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.