Final Reflection

I definitely made progress this semester and I'm happy with what I learned. I can't believe how far my drawings have come since day one. My first drawings were basic outlines of the model. They looked generalized. I didn't give the body any form or depth.

When I draw the body now, I start with the interior. I look where the spine is. Then I add the ribcage. Everything sort of stems from those two areas and the rest comes easy. I had no idea at the beginning of the semester that you should think of the inside of the body first.

I enjoyed learning all the body parts and muscles because knowing what's inside help make good drawings. At the beginning of the semester I would see muscles and bones but I didn't know what they really looked like. But now that I've created muscles and studied bone structure I can picture those forms in my head. Knowing why the back angles a certain way helps tremendously when drawing.

The feet were more challenging than I expected. It is very difficult to form the foot and not make it look skewed or flat. The toes and fingers were difficult but simplifying them into basic shapes really helped. The nose was also difficult because it is such a unique, organic structure. The nose has so many curves and shapes that person really needs just take a moment and draw what they really see. The same is true with the eyes. I had no idea that eyes are so circular and protrude like they do. I really enjoyed the lecture on the eyes and I enjoyed drawing them too. The mouth is more complicated than I thought, so learning how to draw that was enjoyable too.

Compared to my first contour drawings, my later drawings feel less computer-ish and uniform. The newer ones feel more lifelike and organic. I feel like there is better line weight too.

Drawing on the big paper took more planning. I wanted to figure out the best proportion to make the drawings look good an enormous size. I really stressed line weight and overall I think the newer drawings are successful.

I was very nervous about drawing someone else. I struggled with portraits in the past, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. However, since I knew the form of the mouth, nose, and eyes it went surprisingly well. It may not have looked totally like my model, but everything was in proportion and it look good. I was pleasantly surprised both of them turned out the way they did!

Overall, this class made me a better artist. I have so much more knowledge of the human body and I will be able to carry this information onto other projects as well. The more I learn about the body the more I appreciate it.

FLICKR

Nose and Eyes

I haven't had a critique yet, but I like what I have so far. My first attempts were my worst, and I got better with each drawing. I drew contour lines and it seemed to really help.

Shell Drawings

I am very happy with how my shell drawings have turned out. However, I feel like they should feel more organic and not so structured and computer-ized. I feel like they are accurate but I need to work on getting that lively, organic feel.

Doing what I do

The last two months my company has been blowing up. I landed a pretty cool job at the AMSOIL Sandbox Arena. I've had a couple videos get linked up on other major websites and I've been getting great exposure.

Contour Lines

I finally feel like I am understanding contour lines in regard to the human body. I feel like I can see the human form and visualize contour lines running around the body.

Life Drawing - Update

Class is rolling along and it's going great. I feel like I am understanding the body more and more.

Midterm

So far Life Drawing has been a great experience. I honestly did not think that I would like it, but it has been an exciting learning experience. My drawings have come a long way since day one. Although we are only half way through the semester, I feel like my drawings are starting to improve and look good! The biggest help has been the spine. Once I learned about the spine I was able to draw the body with more knowledge. Everything basically connects to the spine, so when you draw it correctly everything else flows out from there. I also learned an entire new vocabulary in regards to the human body.
My strengths are drawing the details and getting the proportions right. Like I said before, drawing the spine really helps with that. My main weakness is the rib cage and pelvis. I usually draw the rib cage too big or the wrong shape. I don't really have a good mental image of the pelvis so I don't draw it correctly. I need to work on both of these structures. I'm struggling with the manequin quite a bit, mainly because I'm very impatient and building muscles takes a lot of patience if you want to do it right.

I'd like to learn more about everything really. I feel like I'm on track to become a successful life drawer, so I look forward to the rest of the semester.

Photo Stream on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44129617@N02/sets/72157622689048666/

Week Four

This week we worked on the ribs and abs. The ribs are way more complicated than I expected. I am having a difficult time drawing the curves, but it is getting somewhat easier. I drew them too small, too big, and too oblong. The entire body comes together perfectly when the ribs are drawn correctly.
The abs are a little easier than the ribs. They go hand in hand. The entire body is making more sense now that I have a better idea of the spine, ribs and abs.

Second and Third Week

The last two weeks we focused on the spine and contour lines. My drawings started to make more sense once I knew what the spine actually looked like. I didn't realize the spine was so curved, but after looking at the model I started seeing it. The spine is usually the first thing I draw now, because almost everything stems out from there. It took me a while to proportion the spine correctly, but after a couple attempts it worked out.

We also had to pick an area of the body and magnify it as if we were an ant. Additionally, we could only use contour lines. I went a little overboard on the contour lines but I think the form is visible and it makes sense.

First Week

The first week of class is done and so far things are good. I was very nervous about drawing actual models. I've never excelled at drawing the human body, let alone a real live person. Surprisingly, the actual drawing went well. Once the pencil hit the paper my nervousness went away. I was able to focus on drawing and my right brain took over. The class was over before I knew it and I was happy with what I created.
I learned a lot already and I know that my drawings will continue to improve throughout the semester. We are now learning about bone structure and I can already tell that it will make our drawings even better.



LP

Introduction Post

I am taking this class to improve my drawing skills. I hope to improve on drawing the human form more realistically. I am a Multimedia Design major with a minor in Business. I am in my fourth year of college. I am most interested in graphics, video, and web design. I run a website called LPmotocross.com . I upload motocross videos, photo reports, news, results, and stories.

Example Videos:
Motorcycle Hillclimb Trailer


AMSoil Sandbox Arena - New Richmond, WI


AMSoil Sandbox Arenacross