Week 6 Homework: Cafe Drawing

12.11.16

For my speed drawings, I chose to spend the day in the centre of Worcester walking with my sketchbook and capturing people as they walked by. I began in a cafe and sat by the window to try to get to grips with what medium I would use and get into the habit of drawing people quickly. I then walked to the Cathedral, the bridge, and the public park by the river.

(1)

Byro pen.

Couple walking out of cafe.

As you can see, my first attempt at capturing moving people is very bare, only drawing their core movement.

(2)

Byro pen.

People I saw walking from the window view.

For my second attempt, I took a few moments to create the environment and then added people as they walked by, this technique was what I used at the zoo when drawing the penguin enclosure, but here I don't feel I created the sense of movement I wanted. 

(3)

Fine Liner.

Woman walking.

Here is my first fine-liner drawing, I found fine-liner to be the best medium to speed draw with because it created dark lines and was easy to use. Unlike pencil, it doesn't want for shading so much and so gave me the freedom to focus only on the essence of the figure.

(4)

Fine-liner

An elderly lady walking, drawn from the window of a cafe.

(5)

Fine-Liner

Man on the phone, drawn from the window of a cafe.

(6)

Fine-liner

Couple having coffee.

I could take my time (to a point) with this piece as the subjects were sat down and in no rush to move. I like this piece as I had time to add the environment which completes it.

(7)

Grey Marker Pen.

Lady carrying shopping.

(8)

Grey Marker Pen.

Man on the phone.

I wasn't happy with this piece as my grey marker pen started running out of ink but I couldn't stop drawing as he was moving, It made the piece look messy.

(9)

Black Marker Pen

Lady walking.

I'm not a fan of the black marker, it doesn't look as good as the fine liner, I don't dislike this piece but feel it would have been better with a thinner pen.

(10)

3B Pencil

Person Walking.

Pencil did not create the effect I wanted, it looks too faint and so after a few experiments I went back to fine-liner and stayed with it.

(11)

3B Pencil

Lady working in cafe.

This was another piece I could take a little more time with as the lady was doing work and was staying in the same place, though I still tried to capture her quickly to stay true to the exercise. 

(12)

3B Pencil

Lady with hat and backpack.

I really like this piece simply because the subject has character. Even if she is just a simple line drawing, the hat and backpack make her look cute. It is a ten-second sketch with a story.

(13)

Fine-liner

Two women looking at phone.

This was difficult as I was drawing two people quickly, again  I like how it has a story. The women looked lost as if they were trying to find out where to go, I believe this comes across in the drawing. 

(14)

Fine-liner

Friends at lunch.

Here are two more people that sat in front of me in the cafe. I tried to focus on them and only do a small outline for the environment. I think that environment is important in drawing as it creates context.

(15)

Bold Fine-liner

Girl looking at phone.

(16)

Bold Fine-liner

Man coming towards cafe.

I really like this piece. Even if the man's face doesn't look realistic, it has character. Something I learned throughout this exercise was how much personality accessoriesies give a person. I found I liked the drawings of people with glasses, hats, phones, more than the people just walking.

(17)

Fine-Liner (0.1)

Man holding toddler on shoulders.

(18)

Fine-Liner (0.1)

Man walking big dog.

(19)

Fine-Liner (0.1)

Lady helping man with walking stick.

Here I tried a technique to make some parts of the drawing more prominent than the others to convey the story. I have done that by making the figures faint but the walking stick bold so you can see the subject on the right is helping the one on the left. I believe this comes across and will be using the technique again.

(20)

Fine-Liner (0.1)

Lady on mobility scooter.

I'm not really fond of this piece simply because without a description you wouldn't know what you were looking at. 

(21)

Fine-liner

2 minutes silence.

By this point, I had ventured from the cafe where I had done the majority of my drawings and into Worcester. I left at around 11:00am and so on my way to the Cathedral everybody was observing the two-minute silence for remembrance day. I joined in with the group of people across the road from the Cathedral, by the Edward Elgar statue pictured, and observed the silence with them. Then when it was over, I got out my sketchpad and drew the people as they all went their separate ways. 

I feel lucky to have captured this moment of strangers coming together and sharing in an experience.

(22)

Fine-liner

Man looking over the river.

I drew this while sat on a bench behind the Cathedral. Luckily the man I chose to draw stood in the same spot for at least five minutes. He kept moving his position slightly but I was able to mold my drawing as he did. This is one of my favourite pieces.

(23)

Fine-liner

Couple looking at a view.

This was also drawn behind the Cathedral while I sat on the steps. The couple sat for a while and I drew them until they got up. It took roughly five minutes and I'm pleased with the level of detail I got in that time. This is another piece where I feel I have captured a feeling and a moment and so I'm really pleased with it.

(24)

Fine-liner

Pigeon

(25)

Fine-liner

Lastly, I sat by the bridge and drew the environment, adding people as they walked by. I added a couple walking and a lady jogging. I really like this piece as I feel like by this point I had got to grips with speed drawing and creating movement and it shows in what I've done. 

