Shoulders

Hello All,

DaVinci's Shoulder Study

 This week was all about working the shoulders, literally. We learned about the shoulder blade as well as the muscles around it. We learned mainly where to look for the muscles, and how to draw the simple triangle of the blade. I thought this was going to be very difficult. And at first, it was very difficult. I did not realize that the shoulder blade went half way down the back of the ribs. This was tricky since at first I was drawing this dinky triangle as the shoulder blades.
I did also find out that I need about 2 minutes to each get to the shoulders. We did a lot of gesture drawings on Tuesday, and I have to tell you that I could not for the life of me get to the shoulders. I would draw the spine, ribs (egg), hips, start of the legs and then the beeper would go off. I had to get the "egg" right so I concentrate most of my time on that, so it took forever to even get a hint on the shoulders in within the 30 second and 1 minute gestures. Finally, when the time was increased to two minutes could I then add the shoulders with some time to refine them.
As my picture this week, I chose to show DaVinci's shoulder studies. He does a very good job defining the muscles and curves the the shading of them is just jaw-dropping. I wish I could draw like DaVinci. 
After the gesture drawings, we moved on to a longer pose. We were told to specifically concentrate on the shoulders and arms. I had a pretty decent drawing by the end. Amy had come around to help me and helped me with the muscles. After that was done, I better understood the armpit and how the muscles formed it. I put a lot of contour around it and made the elbow very boney.
I have yet to master the shoulders in the one drawing session we had, but I hopefully will learn to draw them without any help.
As for LeRoy, well he has a ways to go before we can call him finished. This week we had two muscle assignments which will bulk him up in the shoulders and upper arms. After this I imagine we will concentrate on the lower arm and hand, which I have a feeling will be very delicate.

Until Next Week,

Chelsey

Before Spring Break..

Wow, it’s already half over,

Foot

 

Contour of Foot

This semester has flown by so far, but yet when I look back I have learned so much and that might be the reason. This past week before Spring Break, we were concentrating on the foot. We had all of Thursday to learn to draw and master the art of the foot. I personally do not care to draw the foot. I think feet are ugly and they are extremely difficult to draw accurately. I struggled at first, but once I got into more contour drawing, I did alright. I think that we should learn a little more about the foot and how to draw it. However, when I think about it, we usually draw the model standing and then there isn’t much feet to draw. I mean, the main structure of the foot is hidden since he is standing, it more so the ankle you concentrate on. I am looking forward to this next half of the semester in really refining my drawing skills. I hope to master the knee and shoulders since I’m positive that I am not drawing them quite right.

Cont

LeRoy is doing alright as well. He looks like he is almost finished but I have a feeling that we will be doing a lot of work on the hands and forearms since those muscles are so delicate and there are so many.  I am not sure that we will get to the face muscles, but that might be interesting if we do.  I do think this next week will bring some new information, probably in the shoulders and neck. I am looking forward to drawing some more next week, because believe it or not, I miss my life drawing class!

Until Next Week,

Chelsey

Midterm Blog Post

Midterm Portfolio

Hello!

Hour Long Pose, Female

Above this blog post is the link to my portfolio so far.
This week we had another hour long pose to add to our collection of drawings.
Also, this post is going up on Thursday night since our portfolio is being graded on Saturday! Nerve-racking!

So far in this semester, I have learned a tremendous amount.  My drawing skills have changed dramatically. Not only the technique, but as well as the accuracy. In my first two drawing classes, it was all about shade and highlight, not line. Life Drawing is the opposite, you try to capture that outer line and the muscle “inner” lines, to create a smooth 3D-like drawing. Such as in my 5 minute drawings. So far, we have been learning all the muscles with our mannequin-building. I think the mannequins give me a great understanding as to how the muscles should look when drawing, sort of a close up—Since you obviously can’t go up to the model and look at his thigh.

Hour Long Pose, Male

Anterior Mannequin

These next couple of weeks, I would like to learn the shoulders and knees. We went over the knees in lecture already, but I still am unsure how to draw them fully. I guess with experience and practice I will learn best. I also hope to improve my accuracy and size ratio, which is what I know that I struggle with a little. I am comfortable with contour, (as shown in both hour long drawings as well as the 30 minute drawing) but I assume later on that we won’t be able to do contour for every drawing. I also would like to learn how to draw the neck properly. The shoulders and neck are probably the most difficult when you do not know what is underneath. I would also like to learn a little on facial construction, how to draw the nose and mouth correctly. Overall, I have learned a huge amount and it has been a fun experience, I enjoy the live model drawings versus a still life of vases and boxes. 

Until Next Week, 

Chelsey

Week 5

Hello all!

This week we got to learn a lot on how to draw the pelvis. I had some trouble with it at first but then eventually began to understand the way the hips come up so high. I thought I was making the butt muscles of our models so big, but when you really look at it, the hips do come up that high. I found that I am more comfortable in drawing the back view, I can see the butt muscles better as well as where the hip bones turn on the side into the front.

This is NOT my drawing, this is a reference I found very helpful.

To help me understand how to draw gesture drawings better, I looked online at some gesture drawings of other artists out there. I thought that would be my picture of the week since it did help me better understand the form of the pelvis. I found some great examples on how to draw in the lower half, and to visualize through the skin and down to the bones. I can see that my drawings are not TOO off from the examples I found, but they do need some improvement. I will hopefully be able to pick out the hip muscles and such very quickly by next week.

