End of Semester Blog

The first course objective listed in the syllabus was to be able to draw based on structure. I feel that I have been constantly improving upon my skills in this area and have successfully met the criteria listed for this class. Formerly, I would just draw but not understand and I am glad to have learned the reasons why the figure looks like it does. The composition of the human form is more important than the flesh that lays on it.

I have become much better at seeing the cross contours of the figures and I have learned how to represent them more accurately to show dimension. One area that I have improved more than any other is line quality. I can now make a more confident line as opposed to many sketchy lines and I feel this was a great success for me. I still need to work on line pressure and variety, but I have come a long way in that aspect as well.

On the mid term assessment, I was told to improve in many areas. Since then, I have improved upon my inking skills and my line quality since the mid term assessment. I have also focused heavily on taking more time to capture the figure as accurately as I can. I feel this has paid off for me and I have improved greatly since the beginning of the semester and even since mid term.

I had a very unique experience in Life Drawing this semester. I have learned to focus on what lies beneath the flesh. I can see myself using this in future classes, because it will always help to understand the composition and what makes up the whole in order for something to look like it does. This philosophy can be used to explain many things, physical or not. For example, much of an idea is the process behind it, and not just the finished project.

Portfolio: Part II

This Week in Review (05/03 and 05/05)

This week, we have been focusing on the facial features. This is much more complicated than I had imagined. After drawing the skull without flesh, I learned a great deal about why the face is shaped like it is. Thinking about the structure makes drawing the face easier but that is only one obstacle. I am currently having trouble with making the face look like what the model actually looks like. I believe this will come in time and with practice.

This Week in Review (4/26-04/28)

This week, we focused on the skull. I found this very interesting because prior to this, I thought the skull was one single bone connected to the jaw. In reality, it is more complex and you can see the different bones when you look closely enough. Drawing the skull is a different experience all together. I enjoyed it, due to the fact that there wasn't flesh on the skull and that made it easier to draw.

This Week in Review (4/19-04/21)

This week, we started focusing on hands. At first, I thought it would be easier to draw the hand by itself, but I have found that it is even harder to draw than the torso. When drawing the figure, I am used to drawing the rib cage and using the pelvic points as a road map, but I am unable to find these helpful locations on the hand. As instructed, I now focus on the top and side planes of the hand as rectangles of which the thumb attaches. Another helpful thing that I am starting to do, is representing the fingers by their bone positions and adding mass to them.

This Week in Review (4/12-04/14)

This week, Wednesday especially, I felt like I made a great deal of progress. I chose a pretty difficult angle to draw from because there was a large amount of overlapping. The pelvic area overlapped the egg shaped rib cage and it was foreshortened drastically. I am pleased with this drawing and I am on my way towards getting proper proportions.

Semester Reflection 1

Through the first half of the semester, I have learned many new things about form and the human body. I have learned how individual muscles fit together to make up structure and I know that understanding the composition of the body will help me very much when representing it on paper. Using line to represent figure is new to me as I am used to using value and shading. I've been constantly learning in hopes of improving my results.

Learning how to make parts of the body geometrically has helped me most of all. Knowing that the volume and overall shape and simplifying it makes drawing form easier for me. Another tip that I found to be beneficial was the appropriate use of pressure. By starting with light pressure, it is much easier to correct mistakes. Once everything is laid out, the next step is adding a medium pressure, followed by heavy pressure. It is very difficult to do these steps in reverse order and I've experienced this first hand.

My strengths and weaknesses are somewhat similar. I have been conditioned to see shape in previous drawing classes and I like to think that I am pretty good at it. On the other hand, I am not very good at seeing cross contours. This relates to not being able to rely on shading to represent plane changes. I also need to slow down. I find this hard because it conflicts with the drawing style I have adapted to in previous classes.

In the next half of the semester, I hope to learn how to draw slower and observe in greater detail. I hope to accomplish what I set out to do when I first began this class; to learn as much as I can about the form on the human body.

Photobucket Portfolio:
http://photobucket.com/albums/n293/markwood_80/Life%20Drawing%20I/

This week in review

This week, we got a chance to look at our shell drawings. I was amazed at the similarities and differences between everyone's drawings. Most, if not all of the drawings were made with a horizontal or vertical plane, mine included. For a more dynamic drawing, the long axis should be on a diagonal. My drawing will definitely improve with this in mind.

One major thing that sets our drawings apart was the line weighs. Some people used a very heavy line, where as others used a light, more elegant line. Another problem area for me is that I have a very hard time getting light lines and the overall feel of my drawing was very boring and ineffective because I used a constant line pressure. I will also address this when I make my next drawing.

Pictured is the progress that I have made with my muscles on my skeleton.

Field Trip

The piece I chose to blog about is titled " Ceaseless Boundless Endless Joy." It was made with oil paints on canvas by an artist named Todd Norsten in 2008. Todd Norston is an American artist who was born in 1967. I found this piece to capture my emotions for some reason.

At first glance, this piece looked to me like masking tape on a white-painted surface. I disliked the idea that this piece is considered art. It seemed weird because it appears that the artist simply cut strips of tape and laid them down to form letters and words. My first opinion was that anyone could do this ... even a four-year-old could. Anyone could produce the same, or similar, results.

However, after looking at the work for some time in great detail, I had a greater appreciation for it. The craftsmanship of it was far greater than I had anticipated. Making such clean lines and making oil paint look so much like real masking tape is really, very impressive to me.

This week in review

This week, I feel like I made some progress in gesture drawing. I have become more comfortable with not resting my hand on the paper as I draw. Also, I am getting better at moving my whole arm when I am making a mark. It is easier to make light marks and darken them when I am satisfied with the result. I am looking forward to the upcoming field trip on Wednesday. I believe that it will be a nice break from school.

Shell Research

After some research guided by enature.com, I learned that my shell is an example of a Kellet's Whelk shell. Kellet's Whelk, or Kelletia kelletii, are from the family Buccinidae, Whelks. This type of shell grows to anywhere from 3-6.5 inches long and is usually a yellow or gray color. It has a spiral shape and rounded knobs that only protrude from one end of its form.

This type of snail shell is usually found in salt water that ranges from 10 to 400 feet deep where it is a scavenger. They can be found where rocks or gravel are present, and sometimes where there are beds of kelp. They have been known to be found along the Californian coast as far down as the Baja region. The Kellet's Whelk was named after Captain Sir Henry Kellett, a British commander.

Week 2

This week, we have been focusing very heavily on contour lines. I found blind contour lines to be very difficult. I am used to being able to see what I am drawing and correcting it as needed. This teaches me to take a closer look at what I am drawing. My biggest problem with this type of drawing is that I am impatient and can never draw slow enough. I have to work on this so I don't miss anything.

Blind Contour Drawing

1. Value: Medium/ Dark
2. Speed: Fast
3. Character: Unsure
4. Pressure: variety light to hard
5. Word: Sketchy

About Me

Hey All,

I am Mark Wood and I am from Menomonie. I have lived here my entire life and have found that UW-Stout is a perfect fit for me. I am a senior working on a BFA with a concentration in graphic design. I plan to graduate in the spring of 2011.

I am also looking forward to life drawing I. I have always had trouble drawing the human figure and I believe that learning about the individual muscles that make up the body will help me very much when drawing it. I look forward to improving upon my skills and learning how to use line to represent form.

First Blog

This was my first day of classes for the spring semester 2010. Life drawing seems to be an interesting class and so far, I am glad to be enrolled. We will soon see what the semester has in store for me.