Recent Figure Drawing

My last two figure-drawing classes.

These are from a previous class. The earlier week was a male portrait  and the study of facial expressions. The teacher and the model posed for the facial expressions.

(I apologize for the blurriness of the top image.) 

The portraits above were the later week when we had a female model.

The top portrait is the more accurate of the two. (It is actually pretty dead on, give or take a few minor details.) The bottom one....something went wrong. I'm still trying to figure out what. (Besides the fact that the eyes sizes are bit off.) Her face seems too long. I did measure the length three or 4 times to make sure it was accurate (the width too).... If I had to bet on what it was throwing the whole thing off, it would be the nose. (I had some issues with it.)

This portrait class actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We were working with pastels. I am not a fan of pastels. They seem too dusty and there's something about the texture that I don't like.  (I will give them a bit more of a chance in future life-drawing. I'll experiment with different paper and see if I find a combination that works for me.)

Anyway, I was dreading this class because my pastel renders tend to turn out hideous. I also had to be crafty with the shading as I'm a cheap bastard and only had a few basic colors. :)  I grudgingly started working and had a very happy turn of events.

On a funny note. The model loved my shirt.

Life Drawing Dump

Above is a page of gestures we did to exercise control over the size. I tend to draw large when it comes to life drawing, so this was an interesting challenge.

The first row is 15, 15 second gestures. (I couldn't fit the full 15. I ended up drawing into the previous gesture a lot in an attempt to save space.)

The second row was 10, 1 minute gestures.

The third row was 5, 3 minute gestures. These turned great, in my opinion. (Except for the second from the left. It's stiff and I did not exaggerate the pose.)

Above is a 30 minute reclining pose. As Austin put it, certain parts of my anatomy are getting better while other parts are still behind. This leaves me with a sub par product. I know it sounds very negative to say things like that, but I like to focus on flaws first so I can learn what needs more work.

This was a 20 minute pose.


I forgot to post what I did in my last class. This classes focus was chiaroscuro.

We covered paper (in this case, Kraft Paper) with willow charcoal and used knead-able erasers to shade.The first image was a model under a sheet and then with the sheet removed. The second was a portrait. I was annoyed that it was a side view but there was no room anywhere else. ><

Slowly getting better.

I ventured back to the TSA today. It wasn't as crowded downtown since it's Sunday, making the walk there a little less annoying. Today it was a 3 hour long pose.

I let my partner borrow my worn conte nub and used the first drawing to wear my new piece down. This is the result.

I didn't bother with site measurement for the first and just used it as a warm up. I also did a few studies of the hands and feet to get a feel for them. After I was satisfied, I started my first actual attempt (using site measurement and all that good stuff).

I switched seats with my partner midway through to get a slightly different angle. I also switched to charcoal since I don't want limit myself by only using one technique/medium. I attempted to draw much smaller this time as I need to get used to that.

I was pleased by some of the images I produced, but I still need lots of practice.

The trip back on the GoTrain was.....annoying...to say the least. A sporting game had just let out and everyone squashed onto the train....Sardine Style. We were left standing in a squashed group with barely a few inches between each of us.

I was happy to get out of Toronto and back to a city with much more sidewalk space. Toronto is neat to visit sometimes, but I find it tiring after a few hours. I always come back exhausted and generally have a headache for hours afterwards.

First visit to the Toronto School of Art

I headed to the Toronto School of Art  in order to attend their "drop-in" life drawing class. This one was a variety of timed poses. This was excellent practice for me. I was also happy to see that the model happened to be male. I can't draw males as well as I can draw females and need the practice.

I was a bit off my game due to being in a new environment, so I wasn't pleased with anything I produced. I picked the better of the bunch in order to have something to show.

10 minute poses:
This one below is probably the best out of the bunch. I spent a lot of time making him look like he was actually sitting and really studied the connection of the arm to the back. (That's a huge issue for my sketches around town. I tend to not measure the shoulder/arm connection properly and it looks wrong.)

It's still touch and go with feet and hands. I get how to draw a hand/foot when it's not doing anything, but I have trouble translating different positions of the hand/feet in my brain.
(The feet in the second image are TERRIBLE. )

25 minute poses:
This first one is just a study of what I didn't like about the first draft of the drawing.  I attempted to exaggerate the curve of the leg a bit more, etc.

 This is the first attempt. I am not happy with this one bit. I had trouble with the right arm as the negative space wasn't lining up properly. (His hand was actually placed much farther away from his leg.) I really should have scrapped it and started over. *nods*

The one below is not great. I like how the hand under his chin turned out but the feet are horrid and the placement of the hand resting on his leg is pretty off. 

All-in-all, the trip was interesting, albeit boring as I went alone. Given the amount of time and money I had to spend to get there, I wont be going again until I find employment and have an entire day to myself. I'm also going to look into places around the GTA, as I can just rent a car and drive as long as it's not in the city core. (I drove through downtown Toronto twice before and refuse to do it again.)

My only complaint about this place was the room was a bit small and there wasn't a lot of ventilation.  Otherwise, everything else was great. It was exactly what I wanted; something uninstructed where I could just go to practice. To people living in Toronto, you are very lucky. It's tough to find gatherings like this out in the Suburbs.


The next time I go, I'll definitely take a buddy. It's more fun during the breaks.

Figure Drawing 1 - Class # 3

A few 1 minute warm ups to start.

We did an exercise where everyone in the class posed for 2 minutes. (We could use props if we liked.)
Most people were pretty creative with their poses. These are my 3 best.

Above is the final pose of the class, timed for 40 minutes. This one was a challenge! Reclining with foreshortened limbs. I measured carefully in order to fit the hands and feet on the paper. (I hate when I cut out of the feet or hands. I tend to draw large.) This one forced me to use all the skills I had been taught. (Measuring how many heads long she was, what was the highest point of her body, what angle are certain things on, where was her elbow joint on her right arm, etc ?) I'm not happy with how the right hand came out...but I was surprised I produced the rest so well!

Life Drawing

Long pose from tonight. I had run out of time when I was going to do the ear and legs. (20 minute timed.)

We did some sequential poses that I'll post some other time.

 Picture quality is poor. I'll get my good camera out tomorrow and take a better one. 

Capybara and her babies sketch

Another Zoo visit. I'll post more as I get them scanned.

1st Figure Drawing Class

My first figure drawing class started today. I will post more on the specifics of it in my next entry as I'm too tired to do any long-winded typing right now.

 My first 4 minute pose.

Second, 5 minute pose.

My last 5 minute pose. This one is favorite and probably the best of the bunch.

This was a 20 minute pose. It's got errors and I didn't get to finishing the hands. (Hands seem to be the trickiest things to draw...along with feet.) This one was tougher because of the foreshortening in the legs. The arm was bent and holding her weight like that...but if it looks wrong; it is wrong. *nods*


I learned a lot in just one class and can't wait until my next one!

4/25/2012

A collage of random sketches I've done. The deviantart stock photo section is useful to keep things interesting.

My hands and feet are getting better but still need a TON of work.

Figure Drawing Class Enrollment

Nothing huge has gone on lately. However, I will note that I have enrolled in a figure drawing class at the local college. It will be nice to have something different to do every week.