Details: March 11th 2019, 10 mins pencil sketch.
The Good: Gesture for body is clear, and the face is decent.
The Bad: Proportion is way off. Line quality can be better; there’s a lot of wobbliness and hesitation. Make the shading a little more appealing (you can do it!)
The Good: Love the gesture and the volume of the legs. Balance is good. Shading and proportion is okay.
The Bad: The line control definitely needs improvement for appeal and clarity. Figure out a better shading method (concentrate on the tonal lesson and confident mark making) Definitely keep proportion in mind.
I think overall it’s very successful for a tonal study.
March 16th, Wk 1 H/W 2
Another tonal study. There was a bit of confusion in the reflected surface of the cup and the shading on the cup exterior could do with some variety.
Gesture is fine, proportion is just okay.
The features tend to get lower as I work down the model’s contours. Line quality needs improvement.
Proportion, basic shapes and gesture are working. Line quality is dabbled with but could use improvement. Model needs to be drawn faster to capture entire pose.
Faces are recognisably human, tonals are played with, proportions are fine but the hair in the first image is definitely wrong. Line quality still needs work and everything is too jittery (not enough confidence; just keep practising).
Lines are much more confident and wavy. Gesture is strong. Next time use white as well to create high lights. Tone is very apparent except for the weight placed on the conte crayon. Watch out for the proportion around the head, arms and torso.
Good use of Sanguine conte to create shadow and white conte to create highlights; Try adding highlights in the face, and also reducing the amount of shading so there can be some breathing room. Tones and shading sow off the form. Anatomy is being demonstrated in linework and tone e.g. the rib cage, hips and thighs. Gesture is okay but clearely not as rhythmically strong as other previous work. Proportion is sometimes off: head is a bit small and hips are a bit wide. Legs look nice though.
Be aware of the attachment in the collar bone; further research on the perspective of each muscle should be considered.
Like the tonal work to create shadows and highlights but also to hint at the colour changes from muscle pink to ligament white. Thicker lines to create the illusion of closer muscles overlapping other muscles. Be sure to give breathing room for highlights and make the receding muscles slightly darker and less contrast to create the 3d effect (curved objects typically have the highlights closest to the eye and shadows away from the eye or pinching between cracks).
Picture is a bit slanted (both drawing and photography); pay attention to both.
Less contrast but much more breathing room. Therefore when applying really dark tones, be very delicate when transitioning to paper value so that the drawing isn’t swamped (Good job this time). Nice way of showing the muscles folding in over the shoulder and below the armpit; Try adding a bit of asymmetry next time with how muscles fold in irregular strands in their general clumps shown in the picture. Lower rib could have been more rendered however do note that it shouldn’t take away from the main muscle study. Nice way of showing where the muscle attaches along the middle rib cage by darkening the tone a little to create a 3d curviture.
Definitely one of my favourite drawings. Lower body shapes and line work (finally) are very nice. Effective use of the straight sculpting line technique to capture all the change angles around the body. Nice indication of overlap.
Proportions are okay except from the back to the hips; it’s too long. Try a different lines (curved vs jagged) to portray the back and indicate pinch and stretch. Finish shadow next time!
Love the shapes; especially the head. Emphasis on the back shoulder blade makes the pose work. Legs look like they’re on stable ground.
I like the mark making shading on the upper body. Try utilising it more effectively and with a bit more rhythm and confidence (practice!). Right arm at the back is a little too big and looks severed from the body; work on overlap. Back is again a little too long.
Balance is a bit off (he’s about to fall back). Try moving the hips to the left a bit to compensate the arched back.
Finish it with White next time!
Very effective tonal representation of streaking muscles and volume (getting better at this!). Contrast is very nice, especially with the deltoid front on where we see the shadow of the shoulder blade at the back.
The linework of the deltoid in profile seems to be conflicting with the skeleton line work; phase out the skeleton a bit since the deltoid is the most important part.
The origin of the deltoid front on is a little faded. Go over it a few times lightly.
Streaking line work looks nice, and I love the transition between the toned part of the muscles and the white stretched out spine section.Clear idea view of the trapezius; i.e. not getting confused against the linework of the bones.
Contrast is decent, but can be pushed a little further, specifically around the streaks of the trapezius. The streaking muscle along the top of the right back shoulder blade is a little harsh; feather it out a bit. Slanted image (remember to check the initial blocking stage).
Nice clean drawing overall, with confident lines here and there. Strong renderring and even proportions, although head appears a little small. Good indication of both form and muscle folding thanks to simple line indication and tonal changes. Remember to apply darker pressured lines to parts of the body that feel heavier, pinched between muscles or overlapping.
