Acrylic Painting

In this session on the 23rd February 2015 we were using acrylic paints to paint the life model. I started off by painting the background of the paper in light brown. I then started to paint the outline of the figure using a small paintbrush and a medium brown paint. Next I started to use dark brown, white and very light brown to add the lighter and darker tones . I used a very small paintbrush to add detail to the face and hair. The materials I used during this session were acrylic paints, hog hair brushes in a range of sizes, paper, water and paint mixing pallete. The techniques I used we're painting, measuring, and drawing to scale and in proportion. I had to look at the shape and form of the figure,tone and colour to make an accurate drawing and to paint with and mix the correct colours.

Areas of my work that I think worked well are the contrast in tone and colour I used, but areas of my work that didn't work so well were the rest of my painting. Painting is one of my weakest materials to use I think, so i tried my hardest to use the paint to create a good life study but I don't think it turned out that well in the end so I was a bit disappointed. Because I made the outline with paint instead of pencil, I couldn't change it if I made a mistake so the proportions of the figure are not accurate. I also struggled to draw the face so it doesn't look very realistic.

To extend my skills I looked at other students work in my class and compared it to my own to help me identify my strengths and weaknesses of my painting. 

Charcoal Drawing

In this session on the 19th January 2015, we were using charcoal to create our life drawings. Before we started out actual drawings, we used an interesting metro of drawing with the charcoal to create different marks and a different style of drawing. We used a piece of charcoal attatched to a long bamboo stick to draw with on a large piece of paper. This was quite difficult to do because you didn't have much control of the marks you were making. After a few practices I got the hang of it and I found it a little easier to control and my drawings looked a little bit like the figure but looked a bit abstract in style and had different mark making because of the technique we used to draw with. 

Materials I used during this session were charcoal, an eraser and an A2 piece of paper. The techniques I used during this session were drawing, shading, positive and negative space, scale, measuring, and tonal study. The formal elements I looked at were line, shape and form and tone.

After practicing using charcoal in other sessions last term and working on it as it was one of my weaknesses, I found it much easier to use the charcoal effectively and made my drawing work quite well. I found that my drawing was quite accurate so I was really pleased with how it turned out in the end of the session. Areas of my work that worked well were the shading and tone which I was really pleased with. Areas of my work that didn't work so well and could be improved are the hands and feet again because I really struggled to draw them, and the proportions of the figure because I think it looks out of proportion, particularly the legs. Overall I was quite impressed with how much my drawing using charcoal had improved since last term and I think the use of shading and tone worked really well.

To extend my skills I have looked at other charcoal life drawings on the Internet and competed them to my own work to identify my strengths and weaknesses.

Sitting Down Pose

In this session on the 5th January 2015 we were looking at drawing the model using pencil again, but this time the model was in a sitting down pose rather than standing up. The materials I used during this session were a 2B pencil, paper and an eraser. Techniques I used during this session were drawing, shading and measuring. I also concentrated on and used positive and negative space, tonal study, scale, proportion and accuracy. I made sure I used a similar working technique as last time to ensure my drawing looked quite accurate as my first drawing.

Areas of my work that I think worked well are the accuracy of proportion and scale of the figure, and the shading. even though I didn't have enough time to finish the shading, I was pleased with the bit I did do because I think it looks pretty accurate and realistic because I have used a range of tones and there is good contrast. it is also blended well to make it look more real. In this session I tried to focus more on the hands and feet because I struggled to draw them in the first session. I tried to draw them by breaking the fingers and toes up into shapes and with more help from my tutor, I improved a little bit from the last life drawing session but I still didn't manage to draw them very accurately. I think this is something I need to keep practicing and trying to improve throughout the term. areas of my work that didn't work too well were my time keeping because I didn't leave enough time to add more shading to my drawing so I need to try and work quicker in the future.

To extend my skills, I have practiced with drawing hands and feet again. Overall, I am quite pleased with this drawing and I think it is quite accurate in the shading, and the proportion etc.

Portrait Drawing

I had two or three sessions to do a portrait drawing of a friend. I sat with my friend in front of me and studied the features to try to draw them accurately and draw my first proper portrait drawing. I started by learning how to draw certain features of the face step by step from my tutor. This gradually built up the face. I started off by drawing the eyes, as the eyes are a good point to start from when drawing a portrait because almost all the other features can be drawn in comparison and using measurements from the eyes. I then drew the nose, lips, and outline of the head, all using specific steps from my tutor which helped to draw them accurately and in proportion to the eyes. I then drew in the chin and jaw line, and then the ears. Next was the hair and eyebrows, and finally the shading and tone of the face. I used a 2B pencil for the whole drawing as this meant the outlines were quite light and I could also get a good range of tones in my shading from dark to light. The shading was the part that made the portrait look realistic, as the face is 3D and is defined by shadows and light hitting it in different places. When I added the shading, I was pleased with how realistic the portrait looked. 