This week, specifically Thursday, went a little slow. I was not in the best of health, so, feeling dizzy and mucus-filled I trotted through class, struggling to concentrate and zone in on my drawings. I did give my attention to Amy when she spoke of our upcoming midterm portfolio review. This makes me a little nervous, since she and others say that she is a very hard grader, expecting a lot. So, we will have to photograph our 10 best drawings as well as 3 different angles of LeRoy, my clay mannequin. LeRoy.. oh LeRoy. He is looking pretty hunky. He now has butt muscles, and quad muscles, and will hopefully next week (or the week after next) have calves and shoulders.

Until Next Week.
Chelsey

Week 4

Hello All!

Gesture Drawing with Spine, Ribs, and Pelvis

I hope everyone had a great week! I had a very busy week, what with all the Scott Walker stuff and all. Therefore, this week we did not have a lot of drawing class. Instead, we got to stand up for our teachers and all the hard work we do. I just want to say that I truly appreciate my professors and all the effort they put into giving us feedback and honest one-on-one time with students.

Gesture Drawing with Spine, Ribs, and Pelvis

 Even with all the bill ruckus, we still managed to get a little drawing in. We have been learning how to draw the body from an inside, then out, standpoint. So far we had learned the spine curves, and the "egg" ribcage. On Thursday, we learned about the pelvis. We learned the hip points in the front and back and how they curve on the sides and change planes. I did not have any trouble learning and understanding the ribcage being an egg form, however with the pelvic bones, I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. I think once Amy drills the concept into our brains a little more, then we will start to understand the plane changes and where to look for certain drawing decisions.
My pelvis drawings are very "sketchy" and I do not think they are accurate at all. I struggled with them a little in the beginning, trying to visualize all the bones as a whole, instead of thinking in parts. In this case I learned that if I think about the different aspects and plane changes, then I could potentially map out the point and simply "connect the dots". Easier said than done.
We had a male model on Thursday. I must say that old habits die hard, I am much more accustomed to drawing the male body versus the female. I'm sure Amy will mix up the two genders fairly often, but at this point in time, I prefer male. It is a lot easier to see the bones and major muscle groups that she wants us to draw. 

Well, until next week...
Chelsey



 

Week 3

Male Model Contour

Hello Again!

Wow, week 3 has flew by. I have learned a lot in the past week since the last post. In class we have learned about the ribs and how to draw them. We have been practicing a lot because being able to draw the "egg" of the ribs can make or break your drawing. The rib cage is formed like an egg, becoming narrow and small at the top and then growing wider as it comes down. Yes, the ribcage is hollow, but we are not drawing the inside, just the outside. It helps to think about the egg shape since in different poses, the egg "shape" stays the same but the angle you draw it differs. We also have gotten the privelege of drawing a female model on Thursday. I have gotten opinions saying that the female body is easier to draw. I beg to differ. I DO NOT think so because you are not able to see the ribcage "egg" as well. I would much rather draw a male model at this point since it is easier to see the muscles and bones that Professor Fichter wants us to draw.

Male Model Contour

"Egg" Ribcage and Spine Sketches

We also got assignments for our mannequins. LeRoy got some rib and ab muscles put on him. I am also working on his butt muscles but I am not quite finished so the pictures of LeRoy will be posted next week.  I have come to like shaping and forming the clay muscles on LeRoy. The anatomy of LeRoy gives me understanding of what muscles are under the skin of the model I am drawing. However, I think learning how to draw the "egg" is very important, just as is the spine. I am looking forward to learning more on Tuesday and Thursday.

I have also found out that I very much enjoy drawing contour drawings. I think they give me a good understanding of drawing the 3D item in front of me. I enjoy drawing every little bump and lump around joints and muscles. It gives me a chance to show detail without shading or values.

Until Next Week,

Chelsey

Week 2

Hello again,

Well, here we are the end of week two and the beginning of week 3. It seems like the semester is flying by and we've only just begun to learn! I have learned a lot in the past week, a lot specifically about anatomy. Muscles are a key ingredient to learning how to draw a human figure. So, naturally, we all should have to learn them.
This week we had been assigned our first mannequin assignment. The Spinal Erectors is the section of muscles that we had to sculpt onto our skeletons. I, personally, gave my mannequin the name of LeRoy. He seems like a LeRoy, and he will have green colored muscles. So far, he has his spinal erectors in tact and ready to be critiqued. It was way more difficult than I thought it would be. But after a couple of hours fully concentrating, his back muscles had begun to look successful. I think I did a pretty good job sculpting the 9 sections of spinal erectors that were assigned. On Tuesday, Amy is going to go around and give us comments on how to improve our muscle sculpting. Which, I'm actually looking forward to, having a few tips might make it a little easier.  
We did not do much drawing this week, well not much full body drawing. We concentrated on the spinal bones, because we are supposed to learn how to draw from the inside out. This is difficult to catch on to, but once you have it, you learn to get better. When the model is facing forward, you obviously can't see the spinal bones, but instead you are supposed to draw the middle line that goes down your chest, stomach and waist. It is the middle of your body, since our bodies are symmetrical. 
Until Next Week,
Chelsey