Final Reflection

Over the semester I have gained so much knowledge through this class. Through the process of observation, I learned how to truly observe planar structure. After many hours of practice and finding how the form moves through space I was able to understand how to show a three dimensional object on a two dimensional surface. I felt that after many hours of conversation with my instructor I was able to understand so much more about the human form. It became so interesting to learn how each part of the face/skull, cranium, and the whole skeleton work in space. It becomes a hard challenge to convey these forms and constantly presents a battle for me to perfect a drawing of each piece.
I found that through this process in the semester my drawings became very personalized. I tried to make each piece represent my mark making technique. This becomes a very important part of my drawings, bringing a unique mark that resembles my thinking/observation process. It becomes a signature to myself, presenting my personality. My drawings each being different all have a certain aspects that make each one feel as if they are mine ( I hope anyway).
During this course I found that I worked toward finding my mark with a more developed drawing style. I added value to my drawings but not through simple observation, but by adding my own light source. I used marks to represent value rather than just seamless gradient, and these mark seemed to make a much more educated drawing that showed planar structure. The light that was added by my own knowledge, making it much more translatable to all other form of my art work. This makes a huge impact on my drawings and how I make my forms work in space. So over the course of this semester my knowledge level has grown exponentially and will transfer into all of my other future artwork.

Cross Contour Front 3/4 Skull Drawing
This drawing became a great learning process to understand the cranium. It is part of the second project in Life Drawing 2 in order to not neglect the cranium in the drawing. It is easy to make a broad suggestion of the cranium in a drawing to focus on more recognizable features. This drawing made me dissect the cranium to create an understanding of the planar structure that is truly happening. I found that each bone in the cranium defines a different section and makes a very interesting abstracted form. These bones which all have individual planes work together in a whole unit to create a form. The cranium is a very complex object that is often overlooked due to its broad characteristics. After taking the time to observe the smaller plane changes, it became very interesting to try to convey this complex 3D form on a 2 dimensional piece of paper. This challenge is very interesting and exciting for me as the artist to attempt to accomplish. The cross contour lines give the viewer and myself a way to understand how the form works in space. Each piece has a different direction and convexity that make it unique. I find that each part of this drawing is very interesting and makes the whole a successful piece for learning.

Front 3/4 Skull Drawing

This drawing started the semester for me. It was a good way to start picking up right where life drawing 1 ended. I found myself working to find correct proportions and searching for plane changes. During my observations I was able to define the planar structure in a more accurate form making sense of what I am observing. This drawing helped me explore the facial bones and how each piece works together in a unit. I found that each plane connects to the other in a very specific way making the whole feel as one solid object moving in space. This drawing also helped me explore my mark making technique. I find that each mark in my drawings has a distinct objective that is individual but works in the whole drawing to achieve value and form. I prefer not to use a solid seamless gradient to define a plane and work as value to amplify space. I found that by using my own marks to define the space became more individual to my hand and offers the viewer with an understanding of how my drawing was executed. During this drawing I found challenges within the form and the planar structure. I found that one of the most difficult areas for me was the transition from the nasal cavity to the maxilla. This area became hard to define and still remains a slight problem area in this drawing. Also during the process of this drawing I neglected the upper portion of the cranium, which creates an unified whole. Overall I feel as if this drawing is successful and amplifies my learning process.