Observations of Architecture National Media Museum #2

This piece was a study of the internal architecture of the National Media Museum created using marker pens and took around 15 minutes to create.

While this piece like last architectural observation shows good use of tones and shading, this one suffers from large areas of blankness which completely throws off the perspective and depth making the image appear very flat and incomplete. A lot of the lines especially in the supporting beam, the curved wall and the glass planes at the forfront show a degree of depth and structural integrity between them, the rest of the image suffers because of the empty background and lack of perspective.

Observations of Architecture Imax #1

This was a study of the Imax at the National Media Museum and was drawn using markers and taking about 25 minutes to complete.

This piece was created by layering marker strokes upon the paper until the image built up adequate depth and tonal value. Starting with the lightest of the pens all the structure/architecture was drawn out and then all the detail and out line was added to the shading, which outlined a base for all the detail that would go into the image. Then the artist progressively went over the parts where shade and tonal value were more prevalent using a combination of multiple layers, differences in pressure applied to the page and finally the darker pens to add those most prevalent shadows. After all the detail/shading was complete the outlines to all the edges of the structure would have been added using a fine liner pen. the detail in the shading is the most striking part of this image with a good understanding of shading and tonal value's been used by the artist especially on the back wall, bottom of the pillar and the man at the booth on the left. the only noticeable part of this image to suffer was the perspective, for example where the roof seems to go up into the air instead of joining up with the pillar/column.

Landscape Observations The Amp Conte Crayon #2

This piece incorporates all 4 of the conte crayon colours and is a view from the top of the Amp at Bradford University which took about 20-25 minutes to complete.

The amount of layering used in this picture has allowed the artist to add a large amount of detail to the picture which makes the trees pop forward and become the main focal point of the piece. By starting with the darkest of the conte crayons and adding layers upon layers to the trees the artist was able to make the trees seem, more 3D. After adding more of the lighter colours until they got to the white which was then smudged back into the drawing to add more depth and the tonal value's that can be seen. The depth is added to further by the inclusion of the simple but nicely detailed rocks in the background.

Landscape Observations The Amp #1

This is a landscape observation of the Amp at Bradford University done in charcoal and taken about 10-15 minutes.
This piece was drawn from an higher vantage point and the perspective hasn't been portrayed as well as it could have been, in certain parts it looks as though it doesn't quite know which angle it belongs in. The perspective used on the grass parts of the picture, where the tree, student and lamp post are, are generally in a good perspective and don't suffer too bad. In this study the artist has used subtle lines and smudges to convey the flows and rolls of the hill, so subtle that they are not entirely noticeable unless you look for it. The use of shading on the student sat down sketching uses a nice amount of subtle shading which helps add depth to the piece.

Posture and Pose James Conte Crayon

This was a 5-10 minute observation of posture and pose done in 3 of the conte crayons.

This piece uses quite a lot of detail, proportion an perspective to effectively portray the models posture and stance. The artist has kept in the development lines used to map out the drawing but has managed to hide most of them away using the conte crayon, with only the ones in the legs remaining. The artist has captured the slouch of the model quite effectively and the positions and scale of the models hands, heads and shoulders. Even including the tattoo on the models left arm and the lines of the knuckles in the hand.

The artist hasn't used a good amount of foreshortening in this piece mainly with the body appearing too long (the distance between the shoulders and hips seems too far).

Stag Beetle Non-Human Observations #4

This is a 10-14 minute observation of a preserved stag beetle sitting on some bark done in a 6b pencil.

There is a fair amount of perspective and foreshortening used in this study, especially in the bark and the beetles carapace. The foreshortening is mainly evident in the beetles legs which are hard to see because of the difference in pressure used when shading the bark and drawing the legs. The use of the pencil on the barks shading has also given it a textured look, this combined with the quick lines of the bark and the detail have given a lot of implied detail with  minimum amount of time. This implied detail has also been applied the back section of the beetles carapace with the shading and use of the tip of the pencil.

A little more detail put into the beetles features and the finishing off of the legs would have brought a bit more depth into the piece, however the quick, subtle and implied detail used explain this away.

Tigar Skull Non-Human Observations #3

This is a quick 5 minute observational sketch of a tiger skull using felt tip pens.

Although it is a relatively simple study it is also quite detailed in the snout and jaw, which are the focus of this piece. Because the ink from felt tip pens are absorbed by paper easily a lot of care had to go into avoiding making big blotches of thick lines where detailed line work would have been needed such as in the nasal cavity and the far left of the jaw where it is easy to notice some of those fine lines have become swollen and blotched. the perspective and foreshortening used the the jaw, teeth and nasal cavity show depth and detail however the back half of the skull are where this perspective is lost