Visual Language: Observational drawing: Look, Think and Draw.

     27.9.2016

Look think and draw

Within the observational drawing task we were given 10 subjects to study, this included: 

I find that with observational drawing I really enjoy putting time and effort into my drawings, however this means I am able to get a bit trapped within the piece of work and sometimes get slightly carried away. Whilst the drawings can look really nice with ranges of tones and definition, it tends to be very time consuming. So from this task I have learnt that observational drawings don't have to be so full on, its good to be able to sit in front of something and literally just briefly draw it whether that be just a few scribbles or rough line work.

I really like the outcomes of the two illustrations above (Pineapple and the hand), mainly because of the amount of detail that has gone into it. It was nice to revisit drawing from observation purely because I haven't done it in so long and it is nice to surprise yourself in what you you are capable of doing. I enjoyed drawing with this amount of detail as it was a little reminder myself to show that if i push myself I am able to produce some really nice outcomes and pieces of work. I don't intend working with this method constantly as it is extremely time consuming and I would also like to simplify my drawings and experiment with more line work in my drawings.

I really like the simplicity of the line work in this drawing above. Although the lines are so simple and tidy there are also elements of detail which I really like including in elements of my drawings.

4.10.2016

Drawing from observation

The following week we had a similar session based on observation, except this session we were tested on how much we rely on using reference. Our first task was to step out of the studio and choose an image we liked on the wall, from there we had a few minutes to memorise the image and then when we were ready we could go back into the studio and draw what we saw (in ink). Quite clearly the first drawing wasn't as good as the second which wasn't as good as the third and it was really interesting to see how much more information you take in when you revisit the image and you gradually see the image become more refined in the drawings as they go along. I found that each time i revisited the image i found something i hadn't previously picked out and i was able to include it in my next drawing. The final time we drew the image was different as we were able to draw from reference as the image was able to be in front of us. It was no surprise to me that this was my most visually appealing piece of work as I know that I feel more comfortable when drawing from observation however this task has definitely improved my skills in drawing from memory as you can see from my work a noticeable difference throughout all of the drawings.

   

Our next task involved a plant in which we had brought in, and similar to the previous task we had to draw it from observation using ink. Ink was something I wasn't familiar with so this appeared to be slightly challenging to me as I had to get used to using a brush in replacement to my pen or pencil, which in fact I got used to really quick and I enjoy working in this medium. With our plant in front of us we painted various pieces of work and when working in a similar style throughout the paintings we were urged to make them different whether that was working with negative spaces or just doing the opposite to what you were doing in the previous drawings.

                                     

Once we had finished our drawings the class and I completely covered the studio by sticking them all over the walls which made the studio look absolutely incredible. It was lovely to have the chance to see everyones pieces of work and give them a bit of feedback. I took some pictures of some of the work produced by other students in which I really liked.

The one thing I loved most when walking around the studio was to see the huge variation of working styles and techniques, no drawing was identical. I really like the use of line work and detail in the first two illustrations I picked out, they were the ones that stood out most to me. The dark black lines really contrast with the light grey washed out colour on the plant pot and leaves which really provide the plant with expression. The third drawing I picked out was the simple black silhouette of the plant.  The heavy dark shapes do not at all look forced, they in fact appear extremely neat and clear and describe the plant very well.