This last week we started a new project, drawing perspectives of the human face. I chose to start off my 3 drawings with the "unique angle" drawing challenge myself. I wanted to incorporate a lot of the skull knowledge into the drawing instead of just relying on only what I was seeing. There were several sketch layers in graphite that were erased in order to feel like I was moving in the right direction. I was a little restless doing so, because spending so much time and still not having the drawing look like a drawing of the actual subject makes it hard to see the process coming together.

Also, I made sure to focus on accentuating the subtle parts of the face. For instance, when drawing the nose and lips, I would exaggerate some of the features in a somewhat cartoon fashion, but when stepping back from the drawing, they seemed to compliment the overall figure and give it a non-flattened appearance...something I struggle with often. 

Wed. we had advisement day, which was a chance to sit down and talk with not only my adviser, but the professor grading my Digital Painting Independent Study. To wrap things up for the class, I was going to do a nature drawing, with fantasy overtones (which aren't implemented quite yet). I wanted this one to feel less controlled and more fluidly lifelike than any of my previous digital works, so I've spent a lot of time experimenting with brushes, rather than just working only with those that I know and love. Pictured is my kind of base layer that sets up the objects and colors roughly. I want to create the image of an oasis that is being threatened by some unnatural force, which is where the fantasy elements will come in. It'll be interesting to see what I can learn from this process.

In preparation for the 18th's "test" of our skull knowledge, we spent this week practicing drawing a skull without a model first, doing several short sketches. The interesting part is realizing how important the structure is to creating a skull from memory. For example, if I wasn't paying attention to the structure of my skull, things quickly got out of hand and the head looked incorrect. It's important to realize early when something wasn't working, so that I wasn't digging myself into a hole that I couldn't get out of.

Wed. we tried some different perspective drawing (pictured). While this perspective wouldn't be on the test per se, gaining a knowledge of how the pieces look for many different perspectives kind of enhances the three dimensional sense of the object and how it exists in your mind. It was tough not letting the different parts get flattened, but with some intervention, and a new look at the approach to cross contour I was able to get the skull to pop and take shape.

In a somewhat related manner, I also worked this week on a self-portrait piece for a Digital Painting independent study. The piece shows my skull and different bones kind of erupting out of my skin. This is kind of showing how I see myself and whatnot when it comes to my joint issues, bone disease because it's sometimes makes me feel broken or weak. I wanted this work to look like a mixture of calm and pain in one expression.

This week we wrapped up our study of the cranium. For me, I was practicing a lot of the same techniques and struggling with the same barriers, so I hope I don't sound terribly redundant. First I find that with my drawing style, I like to work in a lot of my mark making into a gradual feel of shading, almost like my hand is scratching around a form that exists in my mind. With the top 2 drawings shown, I feel like that approach was successful due to the fact that these were drawings that featured shading. We were instructed for one of our drawings to be cross contour, which is where I feel like I have some trouble. It's really difficult to find the contours in such small dips and curves, even when I walk up close to the skull. Therefor, that is one area I definitely need to practice or get some more advice on.

Wed. was critique day, but I didn't make it. I bought a new house and have been stretched in so many different directions lately, with work, school, moving, and running around back and forth between Eau Claire, Menominee, and Chippewa, that I over-exerted myself on Tuesday and screw my back up for a few days. I just wanted to get everything done in 1 night so I wouldn't have to think about it anymore, but I didn't pay attention to my physical limits etc.

I look forward to tomorrow and getting started on the skeleton.

Monday actually was consumed with the Professional Advisory board meeting, so a lot of us took a break from class. To be honest, the only presenter that really seemed special to me was the first one, a Graphic Design studio owner, which I think was named "Hatch" if I remember correctly. It was really interesting to see how he used his environment, the office space, the conceptual projects, the attitude he brought to his work, in order to sell him and his designers as something special. It wasn't just another space filled with cubicles, the location was inspiring in and of itself. A lot of the other designers seemed to just have a reel of their stuff, which didn't particularly tell any stories and inspire any thoughts to me other than "hey, that guy made that stuff".

Wednesday, we got into the meat of this week, which was focusing directly on the top half of the skull. Because it was tough to distinguish the high detailed nature of our previous work's cranial section with the same life that the face had, I really had to take a look at my approach and my technique. I decided I would focus on my layering a lot more, working subtle shape, texture, and shading into the page. This drawing seemed to be a bit more challenging, because it forces me to create and express further than a life drawing usually asks to. When you see lines, you can draw them to make it easy for the viewer to identify. Having the form of an object expressed clearly is a whole different ordeal.

I'll continue to work on it this week, and we'll see what happens.