LD2 Week 2 - Skulls and critique

This week, we continued working on our first project (three skull drawings from three angles: 3/4-front, profile, 3/4-back) and then critiqued them on Wednesday.

During our critique, we first split into small groups (4-5 students, with one advanced student to help guide the critique) and discussed our individual drawings. We then, as a class, had a quick look at all of the drawings and made comments on a few of them. I found that beginning as small groups has a number of benefits. It allowed us to get more one-on-one feedback from our peers, as well as a student who already has a solid understanding of artistic anatomy. I believe that this is quite helpful to pick out which areas of our work need the most refinement. The class critique that followed built on that, allowing us to observe successful drawings in order to get a sense of direction.

The first image below is of the three skull drawings I completed for this project. The second image is two of the three drawings I made for the same project that we were assigned in Life Drawing 1 (for some reason, I am unable to find an image of my third drawing from LD1).




When compared with the drawings I made for Life Drawing 1, I am pleased with my drawings for this project. I was initially concerned about how I would cope with the drawings after being out of practice over the summer, but it wasn't nearly as painful as I imagined. The major improvement I notice between the drawings is the proportions. In my LD1 drawings, I elongated the cranium of the skull, making it look too pointed. The craniums in my recent drawings are more rounded and believable. I was a bit more comfortable and successful in adding contour lines to my LD1 drawings, but I'm sure that I will improve in that aspect as the semester progresses.

One of the biggest concerns I'm having this semester (it was also a concern in LD1) is the amount of time it takes me to create a drawing. It's obvious that I spent the most time on the 3/4-front view for the recent skull project, but that doesn't at all imply a lack of effort put towards the profile and 3/4-back views. I am continually measuring, drawing, remeasuring, erasing, redrawing, etc. etc. This really slows me down, but I find it very difficult to draw acceptable lines on my first (or second, or third, or fourth..) attempt. I'm not sure if this means that I need to focus on the movement of my arm while I'm drawing, or if it stems from the way I'm viewing the skull. This is one of the top focuses on my list of things to improve.