Thursday, 28 November 2013

Awkward Poses

Life Drawing

This week in life drawing, we focused more on proportions and how to achieve them correctly in a variety of fairly awkward and interesting positions. Starting off with four ten mine poses, we focused entire on this aspect whilst trying to avoid any details which could easily be added in later if needed. After this, we then returned to one of our previous ten minute images and began adding more detail, using a selection of chalks and charcoal to add definition and general shadow.

The first sketch I attempted did not go very well as proportion wise, I made the body far too long and the legs too short. This also made areas such as the arms impossible to correct. All of these mistakes were caused due to my general poor planning and failed use of the seven row grid as Gordon was seven heads high. I did quite like how the stomach and upper body turned out, even with the odd proportions. I tried to use what I had learnt in the following sketches.




With this sketch, I tried to follow the same principles with the seven head high grid but once again ran in to problems. Whilst drawing the outline, I made the body three to four heads high and the legs two and a half due to how poorly I sectioned off each part. Apart from this, the proportions would have looked quite nice and been successful if the legs were brought up by a head height. On top of this, this was also one of the drawings we decided to re-visit, spending forty more minutes to correct and then add colour to.

In this time, I needed to widen the head, define the shoulders a little more and then attempt to correct the body proportions. I managed to bring the legs up slightly and then made the upper body less wide but apart from that, I couldn’t really add any more corrections. Shading wise, I tried to use the lighter colours where light was hitting Gordon whilst using charcoal and darker chalk to define the areas of shadow and general curves.




For this next image, I tried a new technique which I had not really touched or generally thought about since the first few life drawing classes. This was to draw the pelvis, ribcage and shoulderblades seperately before joining them with a spine, as this allowed me to get the main focus points in proportion whilst having the spine naturally bridge them togather, it made the building process far easier and left me with a skelington which I could then draw round for the finer details.

I will be using them technique almost exclusively in the future as it provides me with the best results.




This drawing was going to be an extention to the previous one but as the angle was rather painful for Gordon, he chose a different one. Due to the incredibly awkward pose, it took the vast majority of the forty minutes just to get the proportions correct but due to the technique I used previously, this was far easier than if I had tried to do the head hight/ grid method.

After adding a bit of definition using charcoal, it began looking more natural and a lot of depth could then be seen. I think this and the previous drawing were the best out of the entire session.



Thursday, 21 November 2013

Weird and Wonderful

Life Drawing

This week in life drawing, we did not have an available model so instead of the traditional plan, we attempted to draw some rather strange but interesting images that were projected on to each wall. The vast majority of these were photo shopped in unheard of ways, making it rather difficult to draw them, proportion wise. With ten minutes spend on basic outlines and then a following ten in most cases for shadowing, the vast majority of these came out quite successfully for the most part. Due to my new camera acting rather faulty, the colour scheme has been switched on some of the images, making for some rather amusing outcomes.

This is the first image i attempted which was a female bodybuilder, flexing her muscles but as we did not have time to revisit this one later on, there is only a basic outline drawn out on the page. I separated the page in to a grid after counting how many heads tall the woman was. Using this as a guide, i was then able to sketch the rough outline using black chalk/ charcoal.




In the second attempt, we were shown a picture of a man with muscles so large, it looked like he was made out of clouds. I used the same techniques as above to draw out the rough outline first in charcoal but due to the muscle mass, i was unable to finish the shading when we revisited the image. This also meant that all the fine details were left out which i would have otherwise added to give it more form.






This drawing did not go too well as i managed to mess up the proportions quite dramatically, but it is still fairly visible that it was a chalk and charcoal sketch of Iron Man. I think this one could have gone much better if i used the entire page but as i thought i may need to re-use the paper, i didn't see this as an option. With a bit of neatening up, i could probably salvage the sketch but his left hand would still require a fairly large amount of work.



The next drawing felt very alien as i had never drawn anyone from a drop down view, especially with the darkness of the image, making it incredibly difficult. Drawing the outline itself took me the full first ten minutes as well as about five of the second set, meaning that i was left with a relatively poorly shaded set of out of proportion characters. I did not judge the proportions correctly and more or less made an attempt to hope it would work. With a pencil, i could have salvaged this but due to the use of chalk and charcoal, it became practically a lost cause.



With the next couple of images, i attempted to save on paper space by fitting two drawings on each sheet. These two were rather strange with one being a woman's head combined with a dog's muzzle and the second being Dobby from the Harry Potter franchise. The dog/ woman combination was fairly difficult to draw as i struggle a lot on animal forms and faces, on top of this, human faces are generally quite difficult on their own. Overall, it did not go too badly but required a lot of tweaking. Dobby on the other hand ended up slightly out of proportion but still recognisable, especially with the shading an lanky limbs. The highlights worked quite well across both images, even though my camera turned them blue, giving them a much colder feel then they should have.





The final set of drawings followed the same layout as previously, with one being a strange adaptation between a man and a pig and the other being a fairly lanky alien creature. Starting with the alien creature, i made the proportions far too wide, making it look as if someone crushed him ever so slightly. on top of this, the shading did not go very well as i ran out of time, meaning that i was left with a rather mediocre drawing.

