Final

This semester drawing class is coming to a close and I will be sad to go. I really enjoyed this class and feel my drawing skills have improved since the beginning of the year. I had a lot of fun doing the last shell drawing with the ink wash. With all the other homework of finals week, this drawing actually became the only assignment I was anxious to start.

I came into this class with a very basic understanding of the human form so I consider every class a new learning experience. I just really appreciate the opportunity to just sit and study the structure and proportions of the body. This kind of drawing has the ability to become something so powerful and beautiful when its well observed and intelligently depicted.

I find my strengths can be found in the longer poses where I spend more time figuring out proportions and planes. I feel these drawings are always stronger and contain more information. I also feel my line quality has also improved since the start of the semester. My drawings seem to capture more excitement and life than they previously did.

I know there is always something I can improve on and realize there is always something more to learn. Even though I feel I understand everything a little better, I know a lot of practice is still required to truly understand this subject.

I hope to take the skills I have learned in this class into the rest of my art career. I definitely plan to continuing drawing for the pure enjoyment of creating something and exploring.

If you want to see some pictures of my work this is the link to my flickrpage!
http://www.flickr.com/people/elizabethlifedrawing/

Faces

Last week we concentrated on drawing the face. I have drawn portraits before from photographs and loved it, so I was excited to take on this new challenge. First we took a look at the eyes and nose. Amy lectured about the underlying bone structure and the importance of conveying depth and structure when you are drawing these features to make them feel more real. We had to break our habit of drawing football shaped eyes and curly noses. I really liked being able to have my own personal model too. It was also fun to have your portrait drawn!

In class critique

How is this drawing different than the last shell drawings? What has improved?
Since my last shell drawing, I feel I have done a better job capturing the textures on the surface of the shell. It also feels my drawings appear more 3-D and seems more round than my previous drawings. I think my line quality has also improved because my lines are sketchier and more broken up. I notice that when I am drawing, I don't keep my charcoal on the page as long.

What was it like drawing big? Did you change the way you draw or use the tools?
I actually enjoyed drawing on this larger scale. It really helped me zoom in and pay closer attention to all the small details, textures and plane shifts. I still think I could have drawn larger to really use my whole body.

Field Trip and Skulls

This was the week we went on the big field trip to, "Bodies: The Exhibition." I spent most of the ride there in a comatose state, so I was ready to move around and explore when we reached the Mall of America. The exhibit was close to what I imagined it to be like. I was actually surprised to find how delicate and thin some of the muscles structures were. I was fascinated to observe how the muscles twisted and wrapped around each other. For my drawings, I chose to draw the pelvis of a skeleton and the arm and shoulder of a man playing baseball. It was nice to get so close and really pick apart the pieces of the body. I feel these studies will help me draw more accurately in class. In class, we began drawing the skull because we will be starting to learn about the human head. I am really excited about this because I have always struggled with drawing heads realistically and in proportion to the rest of the body. I will include my latest drawings...I have a few from the week before that I must have forgotten to add.

oops almost forgot my latest drawings!

This week was the big week of midterm portfolio presentations. I actually found the portfolio creation to be quite an enjoyable experience. It was nice to get the chance to document all our struggles and accomplishments to gain a better perspective on our work. I also really enjoyed viewing everyone's portfolio and was interested to hear what other students had to say about the class this far. A lot of people admitted to struggling at first but now have noticed a great improvement in their drawing abilities. Difficulties with mannequin construction seemed to be a pretty common complain throughout the class. Amy gave us a few resources to check our work with and gave us a chance to redo some of our leg muscles. In class, we are concentrating on longer poses now to really focus on creating correct perspectives and proportions. I find myself still struggling with line variation, but believe my proportions are improving ever so slightly with each class.

http://www.flickr.com/people/elizabethlifedrawing/

MidTerm Reflection

This semester is passing by quite rapidly and I find it impossible to believe we are already in our 8th week of classes. I suppose it is about that time to take a step back and reflect over the last few months. From the beginning, this class has been one of my most enjoyable classes this semester and it has managed to maintain its appeal. I find myself learning something new every week and notice myself growing stronger and more confident in my drawing abilities. I get excited about training my eyes and hands to recreate what I see in a logical, yet expressive way.

I suppose I could say that what I’ve learned so far this semester ranges from how to draw lines to understanding the constructs of a human body. I’ve learned to draw lighter, quicker and less continuous by breaking up my lines. I’ve also been fighting an outlining habit for weeks now, but can tell I am finally starting to build up a resistance. I won’t claim to be an expert on all the technical classifications and medical terminology of the human body yet, but I do feel I have a better grasp on how muscles and skeletal structures work.

I find my strengths come out during the longer drawings where I have time to rethink things and really analyze what I see. Once I draw the basic underlying skeleton, I like to be able to really zoom in and focus on just a few elements. I don’t really notice the time going by and don’t find these lengthy drawings dull or exhausting.

My weaknesses probably would include quick gesture drawings and the rib cage/pelvis proportion relationship. I tend to have a more difficult time seeing these structures on the models sometimes and really want to take the extra time and fill in the other features for the drawing to make more sense. I always feel like they are unfinished and messy. I suppose the point of a gesture drawing is to capture the first impression and I really shouldn’t be so critical, but my first impression always leads me to ask more questions and I become unsatisfied when I have to move on.