Overall I had a lot of fun doing this exercise. I spent a long time walking through Worcester and thinking about where and what I wanted to draw. I found out what medium I like working with when speed drawing (fine-liner), what kind of subjects I like drawing, and that each piece has a story to it. In future I would spend more time outside rather than in the cafe as I found the pieces I did in the city a lot more interesting and whole. 

Week 6 Life Drawing Session 5: Tone and Wet and Dry Media.

12.11.16

For this life drawing session, we were attempting to create tone using colour. This was probably my favourite session so far, simply because I love using paint and because it really challenged me to use it in a new way. Paint is different to pencil in the way that it is less forgiving, so if you make a mistake you have a harder job of covering it up; this forced me to plan more and look more at the model to make sure my proportions were correct before creating depth.

(1) shows a series of warm up drawings, these are all in pencil and took 3-10 seconds each. This exercise gave me a chance to draw without inhibition before getting into the main pieces. As you can see with the fainter drawings I did at the start, I was a bit worried about how they looked so didn't make harsh lines, then towards the centre, you see where I have become more confident and created drawings that capture the essence of the pose within a short amount of time.

(2) was still part of the warm up. Here we used charcoal and got into the habit of creating not only dark and light tone, but medium tone, and exaggerating what we saw to enhance this. Although these useful in order to get used to experimenting with tone, I can see that I wasn't as focused on proportions in these drawings. Even if correct proportion was not the focus, I should still be thoughtful of it so that I stay in the habit of creating more accurate drawings. 

(3) was the first colour tone drawing we did. I chose to use a light pink, medium purple/pink and dark purple oil pastels to create depth in my piece. I was pleased with the proportions and the use of dark and light, but I think the image looks a bit flat, this is something I saw as I stood back from it on completion. I will, in future, step back from my drawing more often in order to see flaws more clearly. 

(4) is my favourite piece. It conveys depth much more than any of my other pieces and has feeling to it. This may be because I am comfortable with watercolour as a medium and was more confident in creating the image, but also because I received feedback on my medium tone and responded to it; this meant that the image looked more 3D. The model looks lonely and cold because of the cool tones I have used, so I know in future to recreate that effect I can use those colours.

In contrast, I have used opposite tones for (5), swapping cold blue greens for harsh reds and oranges. With this piece I was mixing wet and dry media and so decided to practice with the mediums on the side of my paper before I began. I put some white oil pastel down and went over it with red watercolour paint; It created a bubbly effect on the pastel which I thought would work as a highlight. I also did a quick thumbnail sketch in my drawing book of the model as we had 45 minutes to complete the piece and I wanted to make the proportions accurate. Midway through the piece I received feedback to use more dry media so I added more pastel on top and it made the dark tones darker which created more depth. I don't necessarily like the result, but I think the exercise was important in experimenting with wet and dry media and getting to grips with the technique.

At the end of the session, we looked at the work of our peers and discussed paintings we found interesting. I pointed out a piece where someone had created great detail on the face using pastel, a technique I was unaware of. Someone else pointed out a piece where someone had used acrylic to thickly lay down texture on his piece, he used earthy tones and created a quite abstract view of the model. On our next session, I will be sure to bring my acrylics so that I can try this out. It is out of my comfort zone to do this, but I am excited to see what I can create using the inspiration of my peer's artwork.

(1)

Assorted Pencils (2B to 6B)

(2)

Charcoal 

(3)

Oil Pastels, 3 colours used.

(4)

Watercolour paints, 3 colours used

(5)

Oil Pastel and Watercolour Paint, 3 colours used

Week 5 Homework: Subtractive Tone Self Portrait

02.11.16

Out of all the exercises we've done, I found this the least enjoyable. I heavily dislike working with charcoal, essentially because I'm a very clean person (strange for an illustrator, I know) and I don't like having any residue on me after a drawing/painting. I had to do a lot of prep and a lot of clean up for every painting and so it took double the amount of time I had planned. Although this was a hindrance, I'm still pleased with some of my pieces. (All done using charcoal, tissue and assorted erasers) 

As I do not own a full length mirror, I went home to my parents house to use one to create the first two images. (1) is very simple and I like it. (2) though not in proportion, seems exaggerated (I've made my legs bigger than they are) in a way that looks artistic and I like it.

(3) was also done at home with a lamp placed to my bottom right. I am pleased with how this piece turned out as I think you can definitely see where the light is coming from.

(4) was done in my bedroom at university accommodation with a lamp directed at my face. I did not think this through as it made it really difficult to see my drawing. As a consequence it is my least favourite.

(5) i believe, is my most successful piece. I directed my lamp towards my sketchpad on my lap so that I could see my page and the light would come from below my face. Because I had good vision I could create a better image. 

