Big Shell

What was different about this shell drawing compared to my very first drawing was that I chose a different angle this time and I feel like I used a lot more lines on this one and got to really learn a lot from it since it was so much larger. Taking more time and slowing down helped a lot. Some things I need to work on are line weight and variation. My whole drawing is pretty light and I feel like I need to add some darker lines to add some dimension. I also need to improve on making the bumps and point of my shell more realistic; I struggled with that a lot. Working on such big paper was nice. It was hard to find a place to draw in my house but it was nice to be able to really draw big and move the arm around. I enjoyed working with this paper, I like the texture of it. Amy talked about some of the drawings looking alive, that is also something I feel like I need to work on.

While my group was critiquing my shell drawing some of the feedback I received was about line weight and about some of my problem areas like the bumps of the shell. Amy critiqued my shell also and helped me box out my shell and showed me how to improve the curves and bumps of my shell.

This week we also learned how to draw eyes and noses. The eye drawings I did over break seemed to go a little bit smoother then noses did. It was fun to see all the different angles and plane changes of the eye. The noses I need help with, I am still not happy how mine turned out. It will be fun to see how the face comes together over the last few weeks!

Field Trip & Skull

This week we visited the Bodies exhibit at the Mall of America and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The Bodies exhibit was very helpful! It was great to see the muscles and how they look underneath the skin. It was very interesting and I learned so much by reading about all the different systems. The art institute was fun to go to also. I live in South Minneapolis, so I've been there few times but it is nice to have time to go look at whatever you would like. On Thursday we started to draw the skull. No lecture, we just started to draw. I think it went ok, it wasn't as hard as I was execting it to be. It was nice to have Amy come around and help me. Here are the two drawings we did in class, one profile and one 3/4.

Feet this Week

This week we focused on the legs and feet. Amy lectured on feet this week and we got to start to get more detailed when it comes to the feet and hands because they are similar. The feet are a struggle for me, but they are fun to work at. There are so many angles and planes to the feet and everybodies feet are different. I am glad we are practicing the feet, that was something I would always avoid drawing, and now that I know how to start with the different angles of each toe it helps a lot. Here are some of my drawings of the feet and model.

New Shells & Drawings

This week in Life Drawing, we had a lot of time to draw. We got to do a lot of gesture drawings and a few longer poses also. We are starting to focus more on the legs now. We did some of the leg muscles over this week and the second time around really helped me. It was nice to just focus on a few at a time and it was nice to be able to get them checked and look at before adding more on. I still struggle with the manikins but I'm using the different views now in the book and understanding how each angle of the manikin should look. In the drawings we did this week we were told to look at the legs and focus on the lines and muscles we saw in the knee and muscles of the leg. I enjoy focusing on the legs, it seems like there are a lot of planes and bones and angles that you can focus on and draw. I have provided a few pictures of my gesture drawings, my longer poses, and my contour shell drawing. This week I had to buy new newsprint, and I ended up getting smooth instead of rough. The paper is wrinkling very easily and doesn't look the best in pictures. This weeks shell drawing I struggled with a little but it went way better then my first one. These shells are really nice to work with, they are so much bigger than the first ones. I'm excited to see what this next week brings, it would be nice to learn about feet and how to attempt to draw those.