flickr photos

Here is the link to my flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44090358@N04/

Life Drawing Final!!!!

What I learned in lifedrawing is that drawing the human form is really really hard, yet fun! I enjoyed doing the quick gesture drawings and learning how to proportion out the spine, lungs, legs, head and pelvis using the box technique. I also really learned alot getting feedback directly from Amy about how to create curved lines that pop out towards the viewer as well as angular lines that give the recede into space. I also learned quite a bit about how to see the skeletal structure and muscles as they inform the form of the body.
I would say that my weaknesses are getting the right proportions of the different parts of the body as well as getting varying line weights. However, I would say that I definitely improved my ability to make different line weights and proportions just through the practice that I had throughout this course.
I would say my strengths are my general ability to draw in perspective as well as long, fluid linework.
I know that I will use what I have learned in life drawing in my field of industrial design as I draw different human interactions with my products, like hands, feet, and whole gestural forms.
I look forward to taking more life drawing classes to improve my abilities in linework and gesture drawing.

Faces, Hands

Skull Drawings

I had a really fun time drawing the skulls. I think for one, I was really on that day. But I also think I just really enjoyed drawing the skulls because they were do different from what we had ever done before. I think it will be really interesting to see how well I draw a real person's head now that I've managed to execute drawing the skull.
I would say that the most difficult part for me in drawing the skull was getting the proportions and positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth correct and pointing in the right plane.
I also thought it was quite challenging to express the caverns and crevices in the skull. I mainly resorted to shading for this, but I also learned from Amy after class that more angular lines help make a line pop out more in space that just smooth, organic lines. So I tried it and was pleasantly surprised to see how it really improved my drawing. I really love those "Ahah!" moments.
Anyways, I look forward to what we will draw in class tomorrow.
I really hope my drawing continues to improve through whatever we do tomorrow!
Until then,
Cheers!

Reflections on BodyWorld at the MOA

I have to say that I was a little freaked out by all the remains of dead people in the Body World Exhibit. I think it was very cool how the bodies were preserved and turned into plastic, especially the central nervous system and the baby embryos. However, I personally had a little moral dilemma with the exhibit because I felt the bodies were a little too objectified. It was very hard for me to look at them all dissected and on display because I knew that they were once living and breathing human beings with souls. I was just going to write that I thought perhaps it would have been easier for me to look at the exhibit had I known a little bit about the background of the people's remains that were displayed, but now after saying it, I still don't think my mind would be totally at ease. For me, I completely understand why people would donate their bodies to science to help train medical students to become successful doctors help others, and I definitely do agree that these exhibits and the complexity of the human body is truly amazing and worth learning about. However, I just couldn't quite get over the fact that the bodies were on public display and were a little too objectified for me personally - maybe i could even say that since there was no mention of the names of the people who died or their histories, it seemed a little lacking in respect for who they were at one time (people, not objects).
Anyways, my aim here is not to get on a soap box about the value of life, but to just share my gut reactions to the show.
I did have an awesome time and really did learn quite alot about the muscles in the body and the immense complexity of our bodies! So all in all it was a great trip for me!

I will also say that I was truly amazed at the human embryos - it was so neat to see the progression of their development in the womb, yet so sad to hear how some of them died (but i'm glad to have known, because it recognizes their life and death).

Anyways, my next post will be on the how my drawings have been coming along. Until then,
Au Revoir!

More Feet and another long pose

This is my long pose drawing from yesterday's class.  I switched to pencil instead of my usual conte or charcoal and mapped out the form as quickly as possible.  I then came back in with some charcoal to accent certain parts of the drawing.  I think it could use some more refinement as to the darker marks with charcoal in order to give it more drama and visual appeal.  I look forward to seeing the "Body" exhibit on tuesday! 

Lots of feet!!!!

This week has been alot of fun for me since we've been focusing on the feet.  I really enjoy the "bony-ness" (if that's a word) of feet and it seems to be fun for me to draw.  It's definitely been a challenge for me to get the toes right (and the right amount), so as you can see in some of my drawings, i've ran out of time to complete the toes - or i just omitted them.  I also feel that I'm learning quite a bit about blocking out the general form of the foot and then coming back in with the contours.   I look forward to moving forward and learning about the hands.  

Link

Here's the link to my flickr photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44090358@N04/with/4051187895/

Where I'm At- Mid-term check-up

So far this semester, I would say that I have learned the most about the skeletal structure of the spinal column, ribs, pelvic bones, and limbs. Secondly it's been very interesting for me to learn about the various muscles in our limbs and in hip area. I would say that learning about the ratios of the lungs to pelvic bones has been very helpful to me in learning to get my proportions right as I draw from our models. I would also say that learning to look for the spinal muscles and curvature has been huge in getting the essential gesture of the models in my drawings.
I would say that my weaknesses right now is my tendency to jump into drawing without looking hard first at my model and using too many heavy lines without hierarchy. I would like to improve on my linework throughout the semester and really be sensitive in the marks I put down and establish hierarchy and visual interest with my linework.
I would also like to improve my knowledge of the muscles of the body with the maniken and be able to translate that into my drawing. When I first shot the pictures for this maniken, I didn't do a very delicate job of putting on the muscles. So since then, I've come to realize that I can do much better and have subsequently changed alot of the quads and hamstrings. I will add pictures of those as soon as I have them done!
I think that's all I have for right now!