Techniques I used to create my piece of work were shading, sketching, measuring, shape, and tonal study. I concentrated on accuracy and proportion, measurements and scale to make sure my drawing looked correct.

Areas of my work that I thought worked well were the shading, because I'm pleased with how realistic it looks and I think normally I'm not very good at shading but it turned out really well in my portrait. I'm really pleased with the whole drawing, and I think my use of proportion, scale and measuring are pretty accurate. Areas of my work that could have worked a little better were making sure the eyes were both the same size because one is slightly larger than the other. Apart from this and adding more tone to the hair, I don't think anything else needed to be changed. I like how realistic my portrait looks aswell. This portrait is the first piece of the life drawing project, and I'm pleased with how it's turned out, as the weeks go on I can improve my skills in drawing people figures so hopefully this has made a good start and I will be able to develop my skills and techniques more .

To extend on my skills I looked at my classmates portraits of each other, and compared them with my own to help me identify my strengths and weaknesses, and similarities and differences.

 

Standing Pose

In this session on the 15th December 2014 we were drawing the life model in a standing pose using 2B pencil. This was my very first session of life drawing and I wasn't too sure of what to expect at first because in the past I have really struggled with drawing people. However the introduction to life drawing by my tutor and getting tips and help on life drawing and how to draw the figure in different stages helped me to draw the model quite easily. It wasn't as difficult as I imagined it to be. Materials I used during this session were just a 2B pencil, paper and an eraser. My tutor showed us different techniques and tips to use to draw the model accurately, and I also used the techniques we had used in other sessions like measuring with the pencil, scale, proportion, negative and positive space, and shading. 

We also did quick excercise a before we started drawing to help us. We did timed sketches, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute and 30 seconds, and tried drawing with our opposite hand and not looking at the paper.

Areas of my work that worked well were the accuracy of my drawing because for my first time at life drawing I think it turned out quite well and I was pleased with it. I also thought my proportion and scale was good because I used the measuring with a pencil technique. I didn't have much time to add tone but the shading I did do was quite accurate I think. Areas of my work that didn't work so well were drawing the hands and feet because I really struggled to draw them, even wth help from my tutor. This is something I think I should practice in my own time so that I can draw the hands and feet properly in future life drawing sessions. To extend my skills, I practiced drawing hands and feet in my own time and I think I have improved slightly so with more practice I should be able to draw them accurately. I have also looked at examples of other people's life drawing work on the internet to compare it with my own.

Pastel Drawing

In this session on the 26 January 2015 we were using pastels to draw the life model. First I started by lightly drawing the outline of the figure with a 2B pencil, then started to add colour and tone using the pastels. I used light brown paper because it is a mid colour between black and white meaning I could show both the lighter and darker tones in my drawing. Materials I used during this session were a 2B pencil, pastels and brown paper. Techniques I used were drawing, shading and tonal study and measuring. Formal elements I looked at are shape and form, tone, colour and scale. 

Areas of my work that I think worked well are the tone on the robe because it looks quite realistic and has good contrast. I like the range of times I have used. Areas of my work I think I need to work on are the proportions of my drawing, and blending the tone and colour so it looks smoother and more 3D. I think my shading looks too flat and unrealistic. I also think that the face and hands and feet aren't accurate because I really struggle to draw them, especially with materials like pastels, charcoal and paints where you don't have much control of small details. I don't think this is one of the best pieces of work I have produced, but I think it turned out alright as a practice drawing using pastels.

To extend my skills I have researched and looked at other peoples pastel drawing on the Internet and compared them to my own to help identify areas I could improve. These areas are adding smooth tone, having more of a range of tone, and paying attention to small details.

Watercolour Painting

During this session on the 2nd February 2015 we were using watercolours to paint the life model. Before we started doing this we used scissors and coloured paper to cut out the figure. This was to concentrate on the shape of the figure and was a different way of recording and made an abstract piece of work and was interesting because you could make something abstract from a real life object in front of you. This was a creative way of recording information. Both of my attempts at this technique looked pretty effective when I stuck them onto white paper and I like this idea.

For the rest of the session, we were using watercolours. The materials I used were watercolour paints, soft sable paintbrushes, water, paper and a 2B pencil. The techniques I used were sketching, measuring, painting and tonal study. The formal elements I looked at were shape and form, and colour and tone. 

I've never really painted with watercolours before so I wasn't sure about using them to paint the life model. Apart from the face and hands in my painting, I am pleased with it and the way it turned out looks quite effective. Areas of my work that could be improved are adding a little more contrast by adding a few darker tones. I could also improve the face and hands because I didn't have time to complete them. The proportions could also be improved a bit because they are a bit out. Areas of my work I think worked well are the way I have blended the colours and my colour mixing of accurate skin tones.

To extend my skills I had practiced doing some more watercolour painting at home in my own time and have looked at other watercolour paintings online.