Week 9: Figure and Drapery

A  30 minute conté crayon drawing showing perspective and drapery interacting with the human form. This drapery has tonal variations and one of the darkest parts of the image, which lends itself to the idea of it being draped over the human form, and having a shape because of this. In addition to this, it also helps to show the human form underneath, as the viewer knows it would not have a shape without the body.

The foreshortening of the body in this is explained through the perspective of the body, in addition to the perspective of the bed to which it is parallel. With foreshortening, the anatomy of this figure is correct, and appears to be relaxed and slumped. This is shown especially through the legs, which are in comfortable positions, and the shoulders, which have a gentle curve and are not stretching.

The shadow at the top of the image gives the drawing a sense of not just being in a void, which is also helped by the bed on which the model is laid, and also creates a line which the viewer can follow to return to the bottom of the image, where they can then follow the body or bed back up to the top again. This creates an image which the viewer is more likely to linger on.

Week 8: Anatomy

A directed study page of a series of 5 minute charcoal sketches. This is an anatomy study of the hand in various poses, and showing varying degrees of relaxation and tensing of the muscles. The two sketches at the bottom are quite relaxed poses, shown mostly through the openness of the pose, and the way the fingers are spread. By contrast, the pose to the right and in the top centre are quite tensed, shown through the opposite.

The pose on the left is also relaxed, as while the fingers are not straight, they are in a natural position, as the muscles are relaxed. There is also foreshortening in this pose, shown through the shadows created by the fingers, and also the curvature of the nails.

The flesh of the hands is given structure and weight by the tonal values and ways in which the tones have been made. The smudging of the charcoal suggests the curvature, which aids the viewer's understanding. These shadows are also focused on areas in which it is more necessary, such as the shadows of the fingers in the top left. This shows that time has not been wasted adding information where it is not necessary.

Week 7: Tonal Values in Refraction and Distortion

A 30 minute charcoal drawing. This is a composition focused on the tonal values that the properties of glass creates, using different types of glass. There is a large variety in these tonal values, and similarly with the texture of the charcoal. This indicates to the viewer that there are different types or colours of glass, and creates good contrasts. The dark and light areas are also spread throughout the image, creating multiple points of interest.

This image also has some strong implied lines, following the very tops of the bottles, and also the necks of the  two largest bottles. There are also implied lines at the bottom of the bottles, and one which follows the shadow of the large thin bottle to the smallest one. These are joined to the implied lines at the top through the vertical lines on both sides of the image, creating circular implied lines that draw the viewers eyes around and not away from the image.

The distortion in this image is primarily shown by the warped line of the rectangular bottle viewed through the circular one. While this is only one line, it clearly shows the transparency of the glass, while equally showing that there is glass there. This creates a sense of depth which is helped by the bottles being placed in such a way as to lead into the image, which along with the implied lines, helps to keep the viewer's attention on the image.