Monday 7 January 2013

Landscape 3 (Perspective)


This picture shows an urban landscape drawing which was done using soft pencils and was completed in around 40 minutes. The scene was another perspective study.

This drawing can be considered a single point perspective scene (if the side of the building on the left isn't taken into account), in which the horizon line is located on the upper half of the page, and the vanishing point is found where the dark building stands in the distance. The image has an asymmetrical and expressive composition with many points of interest. The focal point seems to be located somewhere on the upper right side of the drawing. Windows and doors, construction materials  or plants weren't detailed as it is a complex scene. Instead only some were hinted in order to create the impression of detail in the drawing.





Life Drawing 4 (Proportion)


This soft pencil life drawing was completed in 30 minutes, and the main focus was to study and understand basic anatomy and proportion.

The construction lines are visible on the paper and were used along with measuring to give a more accurate representation of the human body. The proportions were kept right and the drawing gives a good sense of balance and weight of the model. The musculature is also represented well and the slight shading completes the image.

Sunday 6 January 2013

Life Drawing 3 (Anatomy Musculature)


These drawings were done using soft pencils in around 5 to 15 minutes each. They show details of the human body in which the main focus was to study human musculature, and the shape muscles have when the model is posing in a certain way.

The first drawing is a bit more detailed than the rest and has a bit of shading as well. The proportions were kept fairly right with the help of measuring, but there are a few visible mistakes such as the left arm being slightly longer than normal, and the hands of the model being drawn too small. The drawing does give a good sense of anatomy. The second picture shows a series of fast sketches which focus on different parts of the human body. The proportions seem right and the shapes of the muscles are portrayed well.

Saturday 5 January 2013

Still Life 3


This still life drawing was made on A3 paper using a soft pencil and took around 40 minutes - 1 hour to complete. It shows a scene containing 4 objects in which the light source is located at the left side.

Composition wise the image is balanced, having dark objects placed on the sides. There are several points of interest in the drawing and the focal point seems to be the most detailed object, in this case the left shoe. The shading is done well and manages to hint the textures (the wine glass and the leather shoes). Cast shadows are also visible in the picture. The cloth however needs more detail, even if it has a complex and hard to draw shape.

Friday 4 January 2013

Life Drawing Sketches 2 (Posture)


These sketches were done in around 5 minutes each and they focus on studying balance and weight while the model is seated.

The drawing on the left shows good proportions and creates depth (foreshortening of the limbs), though the weight of the arms doesn't seem realistic. In the second fast sketch, the balance of the model is portrayed better and there is a stronger sense of weight.

Thursday 3 January 2013

Still Life 2


This charcoal still life drawing on A3 paper took around 2 hours to complete. The image has a nice composition and gives a sense of depth.

There seems to be a good mix of values, and some of the objects have good shading such as the apple and the cloth. The shading on flat surfaces such as the background or the book seems patterned because of the technique used, and for this reason they don't blend nicely with the image.

Sunday 30 December 2012

Landscape 2


This winter urban landscape painting was done using watercolours on A3 paper in around 2-3 hours. The main idea was to experiment with impressionistic techniques and colour when dealing with a highly detailed scene (city roofs, details on buildings).

The image has several points of interest and the colours on the top right seem more saturated, which might indicate the location of the focal point. Perspective wasn't the main focus of the painting, but it should have been worked on more.

Friday 28 December 2012

Portrait 1


This portrait was made on A3 paper using pencil and took around 2 hours to complete. The focus was on drawing the model so other details weren't added, such as the chair or background.

The composition was finalized after measuring the model and using sketchy lines, until the portrait started to take shape. The proportions seem fairly right, though certain parts of the body need correcting such as the left hand which looks slightly smaller than it should be. More attention should have been paid to the facial details. The shading is too light but it does create the impression of light coming from the right.

Thursday 27 December 2012

Shadows Study


This picture shows a painting in watercolour on A3 paper which was completed in one hour and a half. The focus was to study shading in colour, and to experiment with impressionistic techniques.

The light source is located at the left. The highlights and dark areas were painted using different values of the colour (in this case yellow, red and green), instead of using black and white for shading the hot peppers. The darker shades also manage to suggest the wrinkled texture of the subjects.


Tuesday 4 December 2012

Still Life 1


     This picture shows a still life drawing in pencil that was completed in 40 minutes. 

    The asymmetrical composition manages to create a sense of depth and to offer an expressive quality to the drawing. The focal point of the drawing is located on the right half of the page, the tall vase being the most detailed element of the scene, and also highlighting the use of the rule of thirds. There isn't enough variation in values, and therefore the direction of light seems unclear but the shadows still give a good idea of the variety of textures present in the image (natural and man-made).

The proportions were kept right with the help of measuring and construction lines. The elements are spaced well and vary in size and shape, but give a good sense of unity.

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Life Drawing Sketches 1 (Pose)

This is a series of one minute sketches in charcoal in which the main focus was to study basic human poses and anatomical proportions. 

Construction lines manage to give an idea of angles formed by the human body in certain poses, while also hinting where the joints are located. They need to be used as there is no time for measuring and detailing while drawing in speed.



Sunday 25 November 2012

Textures 1


This image shows a series of sketches in pencil (5 minutes each) in which the main focus is studying two different textures - glass and corduroy.
The glass vase has many highlights, and is also a reflective surface. Probably the best way to create the impression of shine is to use straight parallel lines while applying shadows to the drawing.
As any fabric, corduroy is a very detailed matte texture, and therefore it should be tackled in an impressionistic way, by just hinting the parallel fibers.


This still life drawing is a study of the two textures put together in a scene. It was done in pencil and took 30 minutes to complete.
The fabric isn't fully drawn, containing many empty areas, but the drawing still manages to give the idea of vases placed on a striped material. The scene needs more details and shadows though, because the glass doesn't seem as shiny as the real thing, and the cloth in this drawing seems really light, while corduroy is a thick material.
Composition wise, the scene seems balanced and the objects interact in a visually pleasing way. Planning was done with the help of construction lines which are still visible on the paper. This also helped with getting the proportions right.


Friday 23 November 2012

Landscape 1 (Perspective Study)



This is an urban landscape drawing in pencil on A3 paper which took 30 minutes to complete.

It shows a two-point perspective scene in which the horizon line is located on the lower half of the page, and the two vanishing points are at the left and right of the picture. The construction lines and measuring helped with positioning the building on the page and keeping the proportions right. Some of the orthogonal lines in this drawing aren’t well made, for example on the upper right corner of the picture where the edges at the top of the building aren’t pointing towards the left vanishing point. The image feels a bit unbalanced, because of the amount of detail on the right side of the page, and the lack of it on the left side. This composition creates points of interest on the left side of the paper. The main focus of this drawing was to study the principles of perspective, and therefore details such as windows or shadows were just lightly sketched.