The pig man on the other hand turned out very nicely, being the best of the session. Starting with a grid, i sketched out the rough shapes with black charcoal. After this, i began highlighting so of the fat folds with shadow using my alternative colour which game me quite a nice basis. I was then able to re-go over the entire image with the black charcoal to add in all the extra details. After some finishing touches in my lighter colour,i could then call it finished. The only problem was his missing arm which i could not add due to the way i had originally drawn the body. Looking at the finished image, it does not seem too necessary though as the shading makes it look far more pig like and a little more laid-back.

  


 Overall, i believe that this life drawing session has been one of the most successful, allowing us to touch up on areas that we otherwise would not have even thought of, especially with the strange, distorted figures and generally warped nature of the pictures.






Sunday, 17 November 2013

An Introduction to Texture

Life Drawing

In this week's life drawing session, we started to look a lot more at texture and how it was achievable in a range of media. We were given the option to attempt media such as paint which is something i have never really focused on or used more than a couple of times across the year. I would have to learn how to use it correctly at one point or another so i decided it was time to give it a good attempt and stick with it in an attempt to improve. The vast majority of the poses were fairly short, never tolling over the five minute to ten minute marks, making it a scenario where i was forced to jump in at the deep end an simply hope/ try my best.

The first attempt came to me as a surprise due to the general difficulty, especially with the stiff, spread-out bristles of the paint brush i used in an attempt to add extra texture. While i attempted to paint, i attempted to imagine it as a pencil or charcoal and then used it in relation. This did not work as i could not smudge, adjust or remove any marks i create, on top of this, being left handed made it a rather painful process as i started from the left side of the image, making it very difficult to paint without smudging the paint with my hand. As you can see, i got very little beyond the outline done and a fairly crude one at that, especially with areas such as the head.



The second attempt was a little more structured as i felt slightly more comfortable with the paint but was still making up the techniques as i went along, which in turn created a more structured image but i was still left with nothing more than a crude outline with out of proportion arms and body. The head did not turn out too badly though shape wise. At this point i realised that i was really starting to struggle with the media but refused to give up until i created an image i was relatively happy with.



The third attempt is where things within the painting began to make more sense and generally improve as i continued. We were given an extension to ten minutes on this pose, allowing me more time focus on the outline as well as some simple shading/ texturing. Mid way through painting out the fairly crude outline when i began using a white wash to add a bit of extra detail, i realised that i could use extremely thin paint, mixed with water to create faint construction lines that i could then paint over afterwards. I was then able to use this technique in the next image. I attempted to stipple the brush and even resorted to using the opposite end of the paint brush to add texturing effects for the plant behind Gordon and the beanbag he was perched upon.



It was then time for the fourth and final painted pose which i felt relatively happy with, even if the amount of detail and texture is somewhat lacking, bare in mind that this was still a five minute painting. By painting the rough outlines first using a thin paint/ water solution, i was able to get the correct proportions before then gong over these with solid colour. Using a small amount of water, mixed with some paint, i was able to add in some basic shadowing without making it look too overwhelming or messy. I attempted to use the end of the paintbrush to add the creases in the fabric Gordon was lay across but the paintbrush seemed too rough to add any precise details.



The last pose of the evening was a fairly long one, providing us with forty minutes to fully complete it. We were supposed to create a fully shaded and textured image but i may have stepped away from this to experiment with various media, all in combination with each other in an attempt to create my own textures. For this, i drew the simple sketch of Gordon in his attire, added some simple shading and then moved to some other media. I put in all the required highlights using a stick of charcoal, smudged it wherever necessary and then added definition and fine detail by cross-hatching with a fine liner. Even though i did not get very much done of the overall image using these techniques, i felt as if it went quite nicely and taught me a lot about what does and does not go well together.

   

The Warmth of Colour

Life Drawing

With this life-drawing session, we were asked to bring in a selection of colours so we could use these to really show the emotion of each pose. I used two sets of colour for both warmth and cold; using a blue and purple to display any serious and somewhat sinister pose and utilising a red and orange to display more energetic and friendly poses. As the media i use was simple chalk, it made general shading and blending of colours far more effective and take very little to no time in comparison to work with pencils or paint.

The first selection of images we did were only quick drawings to show the movement between different similar poses, allowing us to practise general proportions within brief time periods such as the 5 minutes we had per pose with this selection. I found that it was easier to get the correct proportions if i started by sketching a rough outline in orange and then i decided to draw over with required details with the heavier red chalk. Due to time restrains i did not get enough time to add any real shading but due to the colours used; the poses look fairly calming and friendly. 
  



The second set of drawings followed the same principles but with a rather strange and Halloween related twist. As we entered the room, we saw Gordon posing with a horse mask alongside two fairly lengthy knives. It was fairly difficult to take these poses seriously but with the same time restrictions as earlier, i tried to draw the fairly strange poses to the best of my ability. I generally start with the head proportions and then build down with the bone structure but due to the horse mask, this was not really possible.

The first few images were slightly out shape but as it continued, i managed to get my head round it and the drawings began to take shape. Using the cold purple and blue colours, i drew the poses using the same techniques as previously used and arrived at a product i was relatively happy with. Explaining these drawings to other members of the public makes for fairly interesting conversation.
   



