Quickie, but big Update! Textures & Boxes Week 9

Hi Guys,

It's been a while since updating!  Here are some quick photos of things I've been doing in school!

 

 

 

The top two were in-class assignments. Shading white, grey and black boxes. I'm very pleased with the way the second one came out.

The last two were texture projects. I love cross hatching! :)

And this is a butterfly that was flying around at Maskar Orchards when we went Apple Picking.  :)

I've also been commissioned to paint a small mural on a belly cast for a nursery! I'm super excited. 3 coats of gesso down, 2 coats of ivory to go! Then some cherry blossoms and things. :)

Drawing Class Week #1-5

Wow, i can't believe that I am on week 6 already. I haven't shared any of my work from Drawing class. I was most excited to post my stuff from that class here too!

So... week #1 we learned about Blind Contour Drawings..
"The student, fixing their eyes on the outline of the model or object, draws the contour very slowly in a steady, continuous line without looking at the paper."

I drew my own hand, and a few objects in class that I didn't take photos of... and for homework that week we had to draw a piece of lettuce 2 times.

As you can see.... i didn't look at the paper very much at all! (which is the point) ... its cool how features end up in the completely wrong place. It was funny when i got to look for the first time. haha.

Week 2 was Semi-Blind Contour drawings... Pretty much the same idea, except this time you can glance at the paper to see how its going, but once your pencil starts moving, you must look away. Not allowed to look as you draw. Its cleaner and more organized, but still has the same wonky distorted feel to it. Here is my homework for that week.

antique sewing bobbin, votive holder and bamboo.

Week #3 and 4 .. We learned about the rule of thirds, as we did in my 2D Class.
During the drawing class we made some drawings based on still life in the room following the rule of thirds.

Subject in either of the 4 "hot spots" on the page, never centered.
That wicker basket was a pain in my arse!

My homework that week:

big silk flower, small pyrex, and a mason jar filled with buttons!

We've finally started on shading and light sources and angles and things! We drew many boxes last class and had to draw a bunch for homework.. I'll share those another time. This post is long enough as it is!!

6 hours til Drawing class tonight!

also, I had some other drawings but my professor asked if he could put them in the display case. :)  Again, I'm sure no big deal, but to me I felt very honored. I'm new to this college thing... so to have the approval of my professor, and to be doing things correctly and well enough to make it into the case was an incredible honor for me.  :) It's silly, but I'm excited to see them in the case. :)

Thanks for reading, and your critiques!

Back to School: 2D Design Class Update!

I guess you could consider this Part 2 of my Back to School Journey... Part 1 is here.

So... This is what went on last week. We had a project wherein we drew a zoomed in (cropped) drawing of our keys, or whatever objects we wanted, following the rule of thirds. Then we have to remove obvious detailed lines, and darken areas to make the image more abstract. We drew about 6 thumbnails and then chose one to blow up to 8 x 10in.

This is my final one from the In-Class Assignment.

Then.... We did the same process at home, except now we needed to make three 8 x 10in final drawings... as "abstract" as you can make it. From close up while I was drawing, it didn't look so obvious, but when I saw from in the back of the classroom, it wasn't as abstract. It very much looks like a ring, some earrings and a few safety pins. haha.

 

After we went through the classroom student critiques and watched a few PowerPoint presentations we got to create something my professor called "One Expressive Brushstroke" .. which sounds pretty simple. Again, No.. everything rests on that one stroke! It's a lot of pressure to get it right. One stroke, just one. We were given one piece of paper, one brush with some ink (we got dark purple-ish grey when it was supposed to be black.. hmmm)  .. After we created the most intense brush stroke we possibly could think up, we had to cut out one shape fro construction paper and glue it on in a spot that would enhance the expressiveness of our brushstroke.

I had a grand ol' time time cutting out my shape ... but in the end, it really didnt compliment my stroke at all. I wish i could've redone it. Anywhoo.. this is my finished work.

I call it: "Snake wearing a Tiara"

 

- ink and construction paper on mix media paper. haha.  :) 

More to come as the weeks go by.  :)

Our homework this weekend is called "The Shape Mask" .. we must cut a shape out of paper, and then paint, color, spray paint, rub charcoal, or something around the edges of the shape as a stencil. So that when you pick up the shape, that area where the shape was lying is still white and the outside has the color. We've gotta overlap them 30 times. If we use black, it should look like a negative? Does that make sense? The we cut out another shape out of black construction paper and glue it down to compliment our collage of shape masks. I can't wait to start. I better pick a good shape.  :)

I'll post photos when I'm all done!

I dunno who is actually reading, but thanks :)

Wednesday Night 2D Design Class

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog! I've actually been doing a lot of art now that school has begun and I want to share some with you all!

Let's see.... I've been in this class for, oh.. about 3 weeks now. Tomorrow will be the start of the 4th week. This class has been rather challenging. It's completely non-representational. Meaning, all shapes and lines that do not form a familiar object. No dogs, people or houses. Impossible right? Really! No squares, circles or rectangles either. All organic shapes and weird free drawn lines. That is something I am not very good at. Our first in class assignment was to create "Three Significant Lines". We had to draw out in a thumbnail box (2" w x 2.5" h) three lines, all different shapes, sizes, thickness, forms and angles. The second thumbnail was just adding more details... the 3rd was changing the thickness and the 4th, 5th and 6th were to finalize the changes and pick the best one. Then we had to draw it out in an 8x10in box, and color it with a fine point sharpie.

This was my in class... My final, and all my thumbnails.

During the critiques from the class I was told I have an obvious style (umm excuse me what? I didn't think so. Do you see my blog tagline? That's the point of this blog! I guess everyone does have one... i'm glad that i'm getting close. I was also told that my lines were whimsical. Sounds good to me!)



The at home assignment was the same idea, except with larger thumbnails. This is my final!

 

AT HOME!  I got 12/12 points. A+  :)   

I'm very proud of my neatly drawn lines. I used a ruler, something completely unheard of before school. That's something I'm trying very hard to maintain!

We've since had to make "Three Significant Shapes"  and "Realism to Abstract" assignments. I will post those when i get around to taking photos!

This class has a ton of work and a ton of power point presentations... But I do like learning new things. I also have my Drawing I class on Tuesday Nights (tonight), but I haven't really been able to snap any good photos. We've been doing Contour drawings, Blind and Semi-blind. We're also drawing from still life, and (re)learning the Rule of Thirds. I learned it in photography, but it's cool to use it in more than just a viewfinder.

Anywhoo.. I hope you guys will stick around and see more of my classwork. The in-class critiques are very hepful, I'd be very happy to hear from anyone out there in the blogosphere!

Take Care & Wish me more luck. haha

- D

Going Back to School : Drawing I

Last night, I went to my first class at the local Community College. I began taking Drawing I. Most of the students were younger than me, one was older than me, and most acted like they were right out of elementary school. I don't know about other older attendees, but I am there to learn and intend to use this expensive education I've purchased to further my skills and career.

Photo by John Jay (I'm NOT going there btw)

I do not want to go home early. 
I do not want another break. 
I will not complain about buying books and supplies.
I will not show up late or skip class.


I've been out of tech school for 5 years. I've been working full time for those 5 years in an established company doing design work.  Only recently have I gotten much better at talking with adults, and now I have to reverse that. It's been a long time since dealing with people in college.

I don't know half of the jokes and slang that were muttered while the professor was talking, and I'm not sure if I really care...

I'm excited for my second class tonight, 2D Design.

I hope to post projects here throughout my semesters, and maybe get little feedback?  :)

Photo by Crayola