Life Drawings
30 Second Drawings:
The idea of these poses was to identify the overall shape of the figure. Within this time frame no detail was to be added, instead it was important to identify some of the main body shapes as well as ensuring the figure looks balanced. For some drawings I focused on continuous flow of the body, such as ways the curvature of the back can go into the legs. For others I looked more at the primitive shapes that can be drawn from the body, such as the triangular pelvis.
Shape Identification:
When a little more time is presented, I aimed to look more into identifying the shapes of the body and laying out a kind of mannequin to structure the form of the body around. I found this process to be very useful in ensuring my proportions were correct and the figure was balanced prior to putting time into the details.
Filling Out Form:
Once I had the skeletal-like structure of the body correctly proportioned I would then begin filling out the form of the figure. This is where I would pay close attention to the muscles and the perspective on various body parts to essentially create the outline. When enough time was allocated, I also shaded my drawings to further bring out the form of the body and show volume within the drawing.
Using Marker Pens:
For a few drawings I used marker pens to really darken the shadowed areas of the body. I felt on some cases this gave the drawings an even greater depth, but in others it made the shadows too harsh.
Using Charcoal:
My charcoal drawings were constructed in a very different manner to my pencil drawings. Instead of starting with the mannequin-like figure and building up form from there I had to draw the overall shape of the body from the beginning. This is due to the inability to erase charcoal once it is down. I found the harsh black shadows the charcoal provided allowed for the form of the body to be depicted in a way I hadn't achieved with a pencil; the figures almost seem more three-dimensional.
Using Oils:
I found oils to be one of my favourite materials to use. Similar to the charcoal the form of the body had to be drawn from the start rather than building up a structure using primitive shapes. But the process really became unique in the shading, since all the complex colours and tones of the body had to be condensed into either black or white. The results of this I found to be really interesting; the figures appear very three-dimensional and have a real sense of volume. Details otherwise missed in my drawings were now very apparent, such as the shape of the pectorals and stomach.
