The entire summer I was worried about this class. For multiple reasons. The one I think a lot of people were worried about. A live nude model. I thought that there was going to be no way I could keep a straight face. I thought I wouldn't be able to look at the model or anyone else in the class. It was a little awkward at first, but after a while the awkwardness was gone. It still seems to take me a minute or two to get into the mindset every class period, but it is getting easier and easier every time.
The other worry I had was that I was not going to be very good at it. I still look at my drawings from time to time and just shake my head and pick out all the flaws. I know we've been doing mostly gesture drawings and short poses but I look at other people's drawings and feel like I'm behind. It might have to be with the fact that a lot of people don't like their work after they finish it and look back at it. I see most of the flaws in my work, but miss a lot of the flaws in others work. I feel like I am making progress especially after watching Amy and Josh draw and their pointers. I just wish I would learn a bit faster. Oh well practice makes perfect.
This is probably the best drawing I've done in class so far. Still a lot wrong with it but I feel like it is the first sign of making progress. I'm still struggling with the foreshortening. I've tried to teach myself to draw people before and foreshortening is always where I struggled. The only time I've ever gotten it right is when I've drawn from an image and used a grid to draw.
Now here is my shell drawing. This is actually my second one. My first one got so messy and was so terrible I tossed it out. I was moving too fast on the first one and for this one I tried to move slower. I think, especially after the crit with Josh, that I needed to focus more on the shape that the texture on it.
And the manikin. I feel like I did alright with this. I know it isn't perfect, but after a few hours at it it was either claw my eyes out or be done. I think like with the drawing that this will get easier with time. The muscles that twisted were the hardest part for me. I think they are the ones that need the most work.
So it has been an interesting first two weeks of Life Drawing and I hope that I continue to make progress.
