SECTION TWO: UNIT 1 Critique Drawing
We were asked to develop one of the figure drawings started in class (or our own model outside class time) with a focus on shading to demonstrate surface anatomy of bones/muscles. I picked one of the class drawings, and at home I used my own body to reference greater detail than I had captured in the 30-minute class session. I decided to transplant my model to an outdoor setting, so needed to imagine the shadows and highlights from a single-direction light source (in class the model was lit by multiple light sources). Below, three pages of Research and Reflection.
Below is the original drawing, and several photos of the work in progress. With no large easel at home, I was drawing on a flat table. I found two things very helpful for checking proportions and tweaking the drawing — frequently took the work off the table and stuck it to a wall where I could back up across the room to view it; and photos of the work in progress that I could post to my computer, giving me another fresh viewing angle.
Feedback from Critique October 7th: Textures of sand and water are interesting. Composition with diagonal lines add movement and interest. Addition of colour in water and eyes work. The very black shorts and the very black hair positioned top and bottom of the work help to frame or balance the figure. Several specific ideas to improve proportions and volumes in figure: a) ear misplaced… sticks out from head too much and is too high on head… change the shading to fix this; b) foot more highlights, fewer drastically dark lines of shading; c) darken shadows under breasts; d) lighten shadows on neck and hands – perhaps tap the eraser to lighten the lines; and e) soften junction between beach and water, especially upper left. Postscript: Realism is hard! Here is the final version, incorporating some of the suggestions from class critique:
