Scale Figure Drawings

For an in class assignment, we had to work on drawing scale figures by drawing our classmates in different poses and at different scales.  We were to practice contour line drawings as well as gestural.  Although our short time limit per drawing was frustrating, I thought the activity was very useful in learning how to do scale figures in different poses and at different sizes. 

Luminaire Prototype

We are to create a luminaire that demonstrates the light phenomenon that each of us witnessed earlier in the semester, and we are currently in the beginning phases of designing and developing them.  My idea is to create a hanging light using a semi-sheer frosted material, perhaps mylar, and a luminescent film on the inside that I will cut into ribbon-like strips and form them around my light source.  My light phenomenon was a sunset and I am hoping to create a light effect that reflects the many colors that lit up the sky.  I have currently developed a prototype using white poster board that reflects my design idea as seen in the pictures below. I am now currently testing numerous materials to see which ones will emit the light effect I have imagined.  It is definitely a work in progress, but I am quite excited to see what happens.

Sketches

We had to choose a few sketches from our design visualization sketchbook to post on our blog.  I wanted to choose three different sketches from various assignments.  This sketch is representative of our task to draw light shining through water.  I have many sketches of of various cups and bottles filled with water that I drew at different times of the day to show how different the light is at different times. This particular sketch was done later in the evening in my apartment.  I chose to post it because it not only shows details of the light, but also of the bottle itself.  The use of shadows and various graphite softness was important in order to portray what I wanted. 

The next sketch I chose to include is a self portrait, which is the most recent assignment we have been given.  I took an drawing class for my previous degree at College of Charleston, and we had a section on drawing portraits, so, although it was a about five years ago, that previous knowledge definitely helped me in this assignment.  I drew this particular sketch from a picture I took on my computer, and it took me a little over an hour to complete, but I still find myself touching it up and changing parts of it to more resemble me.  Portraits are definitely one of the more challenging aspects of drawing, but you learn alot about the details of the human face.  The technique of shading is very important in order to accurately portrat things as the nose and to draw hair.  Portraits are something I enjoy and I want to continue to get better.

The final sketch that I chose was from our twig drawing assignment.  We spent numerous weeks drawing twig after twig, so I wanted to choose one of my more successful twig drawings.  This particular sketch was actually done in class during one of our in-class assignments.  Although I think this does an excellent job of showing the details of the twig as a whole, I wish I had done a larger more detailed image of it. 

This sketch is by Hailey Taylor

I chose this particular sketch by Hailey because I thought she did an excellent job of showing the various shapes of the leaves on the twigs.  Each leave has it's own character and movement, and Hailey did a nice job portraying that.

This sketch is by Cory Odell

I chose this self portrait sketch by Cory because it has a completely different character to it.  It is very playful and has a caricature aspect to it.  It shows that self-portraits can vary from being realistic to more cartoonesque varying on the artist, and from knowing Cory this is a very appropriate image of him.