Final Blog!

This semester went so fast! But I feel that I have taken a lot away from this class. We have learned several features of the face and harder parts of the body to draw since midterm, such as the hands and feet. Hands and feet have always been a struggle for me, so by learning how to draw them better, I feel like it really improves my drawing as a whole. I also enjoyed learning how to draw the the features of the face and how they work together. By learning how to draw them and make them look three dimension, really adds volume to the faces I draw.
We also took a field trip to the Mall of America to see the bodies exhibit and then went to look around the MIA. This experience was really neat. I learned so much by wondering around and looking at the different bodies and body structures. All the different displays they had set up in there were fascinating as well. My favorite was the nervous system, just because it was really neat to see all the little nerves that branch off and got to different parts of the body.
Outside of class we worked on our manikins and shell drawings. We didn't get as far on our manikins as we were supposed to. But we finished all the leg muscles, and got to see how they fit and worked together. As far as the shell drawings, we completed two of them. The first one, didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. It didn't look like it receded into space and it needed the lines to vary in space more. However, the second one I drew the shell at a different angle and we painted it in India ink to add movement and depth the picture, and it looks a lot better than the first.
If there was one thing I wish we could have done yet in the class, it would have been to learn how to render the body. I felt like this class improved my line drawing, however, usually when drawing the body, you have to shade and show the depth by drawing in the shadows and highlights. I feel like this was some what accomplished in our shell drawings, but I would have liked to do it more in our drawings in class.

http://s880.photobucket.com/albums/ac8/debrouxs/

The face and hands

This week we learned how to draw the ears and mouth to go along with the rest of the face. We did this by picking a partner in class and drawing their head. The part I struggled with the most was getting the eyes lined up and making sure they were at the right angle because my partner was slightly turning away from me. I also struggled with drawing the mouth. I have never been good at making the mouth match up with the rest of the face and drawing it to the right proportions. But I think that I did a pretty good job matching them up and actually think the picture looks some what close to the person I was drawing. I think the lecture on how to draw the mouth really helped.
On Thursday we practiced drawing hands. The hands are similar to the feet so we just used our prior knowledge to draw the hands. I found it really hard to get them in the right proportion and make the hand look like it was three dimensional. But after drawing 3 different hands I think I finally got them to look in proportion.

Shell

The first and foremost difference between my last shell drawing and this one is that I drew a different shell. I decided to draw my smaller shell because it had a more interesting shape with more bumps and ridges. I wanted to try and challenge myself by drawing a harder shell, so I chose the smaller one. I liked drawing this shell's shape better than the last one, however I found it really difficult to figure out how to draw some of the lines. The hardest lines to draw were the ones that switched directions. It also didn't help that when I tried to earse the lines that were incorrect they wouldn't erase completely, making the drawing as a whole look rather sloppy.
Drawing big was another challenge. I had to start over a couple times to make sure it was big enough and in proportion. I used conte crayon to draw this shell and I think that is part of the reason the lines wouldn't erase as well. One thing I would like to improve is to draw the lines that are closer darker and the ones that are further away lighter. I would also try to create a cleaner drawing with less erase marks.
In class I was told that My drawing could be improved if I drew it at more of an angle. There is a long axis line, but a little more tilt to the shell would create a more interesting drawing. I also need to change my line weight. Like I said earlier, creating darker, thicker lines where the shell is closer to the viewer and lighter, thinner lines there the shell is receding from the viewer. Finally I could vary the amount of space between my lines in order to show the different curves and angles of the shell.

Bodies Exhibition and the Skull

This week we took a field trip to the Mall of America to see the bodies exhibition and then we went to MIA to look at the artwork there as well. I found the bodies exhibition very interesting and beneficial to me when it comes to drawing. Upon arrival, I was afraid I would get sick or feel queasy while I was in there, but after getting inside I realized I had nothing to worry about. One of my favorite displays there was the nervous system. I liked the display case where it showed all the nerves, neurons, and spinal column. I am amazed that they could get all of those nerves out of a body without destroying them. I also found all the full body manikins very helpful when it came to seeing how the muscles worked together on the body and where each are located.
At the MIA, I went into the Louvre section of the museum and found it really neat to see some of the paintings and sculptures that are located in the Louvre. Some day, I hope to go see the actual Louvre and all the beautiful artwork displayed there. We also looked at the Native American, Japanese, and architectural displays. There was so much to see, and not much time to see it, but I really enjoyed the field trip as a whole.
In class on Thursday, we began drawing the skull. I am really glad we are starting to learn how to draw the head and face. I think it will really help my drawing skills when drawing people. I like learning the shape and where things are located on the skull, because I found that I was making the face bigger than what it was supposed to be. But after seeing the face in proportion with the rest of the skull I began to see where everything was supposed to be.

