Final post

I have many weaknesses and strengths when it comes to drawing. I have a problem with the speed in which I draw, I have always worked too fast. I also need to work on line weight and differing it to show depth. Also finding the planes for the parts of the body and representing them with lines instead of shading comes difficult to me. I learned a lot about taking time and looking at the object being drawn. To take the time to map out the general shape and proportions before you start to make it look like anything recognizable and adding details. Life drawing will be useful in all of my future art classes. You always have to draw and often quickly. It will also help me with rendering three dimensional forms on a two dimensional plane such as the computer. I believe I will take a lot away from this class. I will try to utilize the tools I have been given in my future in the arts.

Hands have always posed a problem for me. The proportions are difficult to get down. The details are not the difficult part for me. And taking object that are so round and making them planar is not an easy concept. I will need a lot of work before I stop avoiding hands or simplifying them which is what I have done all semester.

Working on each others faces is another new challenge. You have to look at the face in a new way. Though it does help that you can see the cheekbones and jaw and most of the lines are shown for you. Still presents a challenge to take a rounded form and make it angular. Also working with peoples faces and trying to get them to stay still long enough is very very difficult.

Large Shell Contour

Working on a larger scale I found that I needed to create an outline before I started my contour lines. In the group critique we discussed how I need to work with greater line variety and I agreed. Also my lines were too uniform almost creating a grid in certain areas. This I was not so aware of but once shown to me I can see where the suggestions were coming from. I am not sure what I am going to do with the ink wash contour drawings. Though the ability to use some sort of shading should help.

Working on the pelvis is proving to be difficult. I can find where the tops are supposed to be but after that i can't figure the rest out. Though I am continuously surprised by its relationship with the rib cage and how much that can be messed up. I am always making something much too small. I am getting better with it and hope to continue with my improvement. Working on the rib cage and the pelvis together helps working on their relationship and size.

Contour Drawing

I still continue to struggle with the idea of a cross contour drawing. The new shells definitely help though. Not only is this shell a better shape with more continuous curves but is also much much larger so I can actually see the detail I am supposed to be drawing. Though my second shell drawing is much improved upon from my first one there is still lots of work to be done. I need to work more on long contour lines showing detail and not flattening the shape. Also, working with foreshortening would improve my contour drawings.

Midterm Portfolio

I have always had an issue drawing objects placed in front of me. Normally I would take a picture and draw from that. This class as greatly helped me in this area. My proportions are improving because I am learning to look for landmarks on the human body, which can be transferred into any object I am drawing. Though, I have improved I still need much more improvement in this area. The placement of the form is also an issue. I may get the general areas such as the rib cage in relationship to the pelvis but the placement of the appendages still cause me issues. I want to fine-tune my proportion skills so I am able to draw the model in front of me without difficulty placing the parts of the body. I also have a major issue with contour drawing. This has been a weakness since I first did it. I don’t have a lot of experience with it and can’t seem to make it work out. I also need to clean up my line work. I have a tendency to draw many lines till I get it right and then erase the wrong ones. My mannequin has issues of its own that need to be addressed. I can see the relationship between the muscle or muscles they show but when trying to put them together without seeing it in front of me I am just guessing. I also tend to make the muscle a little too thick or meaty. If my mannequin were a real person he would be absolutely huge and put most body builders to shame. There are many things I want to learn but there is only so much time. I just hope to come out with a better grasp of drawing from life, that is the key thing I want to improve upon. 

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