Midterm?! Didn’t we just start this class like, last week? Man time really does fly when you’re having fun! ;) Now that I’ve taken pictures of my work it’s really cool to see the progress I’ve made over this short amount of time.
One of the first and most important things I’ve learned was when we learned to draw the spine. By intensely focusing on the curvature of the different parts, rather than the spine as one straight vertical line, helps to get the right shape for the rib cage.
It seems like a rather obvious concept, but coming into class I did not consider how the rib cage covers the whole upper part of the body and how far up the upside down “V” shape goes. This makes an enormous difference in the spacing of the rest of the drawing.
A technique this class has helped me develop is holding out a pencil or straight edge and using it to find the angle of any part of the body, really. The twist of the spine, tilt of the pelvis, and curve of the calf are a few that I find myself measuring often.
Although touching the Maniken clay is not one of my favorite things, it has been very interesting to see them develop. Kind of like how babies muscles form over time. Especially after taking extra time to really look at the book and correct them on my Maniken, it is fun to be able to point them out on the model. To be able to identify the key muscles, even if you can’t see them on the model, and draw them in is a nifty skill!
I really like it when we can watch Professor Fichter draw the model. Just in Friday’s class I realized how helpful it is to view other student’s drawings as well. Often times I am uncertain about what or how I’m drawing and it’s reassuring to see how other artists work or interpret the contour lines. It’s a great way to remind us how we should tilt the different parts of the body in our similar drawings. It also reminded me to make sure to use my whole arm in the process of drawing.
As far as my drawing skills, I’ve noticed that although not perfect, I have gotten a lot better at getting a line right the first time. Subconsciously I am becoming able to analyze the figure more quickly to produce a more accurate sketch. Before coming into this class I didn’t realize how much more motion you have if you stand at the easel.
What we have been learning so far is great! I have heard from a few sources that we may draw a self portrait, which would be challenging yet cool. One of my personal goals is to be able to draw a person and have it actually look like who I am drawing. I’m sure that will come with time.
My last post here describes a lot of my pictures, but just to make sure I’ll write a little about the ones uploaded to my Flickr. The reason why I included “Drawing 1,” one of my first pages of 30 second gesture drawings of rib cages, is because it was such a significant foundation. I feel like Professor Fichter really knows what she’s doing in terms of teaching us what order we should add body parts.
In “Drawing 4” I like the feeling of depth with contour lines, even if mine is a big boxy. I find contour lines to be very interesting. With “Drawing 5” I like the shape of the thighs. Even though I didn’t have time to go back and fully correct the turned ribcage.
“Drawing 6” was a longer drawing and I feel like I got a lot closer to the right shape of the ribs. Also, my proportion to the pelvis was pretty close!
I was really happy in “Drawing 8” when Professor Fichter said I almost had the exact angle of the hips. I just have to remember to also tilt the glutes that much! It also made me glad that I had the right idea for the shape of the legs.
“Drawing 9” comes from gesture drawings including the whole leg. Although I should not have included all lines of the leg in all of them, I learned from that and didn’t in the rest. I was happy with the general shape I had going for these.
This picture (also "Drawing 10") is from my last in class 45 minute drawing focusing on the legs. Adding contour lines gave it more volume.
I have really enjoyed Life Drawing so far and am excited to see what we do next!
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