First life drawing session. 23,1,13.
Week 1
The first life drawing session consisted of getting to grips with the different tools used to create expressive marks within drawing. Even though this project/ workshop focused on life drawing from a figure, but the principles learnt within these sessions can be applied to assortment of diverse drawing practices. The techniques that have been discovered in this first session are exploring the use of different tools to create expressive marks. The Marks where created by using a long bamboo stick on a piece of paper which is set up on easel. These sessions will be two hours long for around eight to ten weeks long within this time a wide range of techniques and materials will be explored.
Setting up an easel
Make the vertical part at nearly 180o parallel to a wall with the feet spread out for stability. Afterwards move the bottom bar across the front to just above the waist line, (so the hand can reach the bottom without bending over.) Place the top bar above the board so it fits the board snug in-between. (The size of the board will change the height of these two bars so adjust to be able to reach the top and bottom without stretching) Then turn the board depending on left or right hanged to the right of left. Well I am right handed so for this example I will use right handed however lefty’s just do the same except turn the board the other direction. Turn the board and easel so all of the board can be visible and the entire figure is visible without looking round the board. (If there will be multiple sessions with the same pose mark the feet on the easel on the floor with some tape.)
The practice.
The techniques that have been discovered in this first session are exploring the use of different tools to create expressive marks. The Marks where created by using a long bamboo stick on a piece of paper which is set up on easel. This exercise is a starting of point because it relates to encouraging the participants to draw more free and expressive and less self- concussions.
So the stick drawings are quick line drawings in maximum of about 15 minutes and going down to around one minute. This technique can be used with a wide range of media, in this session I used some soft charcoal and pencils because they were at hand. We did this for the first half of the session.
In the second part of this session we look a more academic structured method. In this session we looked at the technique which explores measuring the figure with the head. Holding a pencil at arm’s length; by putting the bottom of the pencil at the top of the head and measure with your finger to the bottom of the head. This will give the measurement of the head, then count how many of these heads fit into the whole figure, this will be different depending on the size of the of the figure and the pose will change the amount of heads. Depending on the size of the paper will depend on the size of the image, (for this example I am using A3 paper) if the measurements were translated straight on the paper the image would be rather small so depending on the number of the heads involved depends of the scale needed either a 1.5 or 2 times the size of the head measurements. With this technique any part of the figure can be measured just by measuring from either the top or the bottom of the figure by measuring from either ending the figure will be better proportion because the measurements can be checked. Also with this technique the angles by putting the pencil arm length away, turning the pencil so it is parallel to the angel the move this across to the paper, this well give a near accurate description of the angle in question.
The origins of this technique was in the 1500- 1600’s in Florence and Rome, the theory behind this technique was started in 45BC with Vitruvius an Ancient Greek Artist/ scholar, this was discovered while interpreting perspective and how to translate this perspective on a 2D surface. After this the Renaissance refined the technique by Leonardo De Vinci’s, ‘Vitruvian Man’, which is creating a figure which is in relative proportion to visual perspective. This technique was dominant for the next four hundred years and influenced the works of; Brunelleschi, Michel Angelo, Raphael, Artemsia Gentileschi. After 400 years this technique was challenged by the Geometric period which involved using geometric shapes to create the contours of the figure, this was during the dark ages.
EVALUATION.
The first part of the session was useful because we got to experiment with different tools, however the outcomes of these are rather poor because some of the lines are not delicate enough and need to be refined. The second part of this session was useful for developing my practices however I need more practice with this technique because I am rather slow at this technique. This session was rather educational and a good introduction into drawing as I said in the introduction, these can be used in different drawing types.
The first life drawing session consisted of getting to grips with the different tools used to create expressive marks within drawing. Even though this project/ workshop focused on life drawing from a figure, but the principles learnt within these sessions can be applied to assortment of diverse drawing practices. The techniques that have been discovered in this first session are exploring the use of different tools to create expressive marks. The Marks where created by using a long bamboo stick on a piece of paper which is set up on easel. These sessions will be two hours long for around eight to ten weeks long within this time a wide range of techniques and materials will be explored.
Setting up an easel
Make the vertical part at nearly 180o parallel to a wall with the feet spread out for stability. Afterwards move the bottom bar across the front to just above the waist line, (so the hand can reach the bottom without bending over.) Place the top bar above the board so it fits the board snug in-between. (The size of the board will change the height of these two bars so adjust to be able to reach the top and bottom without stretching) Then turn the board depending on left or right hanged to the right of left. Well I am right handed so for this example I will use right handed however lefty’s just do the same except turn the board the other direction. Turn the board and easel so all of the board can be visible and the entire figure is visible without looking round the board. (If there will be multiple sessions with the same pose mark the feet on the easel on the floor with some tape.)
The practice.
The techniques that have been discovered in this first session are exploring the use of different tools to create expressive marks. The Marks where created by using a long bamboo stick on a piece of paper which is set up on easel. This exercise is a starting of point because it relates to encouraging the participants to draw more free and expressive and less self- concussions.
So the stick drawings are quick line drawings in maximum of about 15 minutes and going down to around one minute. This technique can be used with a wide range of media, in this session I used some soft charcoal and pencils because they were at hand. We did this for the first half of the session.
In the second part of this session we look a more academic structured method. In this session we looked at the technique which explores measuring the figure with the head. Holding a pencil at arm’s length; by putting the bottom of the pencil at the top of the head and measure with your finger to the bottom of the head. This will give the measurement of the head, then count how many of these heads fit into the whole figure, this will be different depending on the size of the of the figure and the pose will change the amount of heads. Depending on the size of the paper will depend on the size of the image, (for this example I am using A3 paper) if the measurements were translated straight on the paper the image would be rather small so depending on the number of the heads involved depends of the scale needed either a 1.5 or 2 times the size of the head measurements. With this technique any part of the figure can be measured just by measuring from either the top or the bottom of the figure by measuring from either ending the figure will be better proportion because the measurements can be checked. Also with this technique the angles by putting the pencil arm length away, turning the pencil so it is parallel to the angel the move this across to the paper, this well give a near accurate description of the angle in question.
The origins of this technique was in the 1500- 1600’s in Florence and Rome, the theory behind this technique was started in 45BC with Vitruvius an Ancient Greek Artist/ scholar, this was discovered while interpreting perspective and how to translate this perspective on a 2D surface. After this the Renaissance refined the technique by Leonardo De Vinci’s, ‘Vitruvian Man’, which is creating a figure which is in relative proportion to visual perspective. This technique was dominant for the next four hundred years and influenced the works of; Brunelleschi, Michel Angelo, Raphael, Artemsia Gentileschi. After 400 years this technique was challenged by the Geometric period which involved using geometric shapes to create the contours of the figure, this was during the dark ages.
EVALUATION.
The first part of the session was useful because we got to experiment with different tools, however the outcomes of these are rather poor because some of the lines are not delicate enough and need to be refined. The second part of this session was useful for developing my practices however I need more practice with this technique because I am rather slow at this technique. This session was rather educational and a good introduction into drawing as I said in the introduction, these can be used in different drawing types.