Week 7 in Drawing

18" x 24" - Skeletal Study - Skull and Elbow - Pencil - October 3, 2011

This was the last week of sketches before midterm and we worked on the skeletal form with our very stylishly posed yet somewhat incomplete skeleton ;) It felt perfect for the upcoming Halloween and I just realized with posting this that even my extra credit sketch is Halloweenesque! Anyway, this piece is simply whatever medium we wanted on the white. I picked pencil.

12" x 18" - Skeletal Study - Hip - White Charcoal and Conte Crayon on Black Paper - October 5, 2011

The real challenge came when we had to use a white medium on black paper. Trying to draw the light instead of the shadows was really difficult for me and I got very frustrated with this one, to the point where I ended with scribbling frantically with a lot of my marks. Everyone who saw it really liked it though, so I suppose it didn't come out as bad as I thought ;) After all, that 'sketchy' look is quite popular, lol.

9" x 11" - Extra Study - Crafted Raven - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Oct. 7, 2011

And here is my extra credit piece. The raven I used was actually missing an eye and he's a bit banged up, so I tried to improve him slightly in my picture. I at least gave him two whole eyes ;) Anyway, it's semester break and I'm really REALLY hoping to steal some crafty time - make a card, scrap a page, or sew something, while on break. So hopefully, I'll have something actually crafty to share with you soon! Thanks for sticking around gals ;)

Week 6 in Drawing

18" x 24" - Marker Study - Organic Composition - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Sept. 30, 2011

18" x 24" - Marker Study - Garden Bird - Ultra Fine Sharpie - Sept. 30, 2011

In week 6 we continued with the markers and worked on a composition piece. Because I ended up with a little extra time the week before, I had started a second single study sketch of a bird and between coming to class early and staying a little later, I finished the stippled bird the morning before finishing the composition. There was actually quite a bit in the composition piece which was a large tree in a basket (I have the trunk with the vines around it here in my piece) along with a lot of little things scattered on the table and some birds in the trees (which I couldn't see from where I was sitting). I actually started to sketch more of the bottom area with the basket and items, including a pheasant, but I didn't like the way it was turning out so I refocused on the leaves next to the tree trunk.

9" x 12" - Marker Study - Pretty Mug Style #1 - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Oct.2, 2011

9" x 11" - Marker Study - Pretty Mug Style #2 - Ultra Fine Sharpie - Oct. 2, 2011

9" x 11" - Marker Study - Pretty Mug Style #3 - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Oct. 8, 2011

For our homework studies, this time we were to pick one single item and draw it three times in three different styles. This was really hard for me because I wasn't really sure how to come up with 3 distinct styles, but in the end, they worked out fairly well. My mugs seem a little off kilter, and I notice that I really struggle with that back curve on all three, but as a whole I think they were a fun experiment. Anyway, I've got one more week left to share with you and it's only a few pictures since we got to have that week as a make up sketch week. Thanks for stopping by ;)

Week 5 Marker Sketches

18" x 24" - Marker Study - Pretty Ceramic Chicken - Ultra Fine Sharpie - Sept. 23, 2011

So I finally got around to taking pictures of my projects for the past 3 weeks, which is good since I have to turn them all in today for midterms and probably won't see them again for a while ;) Week 5 was the intro into markers.Talk about challenging! When we first talked about doing the marker sketches I was really excited. But then I realized my idea of sketching with markers is to create outlines so that I can fill the rest in with color! The challenge here is using just the black markers. Because I've only doodled with pens, and nothing serious mind you - just things on the margins of my notes, this week was filled with experimenting for me. My main project was a fun ceramic bird that looked like a pretty chicken. For this sketch I just kind of let go of my expectations for myself and simply played around with the marker, seeing what I could come up with. I actually really like how it turned out. It's like a huge doodle.

9" x 12" - Marker Study - Big Fat Latte Mug - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Sept. 25, 2011

 

9" x 12" - Marker Study - LPS Hermit Crab - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Sept. 25, 2011

9" x 12" - Marker Study - Beaded Pumpkin - Ultra Fine and Fine Sharpie - Sept. 27, 2011

My first sketch was just more exploration with the marker. I did the bottom mug first, trying a more structured variation of what I did on the bird. I like the handle came out, as well as the very center of the inside of the mug, but the rest I'm not loving. Then with the other sketch I tried some vertical feathering strokes. I again really like the handle, but not much else, lol. So with my next sketch, which I just love because it's so stinkin' cute, I did a variation of structured parallel lines along with outlining the curves. Then on the beaded pumpkin in my 3rd sketch, I added some stipling to go along with my structured lines. Very fun and very different from the pencil and charcoal mediums we have been using. I'll be posting the other two weeks of projects later this week. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!