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.