AAU: Year One a Perspective
I know the term isn't over just quite yet, but I don't feel I'll have it in me to do this during finals and in the OMG FREEDOM! period I'll be experiencing between then and the start of summer term. Anyway, I don't feel like I've let you guys in on how I have progressed here at AAU. Since I don't often post my day to day drawings, you don't get to see my more traditional stuff. And even I have not, prior to this post, really looked at new and old works juxtaposed. More often than not, I post stuff that is digital since it much easier. But I feel like I have progressed so much these past two semesters and as far as digital illustration goes, that hasn't been much reflected. Knowing anatomy and drawing it in traditional mediums is a completely different kettle of fish from doing so on a computer. So far my photoshop/painter skills lag way behind what I can do with graphite and charcoal. Anyway, I feel like sharing: Yes!!! The switch to AAU has been worth it and I can't imagine this not continuing it to be so. And here is the evidence:
A year ago, my drawings were cartoony at best... (and yet I was so proud of them). At SFSU these were some of the best examples of figure drawing ...in the class. I was the big fish in a small pond. When I arrived at AAU I scoffed at the idea of needing to take basic figure drawing all over. I mean really, how much better can you get than these? (The answer: a shit ton, like woah):
As soon as I arrived in Figure Drawing 1 and Analysis of Form (basically a study of light and shadow), I realized I was total idiot when it came to drawing. I was a baby in terms of artistic maturity at best. I struggled a lot with adding depth to my work. While I didn't succeed (my work from last term, is still really really flat) I was able to move away from outlines and more toward forms of varying shades of tone. These are what I consider "the best" from last term:
And still these are so incredibly flat... the disproportion makes me wince when I see them. At the same time I also remember being extremely proud when displaying these for critique, especially of the first and last ones up there.
This term I am taking Figure Drawing 2 and Anatomy 1. So far these are the ones I like best:
(extractive, pulling white out of a charcoal tone... and totally new to me)
(copy of a sketch by Jacopo Bertora)
This is my absolute favorite model. She is also the very first one I had in my very first figure drawing class at AAU. Here is the very first picture I ever drew at AAU:
QUITE the difference. I do feel I'm getting my money's worth. Now I need to work on being a more diligent student. Just to let you know, I'm more of a C grade student in comparison with my peers. *sigh* Gotta work on that.
A year ago, my drawings were cartoony at best... (and yet I was so proud of them). At SFSU these were some of the best examples of figure drawing ...in the class. I was the big fish in a small pond. When I arrived at AAU I scoffed at the idea of needing to take basic figure drawing all over. I mean really, how much better can you get than these? (The answer: a shit ton, like woah):
As soon as I arrived in Figure Drawing 1 and Analysis of Form (basically a study of light and shadow), I realized I was total idiot when it came to drawing. I was a baby in terms of artistic maturity at best. I struggled a lot with adding depth to my work. While I didn't succeed (my work from last term, is still really really flat) I was able to move away from outlines and more toward forms of varying shades of tone. These are what I consider "the best" from last term:
And still these are so incredibly flat... the disproportion makes me wince when I see them. At the same time I also remember being extremely proud when displaying these for critique, especially of the first and last ones up there.
This term I am taking Figure Drawing 2 and Anatomy 1. So far these are the ones I like best:
(extractive, pulling white out of a charcoal tone... and totally new to me)
(copy of a sketch by Jacopo Bertora)
This is my absolute favorite model. She is also the very first one I had in my very first figure drawing class at AAU. Here is the very first picture I ever drew at AAU:
QUITE the difference. I do feel I'm getting my money's worth. Now I need to work on being a more diligent student. Just to let you know, I'm more of a C grade student in comparison with my peers. *sigh* Gotta work on that.