30min study

[Deb]

18x24 charcoal She was sitting in a chair with her body twisted and arms back over the chair. We were told to run the figure out of the picture plane....
<IMG SRC="http://www.wetcanvas.com/Critiques/User/30min.jpg" border=0>

[Gerak]

Nice clean lines Deb, I like your shading.
I'm not sure but something wrong with the proportions. I think her head and her shoulders maybe a bit too small as compared to the body.

[kayemme]

i see what the problem might be.

the angle at which you are viewing the model's torso/chest does not coincide (sp) with the angle you are viewing the face.

the smaller head/shoulder region would work fine, if you were showing more of the underside of the chin.. you would see the underside of the nose, and the cheeks would obscure the eyes just a bit (if we could see them).

my guess is that you drew what you THOUGHT you saw, rather than what you ACTUALLY saw.

i know this only because *I* did this sooooo much in my first year of figure drawing.

my instructor constantly made me review what i was drawing in relation to what it really was.. it's the only way to draw what's really there.

km

[This message has been edited by kayemme (edited November 04, 2000).]

[MichaelRH]

Hi Kayemme - I'm still a little stumped on this one..what if the models head WAS actually tilted downward..so that her chin WAS blocking what we can see of her neck area?
We will have to hear from Deb about this, but my next thought was just that the head was drawn (slightly) smaller that it might have been drawn (?), because, in RELATION to the head, the part of the torso we see..appears a little larger. It is an unusual drawing angle in the first place, but it makes for an interesting study.
I've been looking in some of my drawing books for an example I could post- (couldn't find one that applies).
I fear Deb will never post another drawing here..because I am using her drawing(s) (WITHOUT HER PERMISSION!!) lol, to evaluate.
Deb..(if your still speaking to me!) lol)...can you describe where you were in relation to the model..close..distant..slightly below her to her left.. and..PLEASE feel free to critique any drawings that I post..!!!!! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/wink.gif
I have a confession to make..one of the more difficult areas for me to draw, was exactly this area..neck and shoulders. I did find that if we can see the clavicle bones..AND the "V"-area at the base of the neck..the relationships in this area are easier to draw. It is a very good drawing and now I feel I'm being nit-picky!!! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/frown.gif



[This message has been edited by MichaelRH (edited November 04, 2000).]

[kayemme]

michael,

even if her chin were down, like if she had all the weight on her hands, and her shoulders held her ribcage lower... you'd still see some underside, in fact, it would be kinda "doubled" unless she were VERY thin, which this model doesn't really look like she's obese, but she doesn't look VERY thin.

[MichaelRH]

Deb - I like how you've captured the softness of the flesh..and how it moves..stretches..expands. I like how you noted the reflected light below her left-breast..the variation in those shadows is important..and you are seeing them.
Your shading is actually very good in this drawing, I can see that you allowed the tone of the paper to do some of the "work" for you! Nice modeling..good eye!!
Regarding the proportions..there does seem to be a little distortion going on here, but only because the lower part of the model seems like it was closer to you..a slight shift in perspective...but very minor, and less apparent due to the limited (abstracted) area you are drawing. Good work Deb!!

[MichaelRH]

kayemme - I understand what you mean. Thanks for explaining. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Deb]

Kaye and Michael I think you are both right. She was sitting up on a 2 foot platform. I was slightly to the right of her. Her arms were up and over the back of the chair so her scapula was retracted therefore narrowing her shoulders. She was also leaning back somewhat. Kaye she was just about the perfect size....not thin or heavy except for her mega-breasts, but her torso was twisted as she had crossed her legs and turned them as far left as she could.
Her head was down. One problem that I think I have is I concentrate so much on the drawing and time factor I forget to step back and check my proportions, especially when drawing so large. And I know I am drawing what I think I see as you mentioned Kaye. I mention to my teacher that I had drawn the head too small. He disagreed and said the figure was foreshortened. But I think it would have worked better if I had either drawn her head a little larger or shown the underside of her neck. Still I was pleased with the sketch and will probably look back on these as an exciting time of learning. Thanks both of you for your help.

[MichaelRH]

(((((Deb)))))- as I've looked back over my pages of 1st..2nd-term life-drawing..your drawing is much better!!!!!!!!! than some of the things I was doing.

It is difficult to use a full-sheet of paper..part of that exercise (I'm sure) was to get you thinking about how this feels..to work LARGE!.

Very nice work!!!

[kayemme]

deb..

it certainly is a great study.. and yeah, i think a slight hint of underchin woulda been the icing! your line is very expressive i'd love to see more http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif


keep it moving, sistah!

km