(Flickr kicked me out of my old account and sent me to this link instead, so PLEASE let me know if this link doesn't work because I have everything on there but I don't want it to affect my grade if the link doesn't work.)
Well, this semester has definitely been interesting. I started off as someone who was always extremely meticulous with every mark I made, and it would take me far longer than most people to do the simplest of drawings. However, after all of the gesture drawings which really forced me out of my comfort zone, I feel that I have really gotten out of my own way and let myself be a lot more free with the use of my shoulder. I'm really pleased with that, because by the end of the semester I was able to get drawings done twice as fast as usual. Another thing that I'm really excited about is the new way that I hold my pencil while I draw. I used to hold it like I was writing, and my wrist would move too much and just butcher my work. But now that I've changed my grip and really integrated the use of my shoulder, my drawings have improved so much. There's a lot less meticulous, short strokes, and a lot more long, fluid strokes. I'm so grateful for the new grip!
As far as strengths and weaknesses of my drawings, I feel like a strength of mine is probably that I pay attention to detail and really strive to focus on the curves and angles of even the most miniscule details. To me, every detail is just as important as the next, because the little complexities in a drawing form together to make the drawing complete. One of my weaknesses is that I can really get inside my own head when it comes to drawing the face. I'm so focused on getting a likeness that I forget to just draw and let it come naturally.
Although the maniken was very challenging for me, because I really struggle with 3-D work, it really helped some of the drawings. It was nice to know the inner workings of the bones and muscles because then I had certain points of interest to look for that helped me structure the drawing. It makes it a lot easier that way.
Drawing has changed for me so much. This is the fourth drawing class that I've taken at Stout, and honestly it is the most useful one I've taken. Even though I took Drawing II twice (as an elective), it wasn't nearly as useful as this. I learned so much about how to STRUCTURE drawings and how to really build them piece by piece into a finished work. I used to look at the whole thing and just start drawing, and my proportions would be off by the time I got to the end, but I was already too far along to fix it. But this way I can do bit by bit and my proportions are so much better than they used to be. I love it.
My self-portrait was really frustrating for me. Drawing myself from a mirror is by far the most challenging and irritating thing I've ever done, although I'm sure it would get a lot easier with practice. It was just frustrating because I would look in the mirror, judge the angle of a certain feature, put it on the paper, look back up at my face and my head was in a completely different spot. So that's why the likeness in this drawing is so lacking. However, I'm very proud of my lips and nose. I feel that I nailed them. My eyes, size of my head, and jaw, however, are definitely off. I really wish I had gotten them right, but I just couldn't seem to get them, no matter how long I spent on them. One thing that I'm very proud of, though, is my use of line weights. I used to have such light drawings and they were all the same line weight. But now I've really learned how to use certain line weights to show how certain things are closer, and how others are farther away. I'm really happy about that.
I'm really excited to continue this knowledge on into other classes, because I feel like I've just gained so much insight about how to structure my drawings. That's by far the biggest thing I've learned in this class and the thing that I will take away from here and incorporate into any of my drawings for the rest of my life.
Such an interesting semester. So glad I decided to take this class!
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