Hands need extra attention; don’t panic and just try capturing the gesture lightly then building simple shapes and finally a proper line and tonal treatment (aim to make the hands fleshier). Work on the face as well. You have yet to figure out how to capture strong expressive and well proportioned heads. Further study required.
Finally a decent use of brown and white conte. The use of white is much softer (tonal studies help), the brown needs to have the same softness but a few attempts were made. The mark making seems to be getting better, so keep at it, pay attention to how and where it’s being placed and add a bit of variety to simulate the stretching and pinching of skin.With the conte sticks, keep practising to develop less scratchy lines. Love the pinch between the butt muscles.
Create a fleshiness around the back and arms more. Otherwise it looks a little cartoony. Work on a cleaner softer treatment for hard shadows. Remember to watchout for the shape and proportion of the back. Head doesn’t feel too small because its going away from the eyes, but watch out; focus on realistic proportions this week and next.
Contrast and shading is fine. The muscles stand out from the bones which is good.
Bones look a little faded; go in a little deeper.
Show a better indication that this is the backside (look at the bone structure).
Right side looks a bit skewed relative to left side.
Shading looks a little rushed, but still readable.
Nice use of heavy thick lines to edge the shading of thin rib bones.
Form is quite rhythmic; bones and muscles flow together but are distinctively clear.
Pelvis is a little faded; just draw in the bottom part.
The skeleton looks a little flat; apply some tones that build a smooth clean surface.
Achieving more delicately treatment of lines and tones with conte crayons. Whites and sanguine aren’t conflicting (good), and creating good indications of shadow and highlight.
Expression in face is believable but looks a bit cartoony. Neck and head seem streatched (which is better than previous pinhead drawings but more attention is required).
Definitely helps with the proportion; however some elements still look exaggerated. Clear placement of hand and legs to the ground. I like the wrapping of lines around the torso.
More time spent creating the membrane and less time spent drawing the model can lead to an unfinished gesture. Be mindful of the head size and the jaw is incomplete (hence looks small).
Nice contrast between the chair and the drapery. Clear folds and stretching of cloth material.
No shadow on the ground makes it less believable but at least the impression of a ground around the chair is noticable. Less contrast in the drape (receding and stretching parts) makes it look faded.
Nice use of ink going thick and thin. Ink effectively used for contours and shadow.
Wobbly lines due to it being a contour study. Try going in light with pencil first to get gesture, then going in with ink. Hands look really tiny, but feet look fine.
Nice play with variation of tones. Line work in ink is a lot nicer, especially in the cloth edges and the legs.
Face is recognizable but looks very slanted compared to the model’s actual face. Shading strokes aren’t very precise, a little messy.
Contrast in the second drawing is a lot better than the first, as is the treatment of shadow. Arm and shoulder beneath the drapery is recognisable. Folds effectively differentiate the fabric and the apparel. Hands look nice. Relative to other homework, the amount of time taken to draw was greatly reduced roughly 20 minutes each drawing.
Top drawing needs more detail; it appears very faded. Distance the drawings out a bit otherwise they’ll blend in and appear as one drawing.
The folds on the dress and how it leans on and away from the hips is effective. Shading is decent. Face is clearly visible (however not entirely accurate).
Too much time was spent on going over lines twice; your line work is better than week 1 so keep at it but try committing. Finish the drawing next time!!
Nice contrast and proportion (hands are only so slightly small). The folds are visible and how the dress sits on the legs is fine. The shadow under the shoulder strap is a really nice touch. Nice gesture.
Work on composition and fit the drawing onto the page next time. Back leg seems unusually thick compared to the front leg. Neck gets a bit lost in all the lines.
Well renderred looking muscles, with a strong sense of how muscle strands fold and attack the bone. Nice contrast (not too heavy but still defining form). Strong looking shapes, feels like the curved fleshy muscles really have form sticking out.
Next time indicate that the vastus medialus (left) has the knee facing the front, and the gastrocnemius (right) has the heel facing the front. Resolution is a bit blurry.
Positives: Gestures are nice, a bit of tone to separate objects and forms, good amount of information being shown.
Negatives: proportions are a bit off (big butt, short legs, small head etc.), no faces.
Positives: Different actions and moods being shown. There is a sense of lean and twist. Clothing folds indicated.
Negatives: Lack of clothing being shown. Draw in the feet a bit more. Top left, balance is a bit off.
Positive: Drawings are much more detailed and gestures are a lot nicer. Fold in clothing and the hanging of cloth is well indicated. Clear sense of thinking in several people.
