Life Drawing Midterm

It's been an interesting first quarter in Life Drawing I. As I've mentioned before, this is the first drawing class I've had in the last few years, and I'd never attempted figure drawing before. This presented a few challenges, but I think that I'm overcoming them pretty well. Learning about particular parts of the body is helpful to the development of my skills, and I enjoy being able to watch my drawings get better as we learn more. So far, I've learned some interesting stuff; the techniques for developing proper proportion are very beneficial, as I believe proportion is the biggest factor in making a figure drawing look realistic. I had also never realized the angles of the human body; I always assumed that the form was relatively vertical, but offset angles are very prevalent. Besides learning the basic figure, I find the Manikin muscle modeling to be helpful. It enables me to envision the muscles on the model and draw lines that create a believable form.

My abilities are getting stronger, and I think I've made apparent improvement since the beginning of class. I still have a problem with gesture drawings, though; I have a hard time capturing the movement of the figure while keeping the drawing recognizable and not just looking like a jumble of scribbles. Throughout the rest of the semester, I would like to simply continue strengthening my abilities and be able to make good drawings. As far as relating to my other courses, pretty much everything I do in Life Drawing will help me. One of my main interests in design is 3D modeling and animation, and the biggest reason I took this course is so that I will be able to better model realistic 3D human characters. The better I am at visualizing, understanding and being able to drawing the human form, the better I will be at making a 3D model of the human form.

Here is the link to my midterm portfolio:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeisanimated/sets/72157623637014724/

Muscle Modeling - Thighs

Continuation of our clay muscle modeling process. This is what I was able to do for the quads, adductors, hamstrings, and glutes.

A few more contours..

Here are two more contour drawings from class. The first one (drawn February 23rd) I feel shows good progress from my first drawings. The more I learn about the human structure, the better and easier my drawings become. Proportion is the key factor in creating a realistic drawing, and my ability to draw body parts the right size is getting stronger. Learning the muscles is also a huge help; the lines drawn as a result of learning them are small details that play another significant role in making a convincing drawing.

I made this next drawing on March 2nd. We began including the muscles in our drawings, and that was quite an interesting process. It was time to see what we've learned from modeling our Manikins.

I'm pleased with how the drawing turned out, but it was quite the process. I understood where the muscles were on my Manikin, but it was harder than it seems to visualize the muscles on the model and draw them in perspective. This, as well as continuing to tackle proportion, led to extensive use of my eraser, but I'm making progress.

Bell Museum visit

After the trip to the Walker Museum, our class visited the Bell Museum of Natural History. We were to choose a specimen and execute a contour drawing; I chose to draw a Caspian Tern.

Walker Museum visit

Last week, our class made a visit to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. I'd never been there before, and it was nice to get out and take a look at all it had to offer. There were many interesting and thought-provoking pieces, but one that I found myself particularly interested in was Jasper Johns' Fool's House. Completed in 1962, the piece is a 72"x36" oil painting on canvas, with objects attached to it.

The broom in the center of the piece is what initially caught my attention; I did a double take when I realized it was a physical object rather than a painted element. I also noticed that there were other objects included in the piece: a towel, stretcher, and cup. Each object was labeled with handwritten text. I understood the meaning behind the piece to be a look into the everyday life of a "fool", likely the artist's reference to himself. Upon first glance, I felt that 'average' was a good way to describe it; the objects were quite basic, and the rest of the canvas was covered in loose, neutral-colored brush strokes, with the text "USE FOOL'S HO" stenciled across the top. I then noticed a stroke towards the bottom of the canvas that was done using the broom as a paint brush. This led me to view the piece in a different way, and question the artist's perception of the objects. I saw them as simple and ordinary items, but Johns might view them as functional tools.

I walked away from Fool's House with the idea of meaning in my head, and how such a simple piece can have such depth to it. As I said, I found it intriguing yet average when I took my first look, but an element as minimal as the broom/brush stroke put me at a different angle.