Week Eight: Shoulder Girdle

This week we began to work on the shoulder blades. We started off on Monday by working on the shoulder girdle which includes: the Teres Minor, the Infraspinatus, the Supraspinatus, and the Teres Major. We sat through lecture for the first half of class, then drew the last half of class. We were told to put everything together, adding the should blades and collar bone last. At first we started off with 30 second poses, which was kinda frustrating. I found a little difficult at first to include everything we have learned so far into my drawing in just 30 seconds. However, as class progressed I drew faster and was able to finish my drawings.
Wednesday we continued to concentrate on the shoulder blades. Wednesday was helpful because we were able to an hour long pose. This helped me focus on the shoulders and the collar bones. It was helpful also because Amy was able to walk around and help us work on getting everything just right. I did a coulpe things wrong, but overall my drawing was pretty accurate.
The image to the right is one that I found on a professional artist's Life drawing Blog. I though the image was particularly interesting because of the side-by-side comparison.  The drawing on the right shows the skeletal structure of the woman, including her shoulder blades. I thought this image was a good example of what the should blades are doing when the arms are held behind the back.

Week Seven: FEET

This week we began by working with clay during Monday's class. We worked on building the Extensor Halluas Longus, the Exentsor Digitorum Longus, the Peroneus Tertius, and the Peroneus Brevis. Then, towards the middle of the week we began to work on the muscles of the foot: the Abductor Digiti Minimi and the Extensor Digitorum Brevis.

On Wednesday's class we starting drawing just the feet. We did so in a very primitive way. We were told only to draw the planes of the feet, the top, front, and side planes. I struggled with this approach a little bit. At first it was hard for me to figure out which plane was which. The drawing on the left was one that I thought was fairly accurate. On the right foot in the drawing the top plane is not visible. On the left foot however, all planes are visible although only a small portion of the front plane is.
I am writing this blog before our Friday's class because of my Spring Break Plans, so hopefully in tomorrow's class I get some more practice on this approach towards the feet. As I did more drawings, I did begin to understand the technique. So, I am hoping after tomorrow's session I will have complete confidence in drawing the feet in any position.

Midterm Portfolio: Reflection

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60288392@N08/
This week instead of a normal post on reflection from the past week, I am reflecting on the first half of the semester. Midterm Portfolio...hard to believe its already here! This semester has seemed to just fly by. I feel like I have learned so much about the human body. However, I know there is still a lot left to learn.
Above I have posted the link to my flicker account in which I have posted several photos of my manikin and 10 drawings from class. Overall, I am very proud of my drawings and feel I have come along way. The reason I took this class is because drawing is something I enjoy very much, especially the human form. So, naturally I enjoy this class very much, probably the most out of all my classes this semester. For two hours I can block out any thoughts, worries, or stress I have going on in my head, and just focus on my drawing. I love the feeling I get after I produce a drawing I'm happy with, that feeling of accomplishment that consumes all my thoughts. Drawing takes me into a different world where I feel comfortable and relaxed, but also challenged and focused. In this class, I get to experience this every time I attend.
I did struggle with a couple of things at the beginning of the semester. At first I was frustrated with just drawing just the spine. I hated spending 45 minutes drawing only to draw one line. But, as time went on I began to understand the reason we spent so much time on the curves of the spine. Learning how to get the angles right builds the foundation for a good drawing of the human form. It's the backbone of the whole process. I also struggled sometimes with certain angles of the hips. When the model was turned at a quarter angle towards me, I always got confused at exactly what those bones were doing. This obstacle was also overcome as the semester went on. With a little help from Amy, I began getting those angles correct.
All in all, the first half of the semester has gone very well. I am satisfied with the drawings I have produced so far, I moved through some of the areas I was struggling in, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of the class.


This is a drawing for the most recent class period. Finally, we got to put everything we've learned together into one drawing.  Drawing the model from almost straight-on was a little difficult, but I got through it.