Assignment 5 Option 2 - Review of Assignments

Review of Assignment 2 and 5

Looking back over all my work from Assignments 2 and 5, my favourites are the large blue Conte drawing of the figure lying face down which was the final piece from Assignment 2 and the pastel of the figure lying with his arms behind his head which was the Tonal study from Assignment 5.

These are both very similar poses and I think that is the reason I chose them. I love the foreshortening not just from the challenge of drawing but also because I think it make a very interesting piece. Putting them next to each other I can see that the pastel drawing is inaccurate because his upper body should be smaller. The proportions on the drawing on the left are better.

Both are also done in a similar media. The conte pencil is much harder but still has that soft nature that is nice to blend and good for describing form.  

I'm also pleased with the sketches from of the pencil drawing with the figure supported on one elbow and the charcoal of the figure sitting in the "thinker" pose, both from Assignment 2 - Structure. From Assignment 5 I like the drawing of the figure on the sofa from "quick studies" section.

I like these for different reasons. The middle one of the "thinker" I like because of the pose and the way the foot comes towards you. The highlights and shading are also good on this one. The other two are much quicker poses and I like the way I've managed to get the weight and shape of the figure quickly without it being overworked and detailed. They seem spontaneous and looser.

There are some aspects of other drawings that I like but something (usually the face) lets the drawing down.

Looking at my drawings I can see my progress throughout the course. I feeling I'm getting better at proportions although I still make mistakes. When I'm drawing, I find it comes much easier to me. I used to labour over certain poses whereas now I can get the correct anatomy much faster and without the effort I used to put in. I think one of the main things that helped me with this are the line drawing exercises. They made me look properly and spend the time to get the proportions correct.

I really like doing close ups. I find these much easier than doing smaller studies. I find it easier to get a likeness if I do a close up of the face. This is also a feature in the conte and pastel drawings I chose above which both have a large part of the drawing taken up by the feet which I'm pleased with.

Regarding media I enjoy doing detailed close ups like portraits, using pencil. For full figures I prefer a softer medium but I also like doing sketches using pen. I think pen is really useful for doing quick figure studies.