One thing I forgot to do was to try different emotions. On (5) I am smiling slightly but that is by chance, I got so into my drawings that I forgot about that aspect. This is a lesson learned to keep the brief in front of me as I do every task. I feel I learned from this challenge, but am still not a fan of charcoal, despite it's effects being good.

 (1) 15 min

 (2) 25 min

 (3) 35 min

 (4) 32 min

(5) 29 min

Week 6: Bristol Zoo Trip

31.10.2016

Today a group of us visited Bristol zoo to do some life drawing of the animals and their environments.

I had an amazing time drawing the animals, environments, and people in the zoo. As you can see from my sketches it took me time to get a technique where I could draw them properly but after practice, it became easier. 

I found the whole experience very valuable. I don't often draw animals and so I was nervous about how my sketches would turn out, but I'm really pleased with them. It was also nice to work outside and I received a few compliments while sketching (which gave me some confidence!) I would definitely repeat the exercise again in my own time.

 (1)

Quick byro pen sketches of drills and flamingos.

 (2)

Quick fine liner sketches of a little egret and some lions. I was really pleased with the face of the middle lion.

 (3)

Fine liner sketch of a yellow mongoose, Golden Manella frogs, and turkish spiney mice.

 (4)

Fine liner sketch of lemur leaf frog (in tadpole form), a child playing with a turtle shell, and a giant turtle. I was very happy with the giant turtle sketch.

 (5)

Fine liner sketch of kids playing on turtle shell again, fine liner of the 'bear pit pole' that is not in use anymore, but was once used for bears to climb in the mid 1800's, and lastly a sketch in fine liner and grey marker of a madascan hissing cockroach. I was pleased with the sketch of the cockroach as I managed to indicate his/her shiny shell.

 (6)

Here I have a fine liner sketch of a giant brazilian cockroach in fine liner, a starfish in grey marker and fine liner, and a sketch I started but did not finish.

 (7)

Here is the beginnings of a pencil sketch of a ring tailed lemur. I got the outline ready but then he/she jumped away.

 (8)

These pencil sketches were done in the gorilla enclosure. I have added a few sketches of them, of he rope, and of 'Jock' who is pictured bottom right. I was lucky to get a full view of his face and he stayed quite still! 

 (9)

Here I have drawn pencil sketches of two yellow footed rock wallabes. Their enclosure was quite surreal; a chest of drawers and other furniture. they were all a bit sleepy so perfect for drawing!

 (10)

Here I have done a pencil sketch of a golden headed lion tamarin (above) and some meerkats (below). Both animals were hard to draw as they moved constantly.

 (11)

I completed his drawing in the butterfly house and as the creature was so still I took my time on this drawing. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

 (12)

This was a watercolour painting I did while sat for lunch in the 'Coral Cafe' on site at the zoo. I would have liked to use my paints to draw more animals but there wasn't much seating. I really like this piece because the trees are so pretty and the autumn weather comes across.

 (13)

This was a pencil and coloured pencil sketch of some penguins.

 (14)

This was a fine liner sketch of an apple under a bench in the cafe.

 (15)

I was particularly happy with this drawing. It is a pencil sketch of the penguin enclosure. It gives you the essence of what is there in a speedy yet tonal drawing.

 (16)

Here I was lucky enough to see a child try to pet a penguin! he sat there for a while so I was able to get a fairly detailed quick sketch. Below is a quick pencil sketch of a seal in motion as he/she moved as I was drawing. I like the effect of having he/she in movement.

 (17)

This seal was sleepy and so was fairly still for me. I spent a long time on this sketch and am really happy with it. I used a range of pencils (2B-6B) and a rubber.

 (18)

This is a byro pen sketch of the viewing area beneath the penguin enclosure. I have drawn the people looking at the penguins. I like this piece as it is quite fluid and has an atmosphere to it.

 (19)

Here I have done a pencil sketch of a Pygmy Hippo and her baby in the water.

 (20)

Here I have begun, and stopped, a sketch of a gorilla. She moved to another position and stayed still so I decided to start again on a new page and do a more detailed drawing.

 (21)

I used a range of pencils (2B-6B) to draw the mum and baby gorilla. I love this piece as it captures the content look on the mother gorilla's face. (We asked the zoo keeper and although this gorilla is not the baby's biological mother, she was given to her as her real mother was ill during and after pregnancy) I think it tells a story and is one of my favourite pieces.

 (22)

These were quick byro pen sketches I drew in the armidillo enclosure (for above) of the back of an armidillo, and a dead mouse. Below was the start of a Capybara but it ran away so I only got a brief outline!

 (23)

This is a fine liner sketch of a tapir. I'm not massively pleased with this one and I think I could have added more detail.

(24)

This was my last sketch. I used a range of pencils (2B - 6B) and assorted erasers. I drew this while I was sat in the cafe at the end of the day after exploring the zoo. I really like this piece as it captures a moment in moving lives. When I was drawing I would add people as they came along. This is also one of my favourites.