I think including Life Drawing into this semester was a great idea. At first I was quite hesitant to take the class but I figured it would be very beneficial to my major. I learned a lot from this class and I hope to learn more next semester when I take Life Drawing 2.While taking this class I learned many things about the figure. At the beginning my figure drawing was very basic. Mostly outlines of the whole body for gesture drawings. I eventually learned how to draw the rib cage and the pelvis together so they were proportioned to one another. As I page through my portfolio I notice that I pay more detail to the proportions and the muscle structure. I think through the semester I got a lot of help for drawing the figure. The day that we learned proportions helped out a ton I think. I also think when we drew the skeleton helped a lot also because it made it easier when we were gesture drawing to have a basic understanding of what was the main structure.
I think my main strength in life drawing was the facial structure and drawing specific parts of the body rather than the whole structure. As I look through my portfolio I begin to notice that all my drawings that were focused on specific parts were more successful. I believe this was because I was able to concentrate one area versus moving my eyes around a larger structure. I would really like to continue drawing and learning more about every part of the figure. I want to get faster at drawing the figure and concentrate more on perspective and proportions.
I was able to add a more 3D aspect to my drawings when we were doing the longer drawings. I was able to accomplish this by shading and small mark making. When we would get new muscles for the manikin I would try to draw them or at least picture them in my mind when I was drawing the image.
I learned a lot through cross contour. This type of drawing really helps understand the curvature of the body. I believe that this was my favorite form of drawing in class. I also believe that this is a wonderful was to also learn the muscles for the fact you have to draw the outline of them when you are doing the contour.
All in all, I believe that I have learned a ton from taking this class. I feel that I have benefited enormously from this course. http://www.flickr.com/photos/38216528@N07/?saved=1
