Life Drawing I: Week Two: Reflection

SPINE, SHELL, AND MANNEQUIN
So I cant exactly say that my shell was a total disaster, but I definitely cant call it a masterpiece either. When we initially got assigned our shell assignment I knew that it wasnt going to be an easy assignment, but I also wasn't expecting it to be nearly as frusturaing for me as it was. When starting the cross contour of the body of my shell, the hardest part was deciding what direction to do my lines in. My shell had some natural lines that curved up and around the shell on more on a vertical axis versus a horizontal axis. So I decided to do my best to ignore those lines and do my cross contour that way.

I would have to say the most frustrating part of my shell was the lip that curled around the shell. After doing my best to tackle the body of the shell, I had to add the lip that curled around the back side edge. I wasn't real sure how to successfully do the contour since it curved in a different way around the shell. The lip also had naturally formed lines on it and I again chose to go against those and go with more of a horizontal based cross contour line. I just couldn't seem to get it to look realistic.

As for the rest of the week I really enjoyed learning about the spine and the muscles. I didnt have a lot of time to really execute the movement and curving of the spine in any drawings due to my shell critique, but I feel that once I have a bit more time drawing the form I will really be able to apply those strategies to my drawings. I think that now that I have a better understanding of how the spine curves and moves I will be able to especially be more successful in the positions where the models are bent or curved over.

So after leaving class on Thursday after our lecture about the muscles, I truly thought that I had a good grasp and understanding of our skeletons and the muscles that we were to attach to it with clay. Lets just say when I got home and began working on it, this wasn't the case. Surprisingly I found our skeletons far more tricky then I had planned. The most difficult part about our skeletons was that they are far different then the ones that are shown in the book. In the book all of the bones in the neck and along the back and very clearly defined, while on ours they are just sort of blended into the plastic mold where our skeletons are cut in half.

Life Drawing I: Week One: Reflection

DRAWING
This first past week of Life Drawing I feel; went pretty well and was very refreshing. The aspect of this course that already I am enjoying the most is the structure of the class and how it is broken up. At times three hour courses can get to be a lot to handle by the last hour or so, with more then one set of eyes watching the clock. Because Amy has set up this course in intervals ranging from 30 seconds and up it really makes the time just fly by. In a good way of course. With these intervals I feel that my work is able to more easily change from drawing to drawing and I am able to look back even just five minutes before and see how I was able to change my drawings around and tweek them a bit for the better.

I also liked that Amy really has just let us go and do our best for the time being. I feel like its really been giving me the chance to shake off some rust and get back into the swing of things. By doing this I feel that once we begin to have more forward instruction that I will be able to look at and relate my current drawings to the new instruction and be able to more easily see where I need to, and how to improve.

I have also this week, gained a greater appreciation for the differences between the male and female forms. Our two models have very different builds simply because one is female and one is male. These differences can be seen not only in their physical builds, curves, etc., but also quite drastically in the poses they chose and how they hold and morph their bodies into these positions. By giving us the chance to view and draw two different models I feel that it will more greatly enhance my drawing skills.

As of current I feel like the thing that I am struggling the most with is my lack of knowledge about the human body and how to take proportions into correct consideration. I feel that the area of the body I am struggling with the most is the proportion of the shoulders and arms to the rest of the body. At times I've noticed my arms are way too long and at other times they're too short. That goes the same for the shoulders at times they seem to broad and at others they seem too narrow.

I tend to be much more of a visual learner then a verbal/auditory learner, so I greatly appreciated watching Amy drawing as well. I feel that I learn the most from watching other people do something, especially in drawing, rather then them telling me what or how to do it. From watching Amy draw I was able to grasp a better understanding of how the chest of the body lays in accordance with the rest of the body. As well as how light touches and sketches can really help you to find the line your looking for while trying to portray the human body.

Art Work

Drawing III: Australia
Cocaine Study

Drawing II
Fruit Study

2D Design
Principals of Design Book

Drawing II
Fabric Study

Life Drawing I: First Assignment: Introductory Post

Introductory Post
As an Art Education major, I am required to take a number of various studio courses, some are assigned, while others are left up to us to chose. I am taking this course because I feel like it would be a great addition to my drawing emphasis.

This semester I hope to gain a greater and deeper understanding of the human body, its movements, and the skills and techniques used to successfully interpret it in a drawing. I have never had any sort of drawing course dealing with the human body so I feel like this course will be a fun and exciting challenge for me to tackle.

For the semester I would like to grow in the understanding of how the human body moves to be able to gain the ability to accurately draw the contour of the human body's features and basic shape.