I
took two drawing classes during my undergraduate years. One with charcoal
(Art 2) and the other with with acrylic (Art 3). Picture on the right is
a is a painting (Dutch Boat) that I tried replicating with compressed charcoal.
I took the charcoal with Mike
Henderson. He really help me see the objects, instead of my usual
interpretations of them. Size: 30" x 24"
These
were made using Adobe Illustrator while testing products I developed for
Virtual Mirror. I made some other
pictures, but I can't seem to find them right now.| These were done by utilizing Vector Studio 2. Note that these are all vector objects (i.e. can zoom in and still get crisp edges), not images (some what of a hybrid, when considered). |  |
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Although, I did not realize at the time, the one crucial help David provided was not about drawing but about the way I think. He constantly reminds us to find our own path and also makes sure we are questioning everything. For example, why is stroke thicker at this region and thinner at this region, why is the figure positioned at this location, and what does it mean to darken this region, why does the figure seem to float instead standing firm on the floor, how do you get it to feel the weight? Hong Zang, our teaching assistant, also has been helpful. Here's UC Davis Art Studio web site.
These
are more or less in chronological order. Some of them have numbers written,
which tell how many minutes the session was. In addition, I sometimes
take extra time doing retouch, without the model. Sessions usually start
off with 1-5 minute poses and lead up to 30 minutes. I will also comment
on some of my drawings. Click on any image to enlarge.
Medium: As shown on the right are 18"x24." with compressed
charcoal and vein charcoal.
My first time doing life drawing. I used a digital camera (1.3 mega pix).
So,
these are some of my first life drawings. These were probably 20-30 minutes.
I
tried drawing the face and got frustrated.
As
you can see, I'm avoiding the face.
David
wants us to define the whole space, not just the figure. So, I tried to
put everything together.
I
tried to place the legs against the wall, but something doesn't feel right.
I tried harder by placing dark regions between the legs and the wall. Still
she looks like she's floating.
I
saw myself not utilizing all the values (dark and light). So, I decided
to use the whole range.
Over
doing it with trying to use dark values. Not really aware of an eraser.
When
I was drawing this, I had a goal in mind. I wanted to use as few strokes
as possible to represent the figure. I wanted every stroke I place to mean
something. Of course, not as easy as it sounds. It took many trials with
vein charcoal (which disappears with a smudge) before I used compressed
charcoal (which does not erase). The right foot feels some tension, but
esp. the left knee, hands are not clear how it should behave.Note that most of my works are perforated. David suggested this to get a better feel of the paper against a hard support. Didn't really understand initially how this would help, but I thought I try it. Today, I do it frequently because I get better control over the sheet.
One
of my better days. A weight can be felt from his right arm down to the floor
of the stick. Some of it has to do with the strong value on the arm and
on the floor between the stick. Also the value (light and dark) has been
used fully.Feet are still a mystery to me and left them not done because I'm afraid of messing it up. Silly, I know, but it's very frustrating to do the face, hands, feet - anything with high frequencies.
I
stopped drawing for a quarter. Gotta spend more time with my graduate work.
The first two quarters were a nightmare because I could not get enough sleep.
I sometimes wondered four in the morning, "Why am I back in school!?"
So, in Spring quarter I decided that I need to do broaden my focus. The
art department has free Sunday life drawing sessions to who ever wants to
go (Sunday 1-4pm at the third floor of the Art building, but not during
summer).My drawing skills have gone down the drain. I had to rebuild a lot of my thought process again. Drawing is really not like riding a bicycle.
I'm using the sketch paper, as shown on the right.
Rusty,
but slowly remembering certain ideas.
The
second time I went to a Sunday class, the model was not there. I don't know
why, but I was quite determined to draw figures. So, some of us took turn
modeling.It is really difficult to stand still for a long time. Every part of your body starts to ache, some of which you were not aware of. How do those models stay still for so long?!.
Left,
another person who was kind enough to model. When I modeled (no, I had my
clothes), I got uncomfortable being at the center. I felt like I'm being
judged - a default response for many, I believe. Also, I thought it would
be neat if I started drawing other people who were drawing me. Making eye
contact with people, esp. those who I do not know well, was ... not easy;
I drew my feet instead. :)Why does it feel uncomfortable? Well, there's physiology for you
I'm
just getting more frustrated, esp. when there are two people handle at once.
