Midterm Post

I can't believe it's already midterm. I don't feel like I've done much this semester or progressed very far but then I was flipping through my newsprint pad and I saw where I started and how far I have come. I can honestly say I think I am making progress. Maybe not as fast as I would like but if I stick with it I think I could really be great at this. Like after years of more practice.
I think one of my strengths is trying to take my time. Sometimes I catch myself moving to fast and I slow down and works a little slower and I find my results are much more satisfying. Like my contour forearm, I didn't finish a lot of it but the part I did finish looks great.
Another area that I think I'm doing well with is the ribcage. After all the time we've spent with it and the practice I've had on it I feel my rib cages are the right shape and sizes.
Things I need to work on: proportions, line weight, and the manikin. I spend a lot of time erasing due to messed up proportions. Now I know erasing isn't a bad thing, but a little less erasing wouldn't hurt. My line weight is something I hardly ever pay attention to. I'm more focused on getting the form correct than worrying about what is where in space and how my line reflects that. Maybe that's right maybe that's wrong, but either way it doesn't mean it should be ignored entirely. And finally the manikin. The manikin drives me nuts because the pictures in the book really don't show me everything I want to see. I wish I could compare the muscles I build with another manikin that has the muscles done correctly so I could pick it up and move it around to see it from every angle.
I would really like to improve in all the areas I feel I am weakest in. I think getting better with the proportions and line weight will help the quality of my drawings and I think getting better at building the muscles on the manikin will help give me a better understanding of the shape of body.
Photos

Pelvis Week

Last week was focused on the pelvis. First we had the video lecture and then we had a solid drawing session. Sitting through the video lecture I found myself drifting in and out of a sort of daze. I picked up some of what was being said but I feel like it went in one ear and out the other at times. I was sitting in the back and it was a little hard to see from time to time so maybe that was it. Or maybe it was the guy's voice just being one of those voices that just puts you to sleep. Anyways my point is I feel like I didn't get as much from this lecture as I have from previous lectures. I think seeing Amy's lectures work better for me. I don't know if it's the colors, or the way she explains things or what but I hope we don't do the video lectures that much.

When it came to Thursday and actually drawing I felt a little like I was going in blind. I tried to get my gesture drawings done quickly but I kept falling behind and not getting everything done right. The last drawing we did was a bit of a challenge. I had kind of a weird angle but I was determined to work through that and force myself not to take an easier view. By the end of it I was pretty satisfied with what I produced. I could see parts that still needed work, but the fact that I know they needed work and what parts they were makes me feel like I am making progress. Other parts I felt I did very well on which also contributed to that feeling of progression.

Reflection week of Oct. 5th

So this past week we began working on drawing the rib cage and building the abs in clay. Images of my progress will be up when I charge my camera's battery.
On some drawings I feel like I am making progress but others I feel like a toddler with a crayon. It really depends on the angle of the model. I need more work on foreshortening as always but as always that should come with time and practice. Drawings where I have a view of the model standing up are better, especially straight on or a three quarters view. Still trying to get a feel where the arms and neck go from the rib cage. Also having some trouble with size. My drawings alway look so elongated like they've been stretched on a medieval torture device. I hope the proportion sheet we got will help with that, although if the head is drawn out of proportion then it'll screw up the rest of the figure. I need to look for more of the key points to give me guidance of where my lines need to go.

As for the abs in clay, I feel I did alright but I honestly have no idea. They may be a bit large but they look as close to the image in the book as I can get with my eyes. I found it a little difficult to get an exact match due to the differences of the manikins. Some of the places the muscles connect to the skeleton look a lot different so I connected it close to the area with a guess.