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

Irish Elk Non-Human Observations #2

This was a quick study of a Irish Elk skeleton done in pencil which took about 12 minutes to complete.
This sketch although not complete does portray a good amount of perspective in the skull and antlers which appear to be the primary focus of the observation. The lines of the drawing have been added to and made more prevalent in the parts of the skull which are facing most directly at the observer, whereas all other lines are comparatively lighter and less defined, which helps to draw your eyes to certain parts of the drawing such as the snout of the skull and the left antler. The inclusion of the developmental lines and "mistakes" allow you to follow the path that the artist took whilst developing the work and shows where the artist made mistakes and corrected them, these appear to be mainly perspective based.

The only part of the drawing that diminishes from the overall piece is the scapula. Here the artist appears to have changed their mind about shading after finishing that fairly big portion of the skeleton. Just like how the artist added more detailed and darker lines in the parts of the skull that were focus of the piece to attract the view of the observer, the shaded scapula also does this but in the negative respect, as it attracts you to what is essentially a background/secondary image.

Non-Human Anatomy Graphite Snow Leopard #1

This is a study of a Preserved Snow Leopard drawn in graphite pencil and taking about 15 minutes in total.

This piece provides a good example of perspective in the front paws and head, as well as shading and tonal value on the belly, under the hind legs and at the base of the tail. and the strokes of the graphite on the tail effectively portray the look of fur and the bushy tail of the leopard. The perspective and foreshortening in the head and face are carried out well allowing you to get a good sense of the direction the leopard is looking and is the most detailed and proportioned part of the study.

The distance between the head and the hind legs look like they have suffered on the foreshortening department which makes the leopard appear weird and out of proportion. Also the fact the tail, back and underside of the drawing are shaded but the front and the head are not, despite the head being the most detailed part of this study makes the piece look in complete.

Charcoal Anatomy of Movement #3

This is a repeat of the previous sequence of movement study from a different angle again in charcoal and taking about 5 minutes to complete.

The use of a different angle allowed for better focus on foreshortening in the limbs, especially the legs which are now facing away from the observer which gives a better feeling of depth. Again the drawing flows with the feeling of movement due to the continuous & layered nature of the sketch. From this top view angle the gesture shown by the hands is easily noticed which further adds to the piece.

The use of gestural lines to portray the direction of the movement could have been left out by the artist which are noticeable and distract from the main piece.

Charcoal Anatomy of Movement #2

This was again a drawing of a model portraying stages movement this time in charcoal and took around 5 minutes to complete.

In this piece the model laid on the floor and in 3 stages conveyed the movement of rolling from one position on the floor into another facing in the opposite direction. This was a quicker sketch than the graphite drawing but because of the charcoals inherent proclivity to smudge allowed for more detail to be added during and after the drawing had been completed by allowing shade, tone and dimensionality to be added. The position of the model and angle of the artist allowed for several examples of foreshortening to be observed, especially around the limbs and the head

This piece better helps to convey the feeling of movement because of the overlapping nature of the drawing and allows for each of the stages to appear to flow into the next it also provides for a more complete and focused drawing.

Graphite Anatomy of Movement #1

This is a graphite sketch of a model demonstrating sequence of movement by moving slowly from position to position and took about 10 minutes in total.

The model was conveying movement and so would move into a new position and would hold for a brief time before moving onto the next position of the movement. Pausing long enough to quickly draw the model out. Very little shading or tone was added as this was not the primary focus of the drawing. All the focus was put into the gestures of the limbs and body language as well as into body proportions and foreshortening. The use of limited shading on the left and left-centre sketches has helped to add some depth and dimensionality to the sketches.

The piece does help to convey movement, more so in the sketches on the right which overlap each over and continue on from where the other ended. This helps to provide some illusion of movement, if the sketches on the left were also done in this way it would have helped to complete the feeling of movement in the piece instead of making it look like 2 separate pieces.