Maniken photos

Here is the latest pics of my maniken!

Reflections on Manikens and getting back into the swing of drawing

This week I found drawing to be quite a challenge. Last class period I had alot going on in my mind and I think it totally showed in the way I was drawing. Instead of having strong and confident lines, I kept drawing line after line trying to get the right one and ended up with a bunch of unwanted and chaotic lines that weren't unified. I also think I was kind of rusty with life drawing as it had been about 2 weeks since we last drew from our models. Anyways, I think the Manikens have been kind of interesting to do. I haven't quite figured out the best technique for putting the clay on the maniken, whether i should create the basic shape of the muscle before i put it on the maniken or if i should just build up the muscle on the maniken a little at a time. i'm not quite sure yet, but i'll have to try building it up this time as i had been mainly making the muscles first and then putting them on.
i hope that i will be able to really learn the different muscles of the body and be able to easily recognize them on our models so i can better represent the actually contours and forms. i've also found the bone structure lessons quite interesting- i especially found it interesting to learn that we build bones by actually putting strain on them from using our muscles and that allows the bones to grow and take in calcium. Very interesting! anyways, I will post some pictures of my drawings as soon as i get back to the art building! cheers!

How Life Drawing saved my ID project.....

So. I've already begun to use what i've learned in life drawing to help me draw characters for a redesign of an existing line of soft, plush girls' dolls called "Groovy Girls" that are made by a toy company called Manhatten Toys in Minneapolis, MN. The company has asked our ID senior class to "re-envision" the groovy girls, and these are some of my first concepts, with refinements to be made by tuesday to be sent off for review by the company.
I think my practice in drawing from live models in class has helped me to learn the basic characteristics of the human form and helped me quite a bit in drawing these little characters. I had quite a blast with these! So, thanks to life drawing one - you have already helped me a ton! Cheers!
p.s. I would love any feedback or ideas on how to improve these "Groovy Girls" - any fun ideas on how to get parents to buy wholesome dolls for their girls would be welcome!

Okay, so not much more improvement after hour #3 of cross-contour drawing!

Well, sadly to say, after hour #3, I still don't feel that I really mastered drawing my shell with cross-contours....or at least I would say this is definitely NOT my best work. But that is to be expected - these ARE my first real attempts at doing this.
I really enjoyed doing the cross-contours with our model in class last week and I seemed to have a better time of catching the contours. I think some of the reason for that was because the human form has much smoother surfaces and not so many ridged edges like the shell. And because I didn't have to try to magnify the object I was looking at by 300 times!

As you can see in my pictures of my shell drawings, I broke quite a few rules - I used an outer edge line to define the outer edges and used some value to create volume. These were my early drawings. By hour #3, however, I did a few drawings without the outer edges, but I think they still look kind of funny. I think I did 7 in all, but most were not worth showing (it's arguable if the ones I am posting are worth showing either, I know!) Anyways, I think I may have gone too fast in my drawings, so I don't have tons of detail. However, I feel that if I didn't go at a steady, faster pace, I would loose perspective of the volume of the whole thing, and I didn't want that to happen wither. So I am hoping to learn some good techniques in class, and practice some more. That's all for now!

Dang that shell!

Alright. So this is hour 2 of my cross-contour drawing of my miniscule shell and I must say I am very frustrated. I can't seem to successfully create the rise and fall of the shell as well as get the grooves in as well. They must also get progressively larger as the shell widens and flattens out at the edges as well. And without the guides of edge lines to map out the basic proportions of the shell, I must say I am not getting the proportion very well, as I am trying to create volume, proportion, and very detailed contours every time I lay down a line - oh! and not to mention magnifying the shell in my drawing as well!! so with all these elements I am trying to master at once, I am feeling like I am definitely fumbling along and not being very successful at any of them yet! argghh! YET, I continue, and hopefully I will see by the end that this is all very rewarding training for my eye and hand. UNTIL THEN, I continue with 1 hour left........

This is all very new to me, this blogging thing!
i am very excited to have it is all set up and running so i can keep my photos of work posted.

I am very excited to take life drawing I as I have drawn from live models in the past, and have greatly benefited in my drawing ability from that experience. I am an industrial design student, so i am always looking for opportunities to improve my drawing skills and learn more about how to accurately draw the human form. Some of my favorite artists, such as Gustav Klimt and Michaelangelo, draw/sculpt the human body exquisitely and with much expression. I really enjoy the gestural aspect of life drawing and hope to be able to become much quicker at drawing body gestures. I also hope to gain alot of confidence in my line weights and the way i lay down lines. I just bought a 24"x36" 100-page pad of newsprint and a bunch of charcoal, so I am ready and anxious to get started!