Negatives: Old lady with cane (middle picture) proportions are a bit off; legs too short. Some of the lines look fussy (too many duplicating lines to shape contour).
Positives: Cross-hatching used to define form is different and nice. We see head and feet clearly. Tonals create an unusual surreal feeling.
Negatives: Lines are really messy, confidence is not really the issue hear; just a lack of care. Shading is also really messy. There’s not really a strong sense of line weight that adds to the drawing.
Positive: Strong sense of force in the arm. Weighted lines and shading much more delicate than previous drawing. Face is very readable. Enough information to recognize pose and expression.
Negative: Head is a little smaller than actual model. Face is a little too stylized.
Positive: Looks nice for a speed drawing; right amount of detail. There is a sense of form and the tones indicate the tissue clearly.
Negative: Definitely not as delicate as previous drawings. Smudging distracts and reduces the detail. Lack of contrast in the muscle, as well as around the muscles (it doesn’t really stand out against the bone). NOTE: missing upper arm.
Positives: Proportion looks decent. Neck is nicely renderred. Face is clear and looks more realistic than other drawings. Pose is strong.
Negatives: You can tell that the legs were rushed and incomplete. Shading in the hands get a bit lost, and on that note, the hand on the lap looks a little small. Draw an indication of the chair she’s sitting on so she doesn’t look floaty, and we can see how the force and balance is being applied.
Positive: Proportion in the body looks adequate (the membrane technique really does help). Tones really help punch out the form. The body really does look alive.
Negative: Face looks a bit squished. Neck looks a bit small.
Positives: Very renderred muscles. Streaking, shadows and highlights really pop out. Forms are working; the muscles feel very smooth and curved, and the stretched parts at the origin and insertion feel hard and stretchy.
Negatives: Proportion of shoulderblade to arm bones are a bit off; with the shoulder blades being a little small. Triceps are quite big (maybe a bodybuilder’s arm but otherwise big). The origin and insertion is a little lacking in terms of rendering and delicacy.
There is a lot of focus being renderred through the folds of the clothes, so much so that the folds themselves guide our eyes through the illustration, and not the gesture. As such, the figure’s body gets lost beneath the fabric. The hanging of the coat suggests a thin, rigid model; as does the flatness of her torso and collar bone.
The face is very stylised and pointed. The skull is proportionally large to the face. The legs are very long; perhaps to emphasise the dress. The feet are oversimplified as ovals. The arms, ribs and hips seem to be proportionally accurate, though the shape may be stylised (it’s hard to tell).
Overall a very stylised shape and proportion for a human being. No sense of muscles, just a skeleton.
A lot of delicate rendering across the entire illustration. Contrast separates the head, torso and hips. The tones create a sense of form and realism in the lighting of the model’s face. The lines in the clothing lead the eye. The model beneath the clothes has a lot of swooping and jutting forms that hold up the clothes.
Proportion is way off, every port of the body is elongated from head the legs. There is a sense of muscles in the breasts and legs, but the skeletal structure is very stylised.
Not a very accurate depiction of a person, but there is still a sense of anatomy beneath the apparel.
Positive: Attention to detail like in the hands and torso is pleasantly visible. White tonals are added across the entire body (good).
Negative: The scalp/skull is too small for the face. Line work and shading is a little rough. Hand gesture is visible but finger proportion and general shape of the hand looks a bit off. Feet sizes aren’t very accurate.
First time in a month using conte again, and it shows. Didn’t stop me from trying however, and glad I did.
Positive: Renderred complete drawing from head to toe. Clear sight of the clothing folds and the existence of anatomy beneath the clothing. Shading and contrast makes the drawing a lot more interesting.
Negative: The face looks a bit distorted. Line work is rough (even though we can clearly see the contour of the model). The index finger of the model’s right hand is wonky and disproportionate; if I recall the gesture was right but it just comes off a little stiff here.
7th of June, Blog Portfolio Summary:
As an animator, the life drawing classes have first and foremost developed my ability to create realistic looking drawings. Something I have found myself drastically improving upon was seeing proportions and producing drawings that didn’t look skewed or stretched in certain areas. I have been able to render decent images in a shorter amount of time. I now pay much more attention to detail, shifts in tone, where I can reduce/bold the line-work and a few tricks like the membrane technique (for proportion), the quarter page technique (for composition) how to tackle complex anatomical features like the head and face and sculpting the artwork; like all the fine angle shifts around the muscle’s contour and building the drawing up over time. The studies in anatomy and clothing folds will surely help me in my abilities as an animator to create three dimensional looking objects in my films to come; solid drawing is after all one of the twelve principles.
Christopher Tran Life Drawing 