Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Drawing this Semester

This semester, I've learned a lot about drawing. I came in, barely able to draw a smiley face, and I found the first study drawings inordinately difficult. I remember finding a simple water bottle's curves too complicated initially, and i had to use a ruler to draw anything longer than a few inches. But as the semester went on, I progressed through shading, drawing through photos, until the final drawing which is a work I am proud of.

One thing I learned was how useful graphite was, and how fluid charcoal is. I found charcoal very difficult to use; though it produced gorgeous black shades, it was a medium that moved. I seem to be unnaturally clumsy when it comes to keeping my canvas clean, and so charcoal was difficult for me to use. This was especially clear in the empirical perspective drawing; i made the mistake of starting the shading with charcoal, which made the entire canvas messy. But I later found the use of 8B graphite pencils a great substitute for charcoal.

I also learned how difficult shading could be, but how it could immensely improve the drawing. My initial attempts at shading now look like a mess; my only prior exposure to art was photography, where shades are not of paramount importance. My initial attempts at shading tried to make entire surfaces the same shade, which i later realized was unrealistic. Accurate shading darkens in grades, which was something I learned when drawing a dumbell for the shading with eraser drawing

Overall, My drawing ability has dramatically improved this semester. I've enjoyed my journey into drawing somewhat competently, and had a great time


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