Feet!

This week in Life drawing, we concentrated on the feet. We got several long periods of time to observe and draw the feet with the different bone structures, muscles, and shapes that Amy taught us when drawing the feet. I really liked the half hour drawing periods of the feet, because I was able to get the right proportions and shapes of the foot. I tried several different positions of the foot in order to challenge and prepare myself for when we have to draw the whole body in detail. I am really glad we have finally learned how to draw the feet because it is something I have always had trouble with, but now feel a lot more confident when doing so. I look forward to learning how to draw the hands.
It was really interesting learning how the bones connect to each other in the feet. I never realized that the some of the metatarsals attach to the heel while others attach to the ankle. I also like how amy taught us to draw the toes because I had always thought of them as one part. However, she taught us that there are 3 phalanges that make up each toe except the big toe, so we should draw them with 3 angles, which help them to look more life like. Drawing the foot with side plains also seemed to help give the foot more dimensionality and made it actually look like a 3D object.

New Shells!

This week in class it took me a while to get back into drawing. Since we hadn't drawn at all the week before, I felt out of practice. I found that the 30 second gesture drawings were not long enough. I am having a hard time drawing all the skeletal and parts of the body that we were taught in class in 30 seconds and often only get the spinal cord, rib cage and pelvis mapped out in that time. I think the one minute- 2 minute time amounts really allow me to get back into drawing and practice drawing all the part of the body that we have learned this far. I liked that we had a couple long poses, I feel like I am able to get everything in better proportion and mapped out properly. The half hour to hour poses are my favorite. It gives us a enough time to get everything drawn out and refined. I have been working on my line weight in the longer poses as well. I think they are starting to get a little better, and not as dark.
For homework, we had to re-do the abductors on our manikins. I realized that I had left part of a muscle out the first time I built them, because I thought the book was showing a couple of the muscles together. However, the second time building them, I was able to look closer and build the muscles correctly and in proportion to each other. We also got new shells and had to draw them as conture drawings for our homework over the weekend. Having the larger shells made it easier to draw, however, the shell I received was very smooth and hard to draw because there were no bumps or movement in the shell to draw.

MIDTERM!

I feel that I have learned a lot this semester in life drawing. I thought I knew how to draw the body in proportion before this course, however after learning the proportions in terms of the rib cage and the pelvis, I realized I was making the torso of the body way too long. I also learned how to map out different skeletal and muscle structures on the body while drawing the model. I think my strengths so far this semester are drawing the spinal column and the location of the ribs in comparison to the pelvis. However, I do think that I can improve on drawing the model from different angles/views. I am starting to get better at doing foreshortening, but I feel that I can still improve even more.
I would like to get better at drawing foreshortening, along with different angles the model is in comparison to me. I also need to try to draw with thinner or lighter lines. I tend to always draw really dark, and then when I need to go back and fix my drawings, or make sure they are in proportion, the lines are often too dark to erase or get rid of them. By the end of the semester I would also like to get better at building the manikin. I have been working hard to make it, as close to the book as possible, however, I am never quite sure if they are completely right or the right size. Many times I feel like I make the muscles too small or too big. I would like to go over the muscles more in class to make sure the ones I have done are correct, so I am not building over muscles that are incorrect. I do realize that several muscles have to be assigned at a time in order to finish them all, yet I feel that when there are only about 5 muscles assigned at a time, I can spend more time and make sure they are created better and in proportion.
I feel that life drawing has really helped me to draw things with depth and in proportion. I will use these skills in all of art classes, whether it be to map out a design/picture or to fully render a drawing.

http://s880.photobucket.com/albums/ac8/debrouxs/

This week was a shortened week due to Advisement day. So by the time we actually had to draw again, i felt out of practice. After doing a couple 30 second gesture drawings of the girl model, I began to get back in the groove. What I liked about this class period was that we had longer time amounts to draw the model, and really focus on the whole body and detail. I find the 30 second poses good for becoming comfortable with the subject matter at the beginning of class, but I find it hard to really get much of anything drawn. I like the 5 minute up to 45 minute poses the best. I also liked the variety of views the girl model was able to give us this week. However, I found it hard to draw some of the views depending on the angle. When she is straight on or sitting down, sometimes I find it hard to figure out the placement of the pelvis or rib cage, or have troubles with the foreshortening. This week, I felt as if I got a little better hold on foreshortening when Amy and Josh walked around the class and pointed out different markers or ways to check your drawings to make sure they are in proportion. I feel that the figures I draw are slowing becoming more and more in proportion each week, with learning all the different skeletal and muscular structures that make up the body.