Frustration.
Frustration.
Frustration.
Frustration.
Frustration.I thought where else do I do this? I realized that I do this quite frequently in many aspects of my life! My studies (esp. reading research papers), sports, social events, and anything that I do not want to deal with or felt discouraged. I sometimes wonder how I was able to even graduate college like this. I guess I did deal with some of them before, but now that I am capable of verbalizing this experience I have come to a new level of awareness. I wish I had realized this before, but today is never too late. Although for some of you this maybe a trivial, even natural, this is a pretty big transition for me.
Just being aware of the problem doesn't help, but it's a milestone. Going back to my drawing, how am I going to fix this? I told myself two things: be calm and patient. Even when I feel the frustration, I told myself that I was going to be patient and really look into the details. A whole new view of this world (also literally) opened before my eyes.
The
Sunday. I tried my best at being patient and really trying to see what is
out there. This is the result. I still feel the frustration and the need
to hurry, but I really am trying my best to pace myself.This is done with pencil, btw. The range in value is not comparable to compressed charcoal; just not dark enough.
I've
done a little photo magic to show better contrast (FYI, do not used the
flash on the camera if you want to enhance; else, you get this bright radial
effect).Notice the upper thigh has light illuminating from the bottom, reflection of the light from the bottom thigh. This is actually something I had not realized and did not care to see. You will notice that all my pictures prior to this do not have this type of rendering.
The
following week. I felt an encouragement. However, I am still not patient
enough. I am learning something new each time, however.
I
wanted to get a better composure of value and bring the model out from the
background. Also tried to make the body soft compared to the background.The backbone and shoulder blade is still a mystery and I can't seem to define it with value.
I slowly start using an eraser. Yes, something that I have not realized to utilize.
OK,
frustration got the better of me. I constantly need to remind myself to
pace, else I just don't get anywhere.
I
also started to use a smudge stick. In this case to add light shadows
by just rubbing off the charcoal from the smudge stick. I like this picture.
My
attempt at trying to render the back. Slowly getting there.
Two
things. First, I really started to utilize the smudge stick to blend the
charcoal. Gave better rendering results. Second, I wanted to define a different
textures. Notice the chest and pelvic regions have different texture, where
I want to define hair. Also done in the picture on the right.
One
of my better days. Notice the siluet is bright, not dark: the arm, the leg.
I added the dark background to make this point. Also the texture of the
chest hair is my first attempt.I
ran out of paper, so bought this one. I did not realize how different the
paper was. This paper is rough and did not do what I initially wanted.
Trying
to get control over the new paper. 
Trying
to utilize the eraser more by initially starting out with a gray background
(by spreading vein charcoal).
The
model is amazing and did a one hour pose. I really do not know how he did
it, but I'm quite thankful. I also did a one hour retouch, after the model
left. I added the veins on the arms, for example. Majority of the time went
into redoing the fingers and trying to understand why some rendering of
it works and others don't - the firm grip is not something he did (thankfully,
else it would be really painful to do for an hour).I really tried to pull the leg forward and also suggest weight by making it lighter and by showing a strong impression of the calf.
I
was curious if I can make the model feel she has weight against the floor
and the rest without really drawing them.
Trying
to understand vein charcoal to do drawings, instead of just for initial
support. 
Face
is not easy for me. It should be like anything else I draw, but humans are
esp. critical at detecting faces (compared to arms, for example). Not an
easy task. They really do look different from this picture.
Using
a brown paper to bring out the soft white pastel I'm using for the first
time with charcoal. The soft pastel is very brittle and difficult to control.
Using
pen for first time. 
Using
color pastel for first time. A very difficult medium for me because it smudge
quickly. 
Trying
to do the "impossible pose." Basically when the model looks compressed
in the direction of view.
Using
vein charcoal with compressed charcoal.
Trying
to remind myself what I should be focusing by writing them down.
One
of my last and one of my favorite. I like the pose, the dark shadow on the
left leg, the light value of the back implying direction of light, and everything
has weight: the left foot, the leg resting on pillow, the arms feeling the
stretch, the slight twist in the hair implying direction of her eyes and
the tension on the neck, etc... and in 10 minutes!