Tuesday 30 August 2011

I'm back now my Laptop is fixed - Summer Project

Sorry I've been gone so long, but I haven't been able to post anything since my laptop broke, but it's fixed now so I'm back!

I thought I'd show you some pictures of my summer project I'm doing for uni as I'd love some feedback and advice.

The brief is to pick a 3D object from a museum/exhibition and create 8 drawings of it from different angles experimenting with colour, materials and techniques. However I've been to most of the museums in London and Brighton already and taken pictures so to save me time and money I thought I would work from the photos I'd already taken. Then my laptop broke and I've had to wait to get started on it, but since it got fixed a few days ago I have completed 5 out of the compulsory 8 observational drawings. I've tried to use different techniques and materials but am a bit lost for ideas now. I might do a continuous line drawing but don't know what to do it with?

I chose this Diplodocus skeleton from the National History Museum for my object as there are so many different and interesting shapes and tones to work with.

Here is a pencil drawing I did of it's neck. I focused on the shades and tones of it, using the pencil to recreate the shape and definition from the dinosaur. The picture below it is a watercolour of it's hind thigh bones. I used the watercolour for the depth and shading of the bones and then the pen on top to define it and make it more detailed. I used both black and brown to add extra dimensions of colour.

This next one is of the tail and I used biro with the crosshatching technique to give it deep and multi-tonal shading. It took me a couple of hours to do and is my favourite drawing so far.


These next ones are my least favourite, probably because they are the most experimental and different ones and I always prefer to do realistic drawings as that's where I excel at in drawing. The top one is of it's leg and is a negative space drawing, which means instead of drawing the actual object, you focus on the spaces in between it. So for example, if you drew someone with their hand on their hip with this technique, you would notice that there is a triangular shaped space created between the arm and the body and that is what you draw instead of going round the actual object. This means that no detail is created inside the shape and so I tried to build the tones and textures within it using black ink. I will probably go over it again though as I don't think the shadows are dark enough to suggest separate bones.
The second drawing was done with oil pastels. It was quite quick and just a simple idea. I used black, grey and white to demonstrate the dark, mid and light tones of the bones.
This last drawing gave me an idea to try a sort of block colour drawing next. A bit like painting with numbers where the different colours and shades are done in separate sections/blocks to create a more harsh and boxy drawing as opposed to being blended making a more flowing and softer drawing.

The parts I have yet to draw are the ribs and spine, then not sure what else?

After all these drawings are done I then have to create fashion design developments from them, using them as inspiration for shape, texture and seam lines etc.

Let me know what you think and please give me any advice or critical comments that will help me to advance with my other drawings and also to develop these drawings.
Thankyou and hope you liked them!
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