Drawing Class: Semester Two Week Four

Storyboarding Without Characters

How to give the impression of a story without any characters...at all? I had a few thoughts of what such a thing would look like, but was quite taken with the idea of Harry: The Apocalypse of Millennium Square.

My four (probably should have been six, but what have you) of the sequence were the final sink into desolation and the slight emergence toward life again.

Upon refleection, I suppose we could have coordinated the drawing out of ideas better to give better flow; worked on top of each other's  drawing to better blend the styles. Alas, that did not happen. Regardless of what could of been, I quite like the strange mishmash: somehow it complements the original idea.

 In the beginning, I had the trees on fire, and the roofs mid-collapse. 







Second, I had the fire rage out to just embers. Strangely, the leaves seem to be unaffected...

Okay, so the mistake got noticed and now the dead leaves are blowing away on the wind. Strange that I've made the trees downfall on a slower time to the rest of the environment.

And the dark skies are beginning to clear, The trees are just skeletons of themselves and most of the buildings are gone. I quite like the council building, so I didn't let it fall down too much. Naha.






Here is what came before mine in the series (Harry's) where the starts at present day, and then the apocalypse hits:

Drawing Class: Semester Two Week Three

Decreasing Scale

First life-drawing lesson this semester. Martin was posing for us, and we began on the right with a large drawing, with both time and scale decreasing as the lesson progressed. I quite liked the first drawing I managed, but (fun this) it just went downhill from there.

I think I need to work on the hands and feet in the poses more, as they hold a lot of the pose's expression.

Marks out of ten for each drawing (self-evaluated, of course):

One - 7.5
This was a 15 minute pose. I quite like it, but perhaps the leg is drawn a bit too skinny. However, I think the proportioning is quite good.
Two - 7
Another 15 minute pose. Proportioning is still good, but the leg is definitely too skinny looking and the hand isn't right.
Three - 7
15 minute pose. Scaling proportion seems fine, but I couldn't quite get the arms to look as they should. Again with the too skinny legs.
Four - 6
Maybe I drew the legs a bit short. Maybe they are a bit out of shape. Poor definition of arms and torso.
Five - 6
I like that this one is positioned a bit behind drawing four. Hand is drawn a little better, overall better definition, but the legs and arms look too skinny. Again.  Maybe that the feet are about level with drawing four doesn't help.
Six - 5
Proportioning is falling apart a bit here. More obvious that the top doesn't quite fit the bottom half. Can't help but think that everything from the neck down is a bit off.
Seven - 4
Didn't get this one quite finished. Dislike that the sizing is too like drawing six. General pose is right.
Eight - 4
Somehow the scaling has gotten stuck as the same as drawing six.
Nine - 4
Drawing one again, but smaller, as there wasn't that much to correct. Completely ignoring the bottom guide. 

Drawing Class: Week Six

This lesson we began with super quick lightening sketches, how long they lasted I can't recall, perhaps 20 seconds long. As the time was short all we had to do was to get the impression of the pose down. even if as stick men. For these, I would give myself 7 out of 10 as they seem to fit the bill, but not all were completed.

The next set were to be small 30 second poses about the same height. For each we had 30 seconds.

Next, we had to put down some 2 minute outline drawings, which I found quite a bit more challenging. After a few, we were reminded that they had to be continuous line. I don't like drawing that way very much. It's quite hard.

Continuing, we had some 3 minute poses with the model robed before break.

After break, we did some larger drawings. First, a sitting pose, which we did twice to see if the second time we could record it more accurately. After this it was a standing pose. These poses where fifteen minutes long and we could draw normally again. It was a good way to end. My drawings are all right as well.

Drawing Class: Week Eight

We began with some one minute continuous line drawings. I concentrated really hard on not lifting my pencil this time, as well as not going back on a line. The Result: some extremely long and wobbly looking people. I am not particularly pleased with them, but they did highlight some observational errors in recording proportioning accurately; as the limbs are both too long and thin, something that I have noticed occasionally in previous drawings.

These wobbly looking people changed from one wobbly to another, when we were given pens and told to mark on the silhouettes, with the strokes not changing direction, either slanted one way or another, no changing part way through. So, I kept mine all horizontal, and drew from the top down. Also one minute poses, moving down through fifty seconds, forty, thirty and twenty, ten, five, three and one second in length. They definitely become more obscure with the shortening of the time. Quite an interesting session and I think that I recorded the poses quite well, all things considered.

Drawing Class: Semester Two Week Two

Rubbings

This lesson we were let outside to find textures. I felt like I was four again. After collecting six rubbings from various surfaces, we then had to pick out a pattern from one of them. Then, we had to draw that as a sculpture and do isometric projections of it. Finally, we were tasked with drawing it properly, as if it were on a podium or exhibit in front of us.

