Final Piece: Anatomy

45 minutes, chalks

Orange/beige has been used all over to bring the drawing together and in areas of shadow purple and red have been used to reflect the true colours of the skin. The orange has been intensified in dark areas to make the shadows appear stronger. Perhaps in some areas, the purple appears intense and could be made more realistic by using less purple and more beige especially on the shadow of the foot because this is not actual skin tone so it is unlikely the shadow would have had as much purple as those on the skin.
Some depth has also been added with use of the shading. By shading the protruding leg darker than the rest of the body it is clear to the viewer that this is further away than the other one.
The cool colours of the drapery, greens and blues, contrast the warm reds, oranges and purples of the skin tone creating juxtaposition which create a more interesting and eye-catching piece.
The proportions appear to be quite accurate though some areas are quite large such as the one ankle appearing from behind the leg which could have been made more realistic by adding interior shading of the ankle bone which protrudes slightly from the skin. The models mood is also represented somewhat in the drawing despite the lack facial features as you can see she is relaxing into the chair and waiting.

Final Piece: Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Family of Man)

40 minutes, conte crayons on coloured paper


This drawing contains three objects, two of which are manmade and one is a natural form therefore using the rule of three making it more of a pleasing image to look at than if the drawing contained an even number of objects.  The main focal point (sculpture in the forefront) is on the rule of thirds line and not positioned centrally, again making for more pleasing aesthetics.
The objects have been connected, even if only subtly so as the tree connects the first sculptures and the mark making of the ground connects the other statue however because it is so subtly it still gives the impression that the statue is further away and in the background. This is also achieved by the correct proportions and the horizon line.
The tree in the background has been drawn with less intensity than the statues which allows the sculptures to remain the areas of interest within the drawing. This and the mark making for the ground is a less literal interpretation than that sculptures which have been completed to a higher degree of detail.
There are lots of angles in this image and most of them work to create a successful perspective however some of them look odd and incorrect such as the bottom of the first sculpture which should be completely horizontal instead of slightly angled and the angles in the middle of the second sculpture look off.
The highlights, especially those in the foreground sculpture, add dynamism to the image and because they are within the rule of thirds, your eye is particularly drawn to them. They also help show the slight shininess of the edges of the material (bronze).

Final Piece: Landscape at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

50 minutes, charcoal & white conte crayon

Depth has been achieved mainly by changing the intensity of  the trees which are darker in the forefront and become lighter and less defined in the distance.
Texture has been attempted with the side of the charcoal in the forefront to try reflect the muddy, slightly grassy textures in real life however more of this could have been added in order to really see the effect of this technique.
By drawing the trees vertically instead adding foliage with horizontal movements, it allows the trees to look grounded and really combine with the landscape. They also break up the image from the sweeping horizontal lines the hill and the river create across the whole of the image.
The sky has also been included in the image which attempts to reflect the mood and weather of the day though to improve the image to shade the whole sky, not just the clouds which would reflect more of the bright yet winter day. The image could have been further improved by adding more sky as this would not only have added a sense of scale and grandure but it would have changed where the intersections of the rule of thirds of the image lie as at the moment they are not focused on any areas of interest. If there was more sky they could have been raised to the lower cloud and top of the right hill with faint trees (more along the horizon line) and along the river.
Impressionistic techniques have been used a lot on the trees because of the sheer quantity of them and the inability to record every detail on them therefore a lot of it has been suggested through the loose medium of charcoal and by smuding and mark making with the use of it.

Week 12: Facial Expressions

Conte Crayon - 30 minutes

Here the mood of the model is expressed as boredom however, this is made much clearer through the head resting on the hands rather than in the eyes and mouth as a facial expression should be - here the body is doing most of the work to show the emotion.
There is some good representation of skin that has been forcibly wrinkled by the hand as you can see that it is being pushed up by the skin. You can also see this is different from the natural wrinkles such as those on the forehead. Weight has also been represented fairly successfully as it is clear the head is resting into the hands and not just balanced on it.
The hand has a number of problems; primarily the fact that it has sausage fingers and in reality they would be more structure and it would be more bent to hold the face and less curved. Areas of it have been clearly over worked which draws your attention to it. The hand probably wouldn't look as bad if the left side had not been so intensely outlined.
The outline of the side profile is represented quite well as it shows features unique to the individual such as the bend in the nose. Depth has also been shown very subtly by the small detail of the eyebrow that is only just visible however, this tiny detail helps show that there is something on the other side and that it is not 2D. On the other hand the area between the nose and the mouth looks slightly too long and would probably not be like this in reality.

Week 11: Facial Anatomy (Portraiture)

Conte crayons on coloured paper, 25 minutes

The main concern of this drawing was to achieve correct facial anatomy. Some of the proportions of this portrait are quite accurate and reflect the general rules usually applied to facial anatomy such as the ear lining up with the bottom nose though there is evidence of planning lines which demonstrates measurements have taken place to gather the correct proportions for this individual. On the other hand some areas, such as the top of the head which looks very flat and the nose appears to be very small and rounded - possibly unnaturally so - shows that some areas have not been observed as well as others. 

The lips are another element which is possibly incorrect as they should be more drawn to curve more around the face.

The use of shadows has been used to create depth such as on the right cheek which then makes it clear to the viewer that this is further away as a shadow is created by the nose. By using the edge of the conte crayons rather than the end, it allows you to create softer shadows and texture such as that on the neck and forehead.

The dramatic change between dark and light lines made with the conte crayons adds depth to them, especially around the eyes and mouth where laughter lines are prominent.

Week 10: Colour in Skin

Chalks - 30 minutes

The colours in this image are the main element which was to be focused on. Orange has been used all over the body to draw everything together, some areas more intensely than others. Shadows have also been formed with the use of purples and reds as these are these are actual colours of the skin which is semi- transparent and therefore colours from underneath are visible in certain lights. The fact that the colour of the material the model is lying on constists cool greens and blue colours helps balance the picture as all of the skin tones are warm colours: oranges, reds, purples and browns. These contrast with each other yet create a harmony at the same time, making it aesthetically pleasing. There has been attempt to balance it further by adding a subtle background but it is very similar colour to the skin so perhaps does have quite the desired effect.
The lines of the material the model is lying on have been drawn in an opposite direction to the lines the major contours of the body are facing. This breaks up the image and ensures everything is not moving in the same direction which creates more balance within the drawing.
The proportions of the drawing are fairly accurate though the ends of the feet have been cut off which would have been good to include because it would have shown the difference between the ellipsis of the head and the feet demonstrating foreshortening. Also, more attention should have been paid to tricky areas such as the hand because it is rather blobby. In in a similar area, there is an odd meeting of their arm and hand there it looks as if it has been completely cut off and demonstrates a lack of observation in this particular area.
Another odd element of the drawing is that it appears as though the model is lying on something that is slanted whereas this is not true otherwise she would slide down without something to keep her in place.
The curves of the model such as on the thighs and hips have been exaggerated slightly which helps display form more clearly and helps reduce the occurrence of sausage limbs, which has worked quite nicely along the whole leg area.  Your eye is particularly drawn to some of these curves because they fall within the rule of thirds within the drawing. For example the top shoulder is one of these and has been intensified with a shadow making it a area of interest within the image. Another area of interest is the curve of the hip/thigh which this time has been emphasised with a subtle highlight.