want to stop at some point?
This is actually - wow!
Aaron: These are called live oaks.
Stan: Dude, you don't want to draw here?
Aaron: We can if you want.
Stan: Because it's like - is there something - are you looking for animals?
Aaron: I was gonna draw a marsh.
Stan: Oh, there's a marsh down there?
Aaron: Yeah.
I was thinking we could go back around under those oak trees and sit in the shade under
the oak trees.
Stan: Okay, cool.
Aaron: But we can draw in here too if you want.
Stan: No.
That looks like a the back of it like in dolphin.
Aaron: Well, you know what we used to do with - I actually had a job cutting these off the
trees when they're fresh and then you put an eye here an eye hear, a red nose and you
cut notches into it and you've got a Florida Red Nosed Reindeer.
And we sold them as Christmas ornaments as a novelty for people.
That's how we made extra money.
Stan: What company is this?
Aaron: This is our family.
Stan: That was half a mile.
Aaron: Oh, is that the pier right there?
That's what you're talking about?
Stan: Wait, are we back where we -?
Speaker 1: Yeah, we’re back where we started.
Stan: Why did we do that?
Speaker 1: Why not?
Stan: Well, I thought we were going in there to draw!
Aaron: No, I said I couldn't find anything -
Stan: I thought there was like -
Aaron: Oh no, I was just showing you around.
Stan: We literally just did a circle.
Aaron: Yeah.
Look at the cranes are right there.
Stan: Are we just back here, we're gonna draw these again?
Aaron: No.
Stan: Because that would [Laughter].
Aaron: We're going for the alligators.
I want you guys to see alligators before we go.
Stan: All right, all right.
Aaron: Do you want to draw here or do you want to go back underneath the oak trees over
there?
Stan: This isn't very inspiring.
Aaron: [Chuckles] you have to learn to look.
Now, that's why I usually come out with like a long scope and sit and I draw the birds
from life like we were just doing with the cranes.
That's a really good one.
See, these stalks...
Stan: Yeah.
Are these the tasty ones?
Aaron: Yeah.
That's a good one.
Stan: Okay.
So, should I eat this one?
Aaron: Well, we have to get it though.
Stan: Give me some swamp cabbage...
Aaron: Here you go.
Stan: Oh what!
Speaker 1: That's tasty.
Aaron: Just take a little bite off the end.
Stan: It smells like -
Aaron: Oh, come on.
You can do it.
Stan: - just like leaves.
All right.
Oh my god!
It tastes like Mexican food.
It tastes like corn tortilla.
No, I swear to god, it tastes like corn tortilla.
Aaron: I don't taste corn tortilla.
Stan: You don't?
Man!
Aaron: This one tastes a little perfumey.
Stan: Are they all different?
Aaron: Yeah.
The problem with stalk grass is you can only eat about that much of it.
Stan: And then it gets too mushy?
Aaron: Too fibery.
Stan: All right.
Well, that was lunch.
Aaron: Yeah, there you go.
[Chuckles]
Stan: Deng!
The bumble bee on the [?]. That's a thick bumble bee.
Thicc!
Aaron: He's just kind of sideways to us, so there's no real depth to him.
Oh, he's moving.
Stan: I think I drew a hippo...
Aaron: [Chuckles] No you didn't.
It's pretty cool actually.
It's super close.
Take it down to your comfort zone man, that's good.
How did you do.
Stan: I know what I like less than cats.
Aaron: [Laughter] alligators?
Stan: Yeah.
[Laughter] I mean, the first pose was really cool and then this - the head got hidden -
Aaron: I know.
Stan: - and I don't know what I'm looking at.
I don't know we're that far eye is.
I don't understand -
Aaron: They're actually kind of close together on the top of the head.
Stan: That's and I kind of thought from the front.
Aaron: Yeah.
Stan: Like the eyes are like in -
Aaron: Yeah, that's exactly right.
Yeah, just like that.
Stan: But it looked weird because when I saw your drawing, they weren't so close, but it
looks better.
It look cooler when they were like -
Aaron: I just - I screwed it up though because they should be closer together.
Stan: Are you saying mine is better?
Aaron: Yours is better.
Stan: Oh man!
[Chuckles]
Aaron: Oh, he's moving his tail.
He's moving his tail back and forth.
Yeah.
Stan: I mean, I don't know what I'm doing.
Aaron: It looks good.
I don't know if I can fix mine.
Stan: No dude, that looks good.
I'm not done.
I'm thinking of adding some white sky.
The tree, trees look - see?
Tree is something I can handle, and alligator.
[Chuckles]
Aaron: That's a good looking tree.
Stan: Out of my league.
Aaron: Do you see the bald eagles chasing each other?
Stan: I saw one, one of them.
One right there...
Oh, there's three.
Aaron: Those two right there.
Stan: What is that third one?
Aaron: That's a vulture.
Stan: Oh, okay.
Aaron: Those are bald eagles right there.
Stan: How do you tell?
They just seem to me like wings.
Aaron: Yeah, you can tell by their - first of all, by the way he's flying; he's a lot
lighter flyer, he's not as heavy.
There are heavier flyers and you can see their white tail and white head when they're closer.
You see how much they're flapping?
Stan: Well, that was it for Gator drawing.
Aaron: You drew a gator in the wild.
Stan: I did.
[Laughter]
Thank You Aaron.
Aaron: Yes, I'm glad you got to come to Florida.
Yeah, well, this is all vulture poop because all the vultures hang out here at night.
Stan: Wonderful.
Aaron: Sort of the land welcoming committee.
[Chuckles]
Stan: If you guys haven't heard yet, he recorded a lion drawing demo.
It's about this big and we have it available at proko.com/blaise, B-L-A-I-S-E.
Aaron: Yap, it was fun.
Stan: It was...
We recorded for two days; he goes over cat anatomy, shows you how to do it in charcoal,
white charcoal.
Aaron: Oh, on the mat board.
Stan: Mat board....
Aaron: Yeah, acid-free mat board.
Nice and cheap, nice and durable.
You can draw on it, you can use a lot of it.
You don't have to worry about ruining it, but then it takes charcoal really well.
Stan: So if you want animator of Lion King to show you how to draw a realistic lion...
Aaron: I mean, yeah, I mean, it's true.
Stan: Yeah.
[Laughter]
Stan: Alright, see you guys.
Aaron: Bye.
Stan: Aaron Blaise isn't just a successful Disney animator, he's also built his own business
selling courses on his website.
If you haven't built a website yet and you want to make money with your art, you should
check out my sponsor Squarespace.
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And if you're interested but what they have to offer, you can save 10% off your first
purchase of a website or domain by using this link; Squarespace.com/proko.
Really?
Like that...