 After the quick, 5 minute warmups, it was time for the longer, more detailed sketch. Using all the techniques i had used throughout the session, i then had to draw gordon using all four colours, alongside a charcoal pencil for added details. Aposed to starting with the chalk for the outline, i used the charcoal pencil to draw the rough outline before switching to colour. The charcoal pencil felt extremely rough though and repeatedly ripped the page as i attempted to sketch out the rough details, making the face look incredibly ugly if not somewhat disfigured.

The colour itself is where the image began to shine though as i tried to use the colour birghtness levels to show both warmth, light and shadows, using th blue for the condest, darkest parts, the red for areas of irritated skin, orange for areas where light directly shines on and a small blur of purple where the light and darkness levels meet. 







Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Thumb Nail Sketch Exercise

Thumb Nail Sketches

For this task, i drew a wide selection of simple photoshop sketches of bag designs that could have been used to go alongside my character. After starting with an extremely limited set of designs, utilising only extremely simple shapes such as squares, i attempted to open my mind a lot more, starting with tubes, circles and othe random shapes that i could then develop in to what could be seen at a first glance as a bag.

The vast majority of these could be easily deveoped further, utilising colour and detail to provide a feasible and realistic prop which could very easily seen with my character without sticking out or looking out of place. As i specify that my character utilises a lot of make-shift and poor quality materials, i drew these thumnails with a home-made feel in mind, ensuring that each design could be made without too much trouble with a leatherworker's skillset.

This exercise felt fairly useful to expand my ideas and has given me a lot of new ideas to worth with whilst moving towards the more defined, photoshop products.

Thursday, 7 November 2013

-In Progress- Character Colour Scheme-

Eyes

My character may be very reptilian in design but i want him to show some more human features, making him look far friendlier and less of a threat. The eyes offer a great opportunity for this as they usually tell a lot about a person. I could utilise a generic red, orange or yellow colour scheme but this would look quite animalistic whilst on the other hand, with blue being one of the calmest colours possible allows me to add a bit of humanity and emotion in to my character without focusing on the facial/ bodily expressions.


Body

Body wise, i want my character to have a traditional red, orange and brown colour pallet seem with most reptiles. This also allows me to blend my character in with the murky, brownish environment whilst also being able to use a redish contract to make him stand out when required, for example; if he is being hit by a light ray, his reflective scales with make him practically glow.




Highlights


I wont be able to get the full contract of lgiht and dark throughout my character without adding some extra highlights to the images. For areas where the sun hits him, i will add quite a destinctive white highlight and blend it in to the scales. On the otherhand, for areas that are not in direct sunlight and will be shadowed, i will add a mixture between black and greys to attempt to give him a three dimensional look.




Sunday, 3 November 2013

-In Progress- The Prop

Prop

Creating the prop was the easiest task out of the three as i could base it off of both the environment, character and backstory to ensure that something relatively simple but fitting could be created. As my character is rather creative and was adopted by a leather worker, i thought that it would only be fair if the prop was created out of the material using his own skills, learnt within the trade. Due to this hand made nature, it would be extremely scruffy but successful enough at its job that my character would be proud to use it.

My character is very thorny/ scaly, making any item of clothing practically useless so i decided on a bag. This could very easily be created and used by my character each time he ventured out in to the swampy woodlands and the material used to make it could be easily justified in his backstory due to the hatred he had towards a leather coat he was forced to wear in public.



As the information alongside it is fairly difficult to read within the image, i will re-write it below;

1). An extremely simple bag, made from old tattered leather. Through extensive use and a rough lifestyle, it has become torn and generally damaged almost beyond anything but basic use. It is used by my character to carry materials such as rope, dried meat and salvaged materials found along his travels. The bag was created by my character out of an old overcoat he wore whilst in th human society/ town to make him look less intimidating and less of a threat to the people around him. It was generally Uncomfortable to wear due to the spikes and scales across his body. As he was brought up by a leather worker, it turned in to a personal goal to turn the coat in to something far more useful.

2). Each side is made of a simple rectangular peice of leather, from the torn back of his overcoat. Wear and tear has almost completely torn it apart.

3). The side halves are held to the main leather face with simple rope tires. My character tore these small peices of rope and created binding holes for them using his sharp claws.

4). The closing mechanic uses two leather straps, each bound/ tied in to a loop. The lower binding fixes t othe pocket and has a curved chunk of wood tied to one end. The top leather loop simply catches under this, pulling the top of the bag towards the pocket, closing it.

5). The top strap is made of a long strip of roughly torn leather, threaded through the holes in the bag, looped round on itself and then bound at either end/ tied in a knot.

6). This is a simple square piece of leather, bound on all sides except the top, to make a feasible pocket. The top has a slit to allow for the closing mechanics.

7). These are extremely simple bindings, consisting of multiple rope loops for added strength and to hold the pocket in place.

8). The main, outer bag is made out of a single, long strip of leather which is held in shape by the side halves and rope bindings. Each binding hole is once again made using my character's claws, making it rather rough.