Life Drawing

Drawing - Week 1 : Still Life

We began our first week of still-life by drawing with little instruction to show our level of experience at that point in time. We were then shown how to use a pencil and our thumb to measure the ‘head height’ of a figure, and how to use it to effectively measure the body.

The third piece we created was worked on by three different students each one changing and improving on the last person's work to give pointers on where to improve.

For the final works we would do in this session we were instructed to view the model from the opposite side of the room to where we were working, and then to draw from memory the shape of the figure.

Week 1 - Independent Work

My independent development work this week included drawings of a variety of poses, taking on everything I had learnt from the session, including measuring the 'head height' and the importance of shape.

Drawing - Week 2 : Still Life and the Head

For our second week of still life drawing we focused on looking at the shapes that make up the human form, and what shapes we can see within a pose. We also looked at how to draw heads and faces at different angles.

The first drawing we completed in the session was again a baseline for our ability so far, and showed the progress we had made since the first session from both the session itself and the independent drawings we had completed.

We were given a demonstration of how to draw the human head, beginning with a shape similar to a 'motor-cycle' helmet, with the eyes halfway down, the nose half way between the eyes and the chin, and the lips between the nose and the chin slightly closer to the nose.

Full body drawings - thinking about shapes

Week 2 - Independent Work

Head and face studies - drawn at different angles

Drawing the 'Andrew Loomis' head

Drawing : Week 3 - Light and Form

Week 3 - Independent Work

Light cast onto the head from different angles creating shadows

Drawing: Week 4 - Using Ink

For our fourth week of drawing sessions we switched to a different material. We were given the option of using either black paint or black ink, I chose to use ink. My initial drawings this session were a little too dark in places where lighter areas would've shown the light source shining onto the model. As the session progressed I was able to avoid this, learning to begin with a very light tone and build up the colour for areas of shadow.