Week 14 & Final Reflection

So here it is the final week, and the final post! I enjoyed this class very much and I know that I learned a lot. I think I learned more in this studio class than I have in any other studio class while here at Stout. I had some experience with painting, drawing, ceramics, and design before I came to college. However, I had no experience with life drawing. I came into this class with little to no prior knowledge to fall back on. Of course I knew what the human form looked like, I knew about human proportions, but I had very little experience in drawing them, and no experience drawing them from life. I am happy that I took this class, because I think it is something all people who are entering the artworld should have at least some knowledge about.

I am also happy with the progress I’ve made since the beginning of the semester, and even since midterm. I cringe a little bit while looking back on the first gesture drawings and the early poses. While my current drawings are not perfect, they have improved tremendously. My knowledge of the human form have improved, my knowledge of the internal structures, and I think most importantly, my knowledge of the way the human body moves and carries itself has improved, all of which comes through in my drawings.

I really enjoyed the gesture drawings. Drawing quickly is my strength, and the gesture drawings allow me to do what I feel I do best. I have also come to appreciate the long poses, however. They have taught me how to slow down and be patient, as well as how to understand my own ways of creating. However, I struggled immensely with the mannequin assignment. I spent more time on that aspect of this course than any other, sad to say, and I think it looks worse than anything else I have produced in this class. That is certainly discouraging. 

In my midterm reflection, I said that I hoped to improve as much in the last half of the semester as I did in the first half. I can say without a doubt that I have achieved that goal. To see my improvements through my final portfolio, click here. 

And Happy Holidays, everybody :) 

Week 13

 This week, our third shell contour drawing was due. This drawing also included an ink wash, which I was nervous about at first, but wound up really enjoying the ink. I had never worked with ink before, but have always enjoyed the way it looked and the mood it conveyed. The object of the assignment was to define the form of the shell with the contours in a way that somebody who had no knowledge of what a shell looked like would be able to define it. I’m not sure if my lines were successful in that sense, but I do think it was the best contour drawing I have done to date. The ink was supposed to suggest water and represent the waves of the ocean. The ink and the lines were supposed to relate to each other, almost as though the waves formed the shell. Again, I’m not sure if my ink relates overly well to the form of the shell, but I do find it successful from a visual standpoint.

We also spent time on the hand this week. We didn’t spend a lot of time on the hand, because they are very similar to the feet, which we spent a good amount of time on already. It was good to learn about the planes of the hand, because whenever I drew thumbs, they turned out looking strange and almost disconnected from the rest of the hand. Amy explained that this is because the thumb is located on the side plane of the hand, while the rest of the fingers are on the top plane. Good to know!

 We also went over the skull this week. I was excited for this, because the face is one of my favorite subjects to draw. It was interesting to learn about the internal structure of the skull and the cranium and how that related to the face the facial features. Amy explained that the eye sockets were one of the most important features to convey, which is contrary to what many people think. I am pleased with the way my drawings turned out this week, because I can see that I am making progress, which is always encouraging! 

Week 12

This week was spent learning about the shoulder blades. I was glad we spent some time on this, because when I did gesture drawings my figure's arms always looked detached, or somehow disconnected from the torso. The shoulder blades helped me to bridge that gap and my drawings look more successful because of it. We spent some time doing gesture drawings which included the shoulder blades. This was good, because after having a week off for Thanksgiving, I needed some time to practice and get back in the swing of drawing again. It's amazing how much you forget after what seems like such a short time. I do think my gesture drawings are improving and are more accurate formally. 

 


For the second half of class, we worked on a long pose. I am actually pretty excited because I think it is by far the most successful long pose I have done as of yet. The form and proportion are accurate and the figure has depth, which is what has been a difficult concept for me to create in my life drawings. It has been much easier for me to draw and create depth while drawing from a 2-D image, because it is easier for my brain to translate something 2-D into a 2-D drawing than it is to translate a 3-D form into a 2-D drawing. I am glad that I am understanding this concept better, because it is something I have felt a little self-conscious about in my art classes.

I hope I will be able to apply my better understanding of the shoulder blades to creating the muscles on my Maniken. I have been dreading doing that assignment, to be honest, because while I understand that it important and useful, the Maniken has been a very frustrating, exasperating experience for me.