Couldn't "see" a pattern that wasn't already there originally.

All I could see were bricks and the tops of trees.

In this one I picked out a dragon with fluffy hair and a cat-esque angel. 

I decided to go with the cat-like angel for my sculpture. Here it is with it's not-so-well-done isometric projections, followed by what I thought it would look like as an exhibit based on those projections.

Failed to fit the silly thing in...

...so I drew it again in my sketchbook.

Later, I went over the scanned in version of the sculpture in Photoshop; and here it is. As suggested, it does look quite dramatic.

T'is a bit eerie...

Drawing Class: Semester Two Week One

Henry Moore Institution

Before heading out to the Henry Moore Institution, we did a brief exercise involving the use of isometric projection. Trying to project my first initial into various angled space wasn't exactly easy. I think the results of are mediocre at best. Better than nothing, I suppose.

While in the Institution, we had to pick two or three of the sculptures on exhibit and draw them from two angles, the third, we had to project. With our imaginations and the other two as a guide. I managed alright with the symmetrical shapes, but time and the how daunting drawing the mostly-made-up third angles there and then had me deciding that I'd rather draw them later. That is still pending.

This is the sculpture piece that I began with; as its quite an a-symmetrical shape both angles I drew from the sides at different levels look quite similar. That being said, it made drawing the projected plan view of it a lot easier.

The next item I drew was of a woman's face done in abstract bronze. It's quite a nice piece. As of yet, I have drawn it from two angles but the final isometric projection is yet to be completed. EDIT: Now completed.

Imagined plan view.

After this, we went into the geometric exhibit, that left me wondering "why...?" Regardless, I  suppose there is a kind of beauty therein. Symmetry and precision are nice and all, but for me, I prefer the mysterious representations in the abstract sculptures exhibit. It captures my attention more and allows more depth of thought and poetry. Further, in school, I liked maths but hated having to learn all the formulas to calculate the areas. Lastly, these exhibits where incredibly hard to draw, but I tried to give at least an impression of what I was looking at. I refuse to project these things isometrically.

Drawing Class: Week Twelve

This week we had no life model, so we took it in turns to sit in the middle for quick drawings of the head from various angles. We had 30 seconds for each angle, and it was not easy to get all the information down necessary before time was up. In fact, it was easier to do the back of the head as there was less information to be recorded.

After the first two, we had to switch to our opposite hand from usual, for me it was my left. We returned to our original drawing hand for the last three. That was much easier.

We began here with same direction strokes to make up a silhouette of the head, followed by a simple outline. We weren't supposed to put any facial features or inward lines in, but in a few places I couldn't help but add an ear or hairline.

The first two of these were done in pen, but I didn't particularly like that so I switched back to pencil.  Toward the end I switched to left hand, and most of these are only the outline of one side of the head.

These drawings were done with the left hand, the third and fourth drawings were to just draw the inside features of the face. It looks quite bizarre.

Overall, this class was difficult, and further: I am not pleased with the work that I managed to do, especially after the work from the week before.

Drawing Class: Week Eleven

We began this lesson with a series of six five minute sketches. Again, we were aiming toward improving our proportioning through measured drawing. I think these drawing are better than the previous lesson's work. Also, the series had to be of a consistent size and scaling, which I managed reasonably well. The limbs are less elongated and there is more accuracy with the proportioning. Still, the side on angles of the body are a bit challenging, although the back is becoming easier to draw.

 Here is the last of the five minute drawings, as well as some shaded studies we did toward the end. We began them by drawing the outline of the pose, then filling it in with three layers of shading, one layer at a time. It was interesting to build up the shading in layers like this, as opposed to trying to do them all in one go. It really made me think about the depth of tone and I believe these are the best drawings by I have done this semester by far. For the last three, I would give myself a seven or possibly an eight out of ten, as the tone  is about right and the proportioning of the body is about accurate; the most accurate of any of my drawings so far.

Drawing Class: Week Ten

 Today we did measured drawings; of ten minutes in length followed by a series of 15 minute poses. I found this quite challenging, and it is reflected in my work. I have graded out of 10 how well I feel I have done with each of the 10 minute poses: four, three, four and five going from right to left. The two centre ones, unfortunately, didn't get finished in time.

I think the extra five minutes here really benefited, as well as having experience with  the previous drawings. I graded myself better here, as I do feel I had improved and these are better drawings. I like the first of these fifteen minute poses best, it is the most complete and most accurate of the four, for which I gave myself a six. The middle two are much less complete, and the final drawing seems skewed and is a lot thinner than it should have been. The foreshortening I didn't manage to cope well with and as a result some limbs look quite elongated.