Class Reflection

Here is the link for my portfolio

So this semester...had a lot of ups and downs. I had high hopes for this class, and I feel like I learned a lot. I can definitely tell from my old drawings that I've really improved since the beginning of the semester. It was really great to work with a real model.

I really don't like having to do this blog...I guess I see the point behind it. I always had a hard time keeping track of it and updating it. Having to turn in a digital portfolio is a bit easier than turning in a paper one, but it gets a bit hard to photograph stuff sometimes.

The Maniken was also a pain in the butt. I think I could've done without it. I'm not that good at working with clay. I mean, I understand muscles a lot better now. But I think there's a better way somehow because not everyone is good at working with clay.

All in all, I got a lot out of this class. I really hope I can utilize my skills for more in the future and build on them as well. I want to get better with proportions and different positions and foreshortening.

Final Shell Drawing...

So here goes the last of the shell drawings!!! All in all, I kinda liked them actually. Well, at first I didn't and thought it was dumb. But now I kinda like it. My second and third shells turned out the best (so far). As I'm typing this I've only drawn the fourth shell. I still have to ink it, which will be fun!!!

So here it is. I'm not that happy with the line work :\ My last one was so much better! I think it's because I had the opening to work with, which gives it an interesting shape. This one was all spikes and stuff... not terribly exciting.... At least it fills up the page and has a pretty decent angle.


I'll post the rest of this blog when I get the inking done :)

And here's the inking....


Hmmm, I'm not exactly happy with how it turned out... the colors got a little out of control :\ I like the drips but yeah... I tried to experiment a little more and it didn't turn out so great. Oh well, better luck next time.

Put Yo' Clothes Back On!

Lol I have no idea where I was going with that title...

Last day of class! OMG! I'll be sad but somewhat relieved at the same time... This semester was really struggling for me and the outside work for this class didn't help... but I really enjoyed drawing in-class...

So for the last day it was rather cold in the room, poor model! Luckily she had a great solution. Piece by piece she put a different piece of clothing on in different poses. It was a lot of fun to draw!

So here are some short gesture drawings I did from that class. Looking back I think my more recent gestures look closer in proportion to the model that when I started out. It's good to know I improved!
After that we did a long pose with the model in clothes. It was good practice for learning how folds work. I think I prefer a nude model personally. I'm still not as up to snuff as I'd like to be with drawing people in general. It didn't turn out as great as some of my other long poses, but I was kinda in a wonky mood that day as well...

Skulls!

I drew my first skull back like Freshman year and I thought it was extremely fun! Then 5 years later we get to draw them again... I didn't realize how difficult it could be! There's way more to the skull than I anticipated. I didn't know that pretty much every bump and section had its own name. It seems like that should be obvious.... anyhow...

Here's my first attempt at drawing a skull:


The basic shape is a little hard to get down. I kept on having problems with the jaw being too short and not elongated enough. The part where the brain goes is also a little mushed. I think it's a good first attempt though.

Here's my 2nd attempt:


I tried a different view this time to see if I could get a better result. I think this one turned out better. There's a better shape to the skull, the brain area looks less mushed and the jaw area seems to be long enough. It wasn't quite right but still better. Just need lots more practice.

Hands and Shoulder Blades

Oh my, the semester is pretty much done! *switching on freak-out-all-nighter mode*

I have LOTS of work to do on so many things! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Anyway....So for one week we worked on Shoulder Blades and Hands (or something along those lines). Both of which I seem to have a rather hard time with. For some reason I'm having a hard time grasping the concept of the shoulder blades, I just can't seem to get them right! I need to make a mental note to work on that more. I had a good view of the model to draw them too, although not a whole lot was going on with that view...



Hands...they're so tricky to draw! Mine always look funky no matter what I do! I think making the skeleton lines of how the fingers are bending is a huge help. Thumbs certainly can throw off the whole picture though. I need to make my fingers look more realistic and less cartoony. I also need to think about the planes more too.

Drip, drip, there goes my sanity...

So happy fun times with ink! I actually find it super relaxing and I feel like it's something I can actually do!

At first I was really discouraged about this whole "ink painting" thing. I didn't really see much of a relation either to the class, other than something different to do with the shells than just lines and more lines. Here is what my shell looks like before I slopped ink all over it. I'm actually rather pleased with how it turned out. There is a nice variation of lines and you can actually tell what it is. It also took up the page nicely! I was super scared to ink it... Only major problem I have with it is that the back end of the shell isn't as light as I'd have liked it. I also learned that this paper is a pain to erase lines on!!!!!


Annnnnnnnd.... here it is with the ink!


For my first time doing stuff like this, I'm super pleased. It's not as colorful as I would like, but I think I did a rather good job with the shadows and highlights on it. It definitely looks a lot better with ink than without it. Just gotta work on getting better colors for next time!

Oh also, my paper is super wavy!!! Anyone else having this problem and know how to remedy it?

Minneapolis Musuem Adventure

So right before Thanksgiving was our big museum trip. Overall it was alright. I'm really not a huge fan of "modern art" honestly. I think it's kinda pointless. Anywho, that's not really relevant I suppose.

I rather enjoyed the Bell Museum of Natural History. There were so many animals and quite a few of them had interesting poses which was neat to look at and observe.



I did 3 drawings, two of them in the canine family and one of some cranes. My canines turned out the best. I found it rather difficult to draw the animals because the fur covered up all the curves and muscles. I just need to practice more. It was good to at least get proportions and poses worked on. Now to just learn fur and feathers!

I wish we had a little more time at the Bell but it was still worthwhile.

It's a long story, full of sighs...

It's been a while since I posted a blog, I know that much. There's been a lot going on in my life and it's affecting my school ethics now...

Anyway, Here is my last shell drawing. I think I've improved tremendously from my first one. I really focused on the simple shapes first. I also have more of a vertical going better. Also, I have less, more even lines. I need to make it fit the page better, but at least it looks better.



Also, we learned about feet and the lower parts of the legs. I actually am rather proud of how my foot drawing turned out. It came out really close to what it actually looks like. I'm really pleased with how much my drawing skills are improving.