Figure Drawing Part 2

The point of today's class was to draw not only the figure but also the objects around her. It is very important to have more than just the figure because the entire scene is what makes up the drawing. The objects in the drawing give a better perspective of where the model is in relation their surroundings. The proportions of every object becomes easier and easier to determine the more objects that are drawn and so because of this I enjoyed doing this, to some extent, more than the more simplified figure drawings that we did 2 weeks ago. I found that shading was very important in this not only for the model but also for the objects around her. Shadows and different textures help make the image pop out more.

Figure Drawing

Today was my first time drawing the figure of a person and it was interesting to say the least. We began by drawing very basic sketches of the model in various poses in order to practice drawing the main components of the human body in the right poses. The ribs, hips, arms, legs, neck and head are all the most important body parts and so I drew those, with lines for the table when necessary. Next we began to add more of the body to the frame to begin making the drawings look a bit more realistic. Professor Rifka then showed us how to do blocking which basically we would create sections within the human body in order to show how they connect with one another. Finally, we were allowed to attempt to draw the figure of the model completely. This was fun because there was less restrictions. I think these last two drawings are my favorite however I did not feel comfortable adding in detail to the face because of how small I made the drawing. I think it would have been better to use another sheet of paper for my last drawing and add as much detail as possible.

Profile Portraits

While it is exciting doing drawings of friends, it can also be nerve wracking because you don't want to make your friend look bad in the event that they get upset with you. Today in drawing we had to do profile portraits of either googled images or of people in the classroom. I chose to attempt to draw one of my friends and so I first took a photo of him sitting and facing perpendicular to me and took my photo to use as my reference to draw him since he would be looking down to do his own drawing. 

Drawing portraits always comes with A LOT of erasing as you have to constantly adjust proportions as you draw more and more of the person's features. I began with drawing the basic shape of his head and then added in the nose, lips, eyes, and ears. I had A LOT of problems drawing the lips properly and had to enlist in the help of Professor Rifka in order to get them to look how they do now. The ears were actually my favorite part and I like how they came out with the shading. At first it seemed weird drawing the cheekbone so high but looking at his face, that seems to be the right location. After shading in the skin and drawing the hair as best as i could, it became clear to me that I may have made his head a little to wide. I fixed it as best I could in the short amount of time I had left while still managing to maintain the basic shape of his head. Overall, I think I could have made a few more changes to make the drawing fit proportionally but I enjoyed drawing this side profile than the entire face.

Vanishing Points and Horizon Lines

Today in class we learned more about vanishing points and horizon lines. A vanishing point is important because it gives the artist a point to refer back to when drawing each line. The vanishing point is what is actually there when looking down a block in the city. Horizon lines are more obvious when looking at a landscape and are equally important as it stands as a reference line for the rest of the drawing. 

For my drawing I chose to draw a street with a myriad of stores and buildings on one side and one large building on the left side. My drawing is supposed to show how all these different small family owned stores and businesses are slowly going out of business due to the constant rise of large corporations. I wanted to portray this thought while using the vanishing point to my advantage. It clear the more buildings I drew that I originally had not done my lines properly and so I had to erase them and fix them accordingly so that the various shapes and sizes were still obvious as well as the distance between some of the buildings. While this drawing is not completed with signs to show the purpose of the variety of buildings, I think my use of the vanishing point is clear in the drawing. 

Trompe-l'oeil

Today in drawing 1 we learned about Trompe-l'oeil style drawings. Trompe l'oeil in English, stands for "deceive the eye" and many of these style drawings can be seen in street art where the artist will attempt to create a three dimensional drawing on a sidewalk. This is an example of such a drawing: http://www.brothersbychoice.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jux_leg.jpeg

For my attempt at a similar styled drawing I tried to set up this board in a way that it had shadows and objects that would show where each object is in relation to one another. The shadows in this type of drawing are especially important because they give that type of effect when done properly. I feel that I should have added a more three dimensional feel to this drawing and after viewing various examples like the one in the link above, I have a better understanding of how to go about this.