Form, Flow and Force: Strike a Pose

Due to my last session being a success, I was really looking forward to getting started with this task. Similarly to the last one, we didn't have to draw a moving sequence, instead we had to focus on one pose that was to be held for 20-30 minutes. This allowed us to really consider the shape and the form of the model, as well as the perspective we drew from and in what media.

Pose One - Callum in Red Pencil

I think I was off to a good start in this session. I decided to draw Callum in coloured pencil as drawing with this media is something I have only recently started doing and I wanted to improve on it. This would also allow me to "ease" into the session by drawing with a media that wasn't going to be do difficult to use/too experimental.

I'm really pleased with how the drawing turned out as I believe that I have been able to draw Callum quite accurately. His form seems to be realistic, and there isn't any feature that stands out as being drawn "incorrectly" which is what I was hoping to avoid, considering I had 30 minutes to draw my model. The only thing I am disappointed about is that I haven't been successful at fitting him on the page. I think it would have improved the drawing that bit more if I could see the whole of his body, and have it central on my paper. I could have lived with the chair being incomplete (like it is in the drawing now) as this isn't my main focus, but if I were to redo this piece I would definitely plan ahead to fit the entire model on my piece. This is something I shall have to think about with my other pieces.

Pose Two - Matt in White, Dry Brush Acrylic

I had gotten in the drawing mood after my first piece, so I thought I'd be a little bit more adventurous with my next drawing. I thought I'd look at working with paints again like I had done in my previous sessions and see if I could develop this skill even further, but rather than sticking to black paint, I thought I'd choose white and paint on a black sheet of paper. I think this was a good decision, and I really enjoyed working with the white; I much prefer the white on a black background to black on a white, as I like that it feels as though he is sat in a dark room with light shining on him, and it looks like there's more going on. It's not as "plain". The only thing I dislike about the piece is that the back seems to stick out too much. I knew it was going to the minute I started drawing the line, but there was no turning back as I couldn't erase it. Other than that, I think I have been able to capture Matt's form relatively well.

Pose Three - Emma in Pencil

I was unsure what media I wanted to work in next, when it dawned on me that I was yet to complete a pencil drawing for this brief. I had completed my very first sequence using it, but I wasn't particularly proud of it, so I thought I'd draw Emma in pencil to try and redeem myself. I focused on "committing to the line" as well as the model's body form, as usual. I think I was able to do this very well, and I ended up drawing my initial sketch within about 10 minutes, so I used the rest of my time to focus on my line work, as well as adding details to the drawing, such as facial features and shoe laces. In my opinion this has greatly improved the drawing as it has given it more depth. I also like that I have been able to position the drawing well on the page, and it was definitely worth taking the time to plan out the scale at which I was going to draw my model; there is clearly an improvement from my first drawing.

Pose Four - Emma in White and Black Coloured Pencils

For my last drawing, I was going to work on black paper with a white pencil, as this is something that I hadn't yet considered, but then I had a genius idea. If I worked on a different coloured background - let's say grey - I could still work with white pencil, but this meant I could also introduce black pencil, and think about light and shadows. Which is what I ended up doing. I started out by drawing Emma faintly in white, so I could go over the sketch with a more definitive edge (like I had done in my previous pieces) and work in the black pencil. The initial sketch took a bit longer than my third drawing as I was convinced I wasn't going to be able to fit her all on one page. In the end I just managed it, and did so within about 20 minutes, so I went on to the finishing touches. I started with the shoes and the legs, and I soon realised the piece was going to take a lot longer than 10 "remaining" minutes to complete, as I went a bit overboard with the details. So I broke the rules a little with this piece of work, because I just HAD to finish it in the same style in which I had started. It was definitely worth it. This is by far my favourite piece of the entire brief, and it is quite possibly the best thing I had drawn in a long while. I'm not particularly fond of the face it has to be said, but I'm really pleased with the body shape, and how accurate it is. I love that the way I have used both the colours has made the model look 3D, and it actually looks as though the arm is coming towards me, which was a worry I had when I first started drawing.
I'm really pleased with the reaction I got out of my peers with this drawing too. I was receiving really nice compliments and I hadn't even finished the piece, which was a massive pick me up. It definitely made spending a lot of time on it seem worth it. I mean, it felt worth it to me anyway as I was pleased with it, but the compliments were just the icing on the cake.