Naomi's Drawing Venture

 Project 6 Exercise 1 - Facial features  Sketchbook pages of facial features in pencil crayon:  Head attempt:  Reflection:  Having enjoyed the freedom and experimental of charcoal, I have been unable to grasp more intricate detail with it and had adopted a rather clumsy look to facial features in previous drawings. I have found the use of pencil crayon pleasing and a more controlled way of drawing features. I have found I can be more precise and mark in very small details.  I attempted to draw an entire head. My first attempt at this. The pencil crayon helped with control. The facial features are too big (again) and incorrectly placed. I must conquer continuing mistake and seek advice.  However there is work to be done overall and I can work on this. The left (to viewer) side of the face is the stronger side. The right the poorer. 

 Project 5 - Exercise 2 - Groups of figures  Sketch book pages:  The bus stop: Pencil, black line and watercolour... Gentleman in street with bicycle. Charcoal on brown paper... Reflection I decided to use a bus stop in my local town as a focal point. I observed the bus stop from the opposite side of the road.  I had with me a limited watercolour palette - 'Payne's Grey', 'Indigo' and 'Yellow Ochre'. A charcoal stick and a few sheets of paper.  On the whole I am pleased with the sketches. They are a good record of what I could see ahead of me. The most challenging aspect of working in this way in a street were 1. There was no room or place in this Covid world of social distancing for me to sit or get comfortable. I had to sketch whilst standing and moving. 2. The people in the bus stop, of course, did not stop moving. However, I did what I could in very quick fashion.  The ink and watercolour sketches are the most visually pleasing. The people are not badly...

 Project 5 Exercise 1 - Single moving figure  Sketchbook pages of single moving figure using black felt tip:  Reflection The figure here are in order of drawing. All figures are female.  The first sketch of the jogger was successful. I can see a moving figure here highlighted in her arms and positioning of her legs especially. I also think this sketch looks like a figure running, so I am pleased with this result.  The second and third figures are less successful. They do appear static and lack lustre. I think I let the third figure down with her arms and legs. I was drawing this figure from behind as she was walking away. As you can see, her arms and legs do not contain any movement at all and are far too straight and rigid. Lifeless.  I am especially pleased with the second page however. I captured one lady with a rucksack on her back walking up some steps. She was looking down to the steps as she walked. This two minute sketch does very loosely describe t...

 Research Point  Historic and contemporary artists whose work involves the underlying structure of the body   Historic examples:  Michelangelo 1475-1564:  Renaissance artists studied anatomy as an essential way of learning to draw the human form. These studies (1500-1510) eventually became so detailed through research that they surpassed any medical journal of the time and were used in universities to teach anatomy.  Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci became renowned for their human dissection illustrated research that they became leaders in this field, the majority of artists working on on the surface of the skin. The opportunity to dissect a human body at this time was a rare and limited.  Leonardo Da Vinci  1452 - 1519: Leonardo Da Vinci is considered the most significant artist anatomist.  His first studies show the form of the human skull in 1489. Da Vinci used the technique used in architecture - Plan, section and elevation.  ...

 Project 4 Exercise 2 - Three figure drawings I started by making a number of rapid sketches of members of my family whilst they were positioned naturally around the room. My priority here was to establish a position that looked both natural and interesting.  2 minute sketches. Mixed media - Pencil, watercolour, ink, crayon and white chalk:  Experimenting with the different media, I do like how the 'Payne's Grey watercolour helps create tone in a rapid drawing, areas of dark and light that capture the face especially. I also felt free and excited with the charcoal stick so decide to continue to the next part of this exercise with this media.   30 minute drawings -  Standing:  Assessment of drawing How accurately did you depict the overall proportions of the figure? Did imagining the sitter's skeleton and muscles help to convey the figures structure and form?  I used the centre line of the figure to help guide me through the areas of the body,...