I would love to learn how to draw faces and expressions from a live model. I have done many portraits before, mainly from photographs, but love how you can capture a personality. I have observed how expressive the human body can be and I think understanding facial expressions and structures could be very interesting.

I would like to continue to improve my gesture drawings and the overall proportions. I think the more practice I get, the quicker and easier these drawings will become.

If you want to see some pictures of my work so far… here is the link to my flickrpage!
http://www.flickr.com/people/elizabethlifedrawing/

The Pelvis

This week we concentrated on constructing the pelvis. We watched this older movie with a famous anatomy professor as the instructor. He had numerous tricks and insights into creating an accurate drawing of the pelvis in relation to the rib cage. He broke everything down into sections and boxes to help students relate. This really helped my own understanding of proportions. I had been drawing the rib cage much larger in relationship to the pelvis and it took a while to get used to drawing the pelvis wider in this new scale. My gesture drawings, like before, suffered in the beginning of class but I noticed they eventually started improving once I warmed up a little. In class we continued timed gesture drawings that focused on the rib cage and pelvis. We did one more contour drawing and a few longer drawings near the end of class. I am beginning to recognize what to look for when I draw from a model. I find my drawings becoming a little stronger as the weeks roll by. I will include some in class sketches and an updated mannequin as soon as I finish my homework.

Rib Cages and Abs

We started some intense lectures this week in life drawing about the importance of the rib cage. The rib cage is the center, the core and arguably the most important structure in the human body. It protects our precious organs and plays a huge role in defining our frame. So many visible landmarks exist because of the rib cage’s characteristics and it is important to understand what to look for when you are drawing. A full day of lecture on Tuesday enriched our understanding of the relationship between the spine and the rib cage. Many comparison of the rib cage to an egg were made that day, which really helped me visualize what I was drawing. I never really thought too intensely about the rib cage in previous drawings. I was always more concerned about identifying the collarbone, shoulders and the hip bones and never really looked deeper to analyze the rib’s structure. This lecture only increased my desire to start sketching. Fortunately, that desire was fulfilled on Thursday when we spend the entire class time drawing the model. I struggled most with my gesture drawings at the beginning of class. I had a difficult time resisting the urge to outline my figure and draw muscles and details. I kept seeing the model instead of the skeleton underneath. Eventually things became easier as the class went on and I was able to recognize and analyze the plane shifts. I still feel I have some practicing to do and I hope to continue improving. Here are some of my longer in class drawings and my model with more muscles added.

Learning about muscles

This week we began learning about a few of the main muscles in the human body. We were introduced to some of the technical terminology and the basics of how muscles work. It seemed like a lot of information to take in at first, but everything made perfect sense. I never really learned that much about anatomy before, but have always been interested in how the body is constructed. Everything appears to be so delicate and intricate, so its surprising to see how much strength humans can have through this complicated system on bones and muscles. I think having a better understanding of muscles in the body will make a huge difference in our class drawings. Our drawings will have more life, more power, and ultimately be more impressive if the muscle structures are carefully observed and recorded. We were also given our own little skeleton models to begin building muscles on this week. I started working on mine this weekend and was surprised how complicated laying muscles can be. Every muscle relates to the next and there was little room for error. Hopefully my model is accurate enough for class on Tuesday.

Blog Entry 2

The first week of life drawing class has officially ended and the experience has left me only wanting to learn more. I didn’t realize how much I missed drawing until I was placed back into that environment. There seems to be a peace that comes from having a piece of charcoal in my hand again. I am finding myself falling back into that comfortable state of mind where time stops. The world just seems to melt away for a while and I am concentrating only on the challenge that is placed in front of me. The gesture drawings that we have been working on in class are proving to be incredibly freeing and relaxing.

In these first few classes, we were asked to observe the lines, forms and movements of the human body. We were less concerned about creating “good” drawings, but rather focused on reacquainting ourselves with our tools and our eyes again after being on a break. It was an opportunity to refresh our bodies in how to analyze a form, hold charcoal and create marks on a page. We were given the chance to learn through trial and error by quickly drawing the figure over and over again. I found this approach to be very helpful in building a foundation of our own abilities and understanding. We discovered what we struggled with and began forming questions for areas that needed clarity or further exploration.

I'm excited to learn more and look forward to deconstructing the human body to understand how each structure works and behaves.

Letterform

GD1

Drawing II "Socio-Political Narrative"

Drawing I- Still Life

Drawing II "Ordinary to Extraordinary"

Post One 9/10

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Kruse and this is currently my junior year at UW-Stout as a Graphic Design major. I am very excited about taking this life drawing class and can't wait to start drawing again. I have always loved to draw and am especially interested in human subjects in my art. I hope this class will further expand my knowledge and understanding of the human form and its construction. I want to learn new ways to approach drawing and become freer with my mark making. I think life drawing provides a great opportunity to grow and develop into a strong artist. As a graphic designer, understanding line quality and proportions can make a huge difference in a design's success.