The Pelvis

This week we spent Tuesday watching a video on the pelvis bones and glut muscles. It contained a lot of information and was somewhat interesting. Since it was an older video it was a little dry and I had a hard time seeing what he was drawing, but I learned a lot about how to draw the pelvis. I thought it was good that we got to practice drawing the model that same day because we got practice doing what we just learned and it broke up the class period. I learn better when the class is segmented because it keeps my attention better. Even though the video taught me a lot about how to draw the pelvis, I think I prefer having lectures. I can then ask questions if something is unclear and I like how Amy draws it out as she explains it because that is how I learn best.
I enjoyed drawing the model on Thursday as well. We hadn't drawn a girl model in a while, so it was nice to get some variety. I liked how she gave several poses because it really helped me to practice drawing what we had learned during Tuesdays class. It took me a while to warm up, but after doing the 30 second poses for a while, I was able to get back into it again and found that my drawings improved a great deal. I think learning about the muscles and bones is really paying off because my drawings are improving and I am able to make sure the body is proprotionate to everything.

The Abdominals

This last week we learned about about the ribs along with the abdominal muscles. I had never realized that there were four different muscles that make up the abdominals. I had thought that there were only two. The ribs were also very interesting to learn about. Now that we talked about how to draw the sternum and how to draw the ribs from the front and side view, it is a lot easier to draw the models. I have a better idea of how long the abdominal and rib cage so be, helping me keep the body in better proportion. I was confused or wondering about one thing though, I had thought that men had one less rib than females, however, we were told that everyone has twelve ribs. So is it a myth or is it true?
Drawing the model this week felt a little like starting over. It felt like a long time since i had drawn since we missed a week and half of drawing. After the the first couple drawings for 30 seconds, I began to get back in the groove. Some of the poses were hard to draw because of the angle or how he was standing. But after practicing, I got better, and began to understand to draw the rib cage, spine, and sternum, along with the spinal column that we learned a couple weeks ago.

Muscles!

This week in life drawing, I didn't get much time to actually practice drawing the spine. After learning about how it curves and what the spine is made up with, I had my shell critique and only got to draw one drawing from the model this week. I really hope we get more time to practice with the spine as well as learn how to draw the central line in the front, because I missed then while in critique as well.
I worked on building my muscles on my little skeleton model this last weekend, and found it a little difficult. Even though the book provides a variety of views from different angles sometimes it is hard to tell how big and the location of each muscle in comparison to each other. Some of the muscles that we were supposed to put on the skeleton this week were pretty little and just ended up getting covered by other muscles which is a little frustrating after working hard to make sure they are in the right spot and shaped the same as the one in the book. I think once we get further along in building the skeletons it will be more fun because there will be more muscles that I will be familiar with and be able to recognize on the body when I am drawing the model in class.

First week

The first week of classes went surprisingly well. I was excited that we got to start drawing an actual model right away. At first I thought it was going to be a little awkward, but it wasn't! Our first model we had did a really good job switching poses and making sure everyone got to draw from all angles. It took me a little while to get warmed up and used to drawing again, since I haven't taken a drawing class for a couple of semesters. Drawing in gesture form for the first half hour of class really helped me get things in proportion and see the figure as a whole. I am still having a hard time drawing with loose lines and trying to show the whole form only drawing the lines that are closest or most dominant in the figure.
After doing the in class contour drawing, I realized that I had done my wrong. I drew lines going in both directions to show the curves of the body form from both directions. I also, did it with fast lines and filling in most of the form with the checkered board-like lines. However, after looking around the room and seeing how other students created their contour drawing along with the discussion about how everyone drew theirs, I now have a better idea of how to draw using contour lines.

Intro Post

My name is Sam, and this is the first Life Drawing class I have taken. I have always been fascinated with drawing people, particularly faces, however I would like to expand my horizons by drawing the whole body. I have done lots of self portraits and people drawings in several of my art classes in the past and have really enjoyed working with the human figure.
I think this class will help me to draw things in three-dimension and learn how to draw better with line rather than just shading. I want to work on having clean lines rather than ones that have a sketchy quality along with having variety with my line weight. I also want to improve on drawing things/body parts in proportion with each other.
Here are a couple of drawings/paintings I have done in other classes.