Week 12: Facial Expression

A 15 minute conté crayon drawing, this image is focused on expression. For this particular expression, while at first glance the viewer may think it is shocked due to the eyebrow, the lack of expression in the mouth shows that this is not the case, and that this is a face that is authoritative, calm, slightly sarcastic, and says "Really?"

The focus on the expression is helped by the fact that the rest of the image is fairly low-detail, while still showing what form is being described. This tells the viewer that the low detail areas are less important, but still valid to help with the overall image.

The anatomy of the face is good, and the view works as a tilted 3/4 view, helped by the darker left side of the face and the dark outline where the hair starts.

Week 11: Portraiture

A 25 minute conté crayon portrait drawing. This was focused on getting correct facial anatomy and likeness. The facial anatomy in this image is helped by the way the marks are made, creating weight and depth, and showing the curvature of the face, through following this curvature with the marks. This is equally effective in the representation of the hair, which is not highly detailed but suggests enough that the viewer can understand what it is simply through the marks.

The anatomy itself is accurate, with the eyes a third of the way down the face, the nose another third down, and the ears aligned to the bottom of the nose. This shows that the image has been planned and measured beforehand. There are also changes visible, as the bottom of the chin can be seen to have moved up. However this is not too obvious as the dark outlines of the face draw the attention back to the face itself.

There is also a good contrast in the tonal values of the dark and light areas, specifically the two sides of the face, where the further one is barely visible and just suggested in the shade.

Week 10: Colour in Skin

A 30 minute conté crayon portrait drawing focused on the colours in skin and how it reacts to light. In this image this is done through yellow, red, and blue. There is not much in between the two layers of skin at the neck, which is why the light has shown through substantially more in that area than in others. This is equally true of the hair, where some individual strands have caught the light, but overall the outline is thicker than it is for the face.

The outline of light on the head, by contrast, is thin. This is because there is much more here for the light to pass through. The blue between the nose and cheek is another indicator of this, showing a lack of light. The red at the bottom of the nose is a contrast to this, showing where just red light has passed through the skin. This depiction of light and how it reacts with the skin is very indicative of some of the properties of skin.

The rest of the skin is brown as the image is backlit, and so there is not much tonal variation in the brown, as it is more to depict the lack of light in those areas.

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.

Week 6: Still Life - Detail in Man Made Forms

A 40 minute drawing using 5 graphic markers. This drawing is focused on creating tonal values which are representative of the light source and the detail of the object. There is large variance of tonal values in the composition, from the darkest shadows under the car itself, under the wheel guards, to the areas with the most light like the top half of the car. This difference in tonal value gives a very three dimensional feel to the object and gives it realism. The lines representing the shadow underneath the car do this especially as they ground the object on to the floor and give it context.

The focal point of this image is the right of the front bumper. This is because there is a large amount of detail, especially in and around the headlight. There is also some blending of the tonal values which creates a smooth gradient, which helps to hint at the curvature of the metal. Another area of interest in the image could be the back wheel, where there is a reasonable level of detail and more importantly a large variation in different tonal values, and also different layers close to each other, the metal layer, the wheel, and the ground just underneath.

The windscreen is another point of interest in this image, due to some use of marks which are particularly evocative of its feel, giving it a hint of curvature and having been wiped. There is also depth in it, because it is possible to see some of what is behind it. There is a hint of the seat, the door, and the steering wheel, which are clearly behind the windscreen as they are described with very little detail and definition.