 Project 4 Exercise 1 -  The structure of the human body  Sketchbook pages in pencil crayon and black felt tip: 

 Project 3 Exercise 4 - Energy   For this exercise I decided to use video footage of a dance class to conjure my imagination .  1.  Black felt tip on white paper.  Dance class   2. Charcoal on coloured paper:   Exercise class   Reflection:  I started off asking my model to adopt an energetic pose, however on both sides, we struggled to inspire the right pose in a small space.  Feeling a little lost with this exercise I decided to observe two classes online, one a dance class and one an exercise group.  Sketch 1 - I really enjoyed the result of this sketch. I am pleased that the models appear to be moving, which of course they were, and they do not appear as rigid as I feared. The stance of the gentleman I feel is particularly inspiring. A rather tricky pose to capture, but I'm pleased with my shot at it. I can see how the body is tilted and I see movement, particularly in the legs, I would say the legs are the strongest p...

 Project 3 Exercise 3 - Stance  Studies of the central axis of the body:  1.  2.  3.  4.   Reflection:   I asked my model to stand in a number of stances for 5 minute poses.  This was a very limited amount of time however I tried hard in these minutes to establish where I saw the central axis of the body. I looked closer at the spine in my quick pencil crayon sketches in sketch 4, where I tried to follow the spine. The spine is far from straight, with natural curve and movement. Even looking at the torso face on, you would expect the spine to be a straight line. however is it not.  My sketches are far from accurate, my eye perhaps was unable to collect as much as I could in the limited time, however I am pleased with the basics I was able to absorb. Despite my limitations at this point, I can see the central axis of the body in my model and I do understand through looking very closely at the body its significance in a sketch. 

 Project 3 Exercise 2 - Essential elements  10 minute sketches:  1.   2.  3.  4&5.  I used pencil on white paper for these sketches.  Reflection I did feel stifled by the 10 minute limit on these sketches. Within the 10 minutes I was also unable to complete the whole figure in each sketch and must be able to work quickly and confidently moving forward.  I positioned my model in natural light however my sketches are unsuccessful in conveying this. I wonder whether my chosen media is a little too light and perhaps charcoal may have been a better choice to help me create the light.  Which drawing gives you the best sense of the pose and why?  Sketch 3. My lines are loose and fluid and therefore the sketch is stronger that the others. The arms are positioned behind the body which has come across successfully in this sketch.  I am also happy with the positioning and proportions of the breasts, moving onto the stomach, moving ont...

 Project 3 Exercise 1 - Basic shapes 1.   2.   A requested, I positioned my model at a slight angle on a chair.  I used pencil and a brown coloured pencil on a white sheet of paper to work on these sketches.  I looked for the central axis of the body and marked it for as far as I could see. In both positions, the axis was not a straight or hard line, instead it naturally bent and twisted through the body. Having this line was a huge benefit in adding the basic shapes of the body around it.  I used my finger or the end of my pencil to establish sizes of the shapes I was adding.  The most obvious foreshortening I can see in the model is in the top sketch (1) the angel of the right shoulder means it appears shorter than the other. In the second sketch (2) the right arm is resting on the top of the sofa, it is at an angle as it appears shorter. Both of these examples are what I believe to be foreshortening.  Reflection Marking in the central axis of t...

 Project 2 Exercise 2 - A longer study  For this longer position, I opted for a large A2 white sheet of paper, a HB pencil and a brown coloured pencil.  My model was naked in a relaxed position on a sofa.  I firstly worked in the HB pencil to mark in where I thought the lines of the body were, I used the end of my pencil to approximately measure the proportions of the body as I went. I didn't erase any lines at all, I preferred to work softly to start with, becoming darker with my marks the more I became confident with the size and shape of my model. Once I was happy with my lines, I added confident lines with the brown coloured pencil.  How well have you captured the characteristics of the pose?  I am pleased that I am able to see in my sketch the position of my model. I feel that the eye can clearly see the pose that was adopted with one arm up to the head and the other resting on the leg. My model is looking into the distance, which I can see in this ske...