Life Drawing: Week 5

Hi, welcome to my fifth week posting. This week we coninued to practice the same principals of proportions and body form. The majorirty of of the time this week was focued primary on our manikins and getting the muscles to align correctly and fit within the proper area. We begun moving towards the leg regions where we added the muscles pereneus longus, soleus, and the gastrocnemius. These are all located toward the back of the leg forming the calf muscles. As we progress forward, we are now preparing our portfolios for next week friday's midterm review. For this we are required to choose 10 of our best drawings from our class and complete the last muscle attachments to our manikin.



Anterior View



 This is just an overview on the progress I have had so far on my manikin. Although I could have held back a little bit on smoothing the layers of muscles to eachother, I am pleased with the quality of my work. During the process of attaching the muscles it was quite irritating at times. The refrence books were sometimes confusing to determine if the muscles were located towards the front or back of the manikin. But after some clarification from the professor the manikin began taking the proper shape. I actually had quite a few mistakes, as some of the muscles were flipped around and were sometimes too thin.










Posterior View of Leg Muscles

 This image is an overview of the leg muscles I have just completed today. It illustrates what was talked about earlier the peroneus longus, soleus, and the gastrocnemius. It's interesting to observe all the fine detail that goes within the human body. Although we as a class are just touching bases with the main muscle groups, there was still a great amount of work required to create each layer. I believe the experience and knowledge I've gained from making the manikin, helped give me a greater understanding on how the body is formed and moves. As our class sessions consist of  repeative drawing exercises, it begins to get easier to locate and distinguish where these muscle groups are. It helps provide a reference to our drawings by providing a more realistsic appearence.

Life Drawing: Week 4

Hi, welcome to my fourth week posting. This week we continued to practice the same principals we have learned the previous weeks, dealing with the spinal region, abdominal, and obliques. As we move forward we are now learning more about the torso region and begin to develop a greater understanding on the proportion of the human anatomy. Our next focus will be located towards the thigh and leg regions, such as the pectineus, adductors, and the gracilis.

45 minute-Male drawing

 Towards the end of the week we used a male model focusing on the same elements of proportion and form of the body. As I began this drawing I started by focusing on the mid section of the body, making sure I have the line positioned in the right angle. I then moved forward to the rib cage area where I tried to determine how it sat within the body. Similar to the previous weeks I began the rib cage with the shape of an egg. I would then follow this by process by determining where the torso region lied. It was difficult to determine the exact area of the torso due to the position I was in, I was not able to fulling distinguish it clearly. After capturing the essential areas of the body I moved forward to determine where the several muscle groups of the abdominal and obliques were located. In comparison to the female figure it was much easier to determine where the muscles lied on the male figure than the female. This was one interesting observation when having to switch from a female to a male model.

As the class progresses so does my understanding in the human anatomy. By the various repetitive drawings we produce in class it has helped increase my understanding of how the various components in the human body are positioned with one another. Although it may be a different style of drawing I am typically used to, I can see it being a great importance in my development of being a great artist. 

Life Drawing: Week 3




30 Sec. Drawings of Rib Cage


Hi welcome to my third week posting. This week we focused on the importance of the rib cage. Although there are several components that go within the anatomy of the rib cage, we can simplify the form by starting it with a basic egg shape. By approaching the drawing with the general shape of the rib cage it will help us determine where other forms of the body will be set. The rib cage can usually be established by finding the bottom of the neck towards the middle of the stomach. This is generally where the top and bottom of the rib cage can be found. We also begun focusing on the areas of the abdominal and obliques.

Our assignment this week was to determine where the quadratus lumborum, external obliques, and rectus abdominis muscles were located on the manikin. As we continue to learn the human anatomy and perform these clay models I believe it will help enhance each individual's ability to become stronger drawers. By repeated drawings of the spinal and center axis of the human body and incorporating further knowledge of the anatomy I can begin to determine where each aspect of the body falls into place. At the end of this week it was an interesting experience working with a male model. There was a dramatic difference in the male and female figures as they both held interesting qualities that separated them from each other. The female figure appeared more interesting to draw as there appeared to be more curves and angles to her body, as opposed to the straighter male body figure. Although the male held a less interesting figure I believe it was easier to determine his center axis opposed to the female. They both contained there individual challenges when I attempted to draw them, but overall it was interesting to see the difference in the male and female figures. 

Life Drawing: Week 2

Hi, welcome to my blog. Today I will be discussing some new interesting aspects in life drawing that I have learned.
The first and most important is the artist's drawing position. Life drawing is an absolute different experience from some of my previous drawing classes. It requires a looser drawing technique rather than an tight detailed drawing. I have learned that by positioning my weight on two feet rather than one gives me an overall better drawing stance. This allows me to be positioned correctly to draw at arms length away from the aisle. The importance of staying at a certain distance away from the aisle allows the artist to perform looser strokes, which prevents the tendency to draw tight. The way the artist holds his or her drawing material is also important. Aside from previous art classes that use a similar technique to writing with your palm on the surface of the paper, the drawing material should be held within your four fingers and thumb. The drawing material should be able to roll within the tips of your finger, which allows for more control. The only point that should touch the surface of the paper is the drawing material.
Another important aspect of life drawing is to understand the human anatomy. We as a class are just touching bases on the importance of the center axis of the spine. We performed several 15 second drawings focusing only on the spinal region. This will essential give us a starting point when we move further towards drawing the entire figure. We are also being introduced to the positioning of muscles within a figure by studying different muscle groups and understanding how they work. Our first assignment is dealing with applying layers of cut out clay to represent the muscle tissues onto a skeletal manikin. By incorporating the understanding of the human anatomy and drawing positions we as a class can enhance our drawing potential in life drawing.