drawing4production

[drawing4production]

Skeleton study

This piece is a rather stand out illustration of the whole portfolio, produced as a study of the human skeleton system. While this piece was intended as a simple study of the skeleton, the inclusion of a well observed background and surrounding area develops elevates this piece into much more. The most striking aspect overall is most definitely the composition, the illustration fills out the format of the page exceedingly well, giving the eye a multitude of details to be entertained by. Speaking within the illustration itself, the juxtaposition of the organic curvature of the skeleton by the strong horizontal lines of the windowsills behind creates a very aesthetically pleasing contrast and divide between the focal point of the illustration and background, almost aiding in communicating the space of the composition alongside the intricate shading. Utilising a mix of both pro marker and hatching through biro, the tone is communicated very well throughout. Most effectively upon the skeleton, the technique of combining these materials is abundantly clear, using the promarker to lay down the flat areas of shadow first allowing the strokes of biro to convey the direction of the curvature within the bones. As seen upon the pelvis, the direction of the hatching within the area submerged in shadow arches in the direction in which the physical shape of the pelvis would. Furthermore, the delicate and comparatively minimalistic use of outline within the background effectively communicates areas of harsh shadow, yet differentiates itself from the foreground through its greater reliance on promarker to convey tone.

The downfall of this piece lies most prominently within certain areas of shadow within the skeleton, in areas in which the bones meet one another, like the thigh bone meeting the lower leg, the overuse of biro makes the area of shadow appear much too dark, especially when compared with the subtle shading of the background. This weakness is present throughout the entire skeleton as there is too much of an overreliance on solid black tones to communicate these shadows, ultimately making the skeleton appear oddly dark in comparison to the rest of the piece. Pulling away from this use of biro and using minimalistic hatching in combination with the promarker would convey the form much more effectively.

[drawing4production]

Knee study

The main focus for this piece was to study an area of weakness within illustrating the human figure, the muscle landscape around lower leg and specifically behind the knee poses quite a great challenge when attempting to communicate its form. However, within this piece intricately studying the lower leg, one of the most confident aspects is its communication of form through colour. The strongest example of the three is the right most study, the kneecap alone boasts beautifully subtle shading with the blue and purple hues, progressing from the rich purple across to the light blue and white of the page to suggest the curvature of its form through the bright highlight's. Furthermore, pairing this with fluid line, building up a great deal of weight at the lowest part of the kneecap allows for the darkest shadows to sing regardless of how subtle the colour work may be, maintaining the impact these shadows would have in reality. Pulling away from its depiction of human form, another strength of this piece lies in its overall composition, while not intended to be viewed as such, the way these individual studies collate together creates incredibly effective areas of negative space. Although within the lower half this aspect is much operating much weaker, its presence within the upper half alone is worth mentioning due simply to how beautifully the organic curvature of the leg studies interacts with one another, simultaneously manipulating scale to create a very interesting composition.  

The weakest part of these studies is most present within the left most examples, there is a very clear over reliance on outline to communicate form which ultimately flattens them a great deal. The constant line weight only causes the studies to feel almost 2 dimensional, while on the right its clear to see how this line could have been used in a vastly more effective manner, maintaining the confidence to allow it to dissipate out in areas of highlight communicates the organic curvature present across the muscle landscape as a whole.

[drawing4production]

Self portrait 2

Similar to the other piece of self-portrait work within the portfolio, the main focus for this piece was to capture an emotion that was randomly assigned by the tutor, and in my case, I believe the emotion speaks for itself, immediately suggesting quite a sophisticated depiction of the human face and how these muscles deform. While the face is rather elongated within certain areas such as the bridge of the nose, the form is still captured very well through colour, utilizing reflective colour also to make for a visually engaging self portrait work. The colour alone grips the viewer within the first glance, utilising painterly techniques very reminiscent of Picasso's portrait works, the colour of the face, while clearly not true to reality, still maintains an accurate depiction of form, using a darker purple colour with hints of the yellows and pinks used throughout also within the creases and wrinkles created by the smile across the facial muscle landscape. This meticulous application of colour gives the portrait work a unique sense of motion as the eye is invited to study these winding paths of colour across the face, in addition to this however, this technique is not simply decorative. The motion of these forms is also used as a tool to further suggest the form across the face, for example across the cheeks you can see these lines of colour seem to circle and push out from the eye socket, suggesting the curvature of the cheek surrounding the eye as it pushes around to the side of the face.

The biggest downfall of this piece aside from the inaccuracies within the face, elongating certain areas such as the nose and jaw, would most definitely be the over reliance on outline especially upon the darker side of the face. While form was communicated incredibly well through colour alone, the addition of a rather heavy line only seems to distract from this. Instead of allowing the tone created by the colour to convey the sides of the face, adding this heavy outline only flattens it, making the face feel almost 2 dimensional in the areas where this outline is present. Furthermore I feel like the composition is also rather lacking within the lower half of the piece as the hoodie pushes toward the edge of the page. While the background behind the figure is filled out very well, the white of the paper within the bottom corners distract from the overall composition a great deal, feeling almost unfinished within the first viewing. Allowing this sweeping block of colour to gradually fade out into progressively smaller mark would have not only filled the format of the page much more effectively, yet also avoided the distractingly solid line created.

[drawing4production]

Self portrait

This self-portrait was illustrated under the intention of capturing an emotion through facial expression and displays rather effective utilization of hatching to communicate form through tone. Most effectively around the nose, the layering of both hatching and crosshatching conveys the darkest shadows and brightest areas of light very well, unafraid to use a vast range of tone from pure black within the nostril and pure white across the left cheek in which the light hits. While this hatching becomes much less effective in areas where its application lacks control, like within the lower half of the piece across the shirt, on the right half of the face submerged in shadow its clear to see how effective this technique can be when used well. The subtle depth of the eye socket and curvature of the lips can be conveyed very well when progressing from crosshatching within the darkest shadows to hatching within the mid tones. In addition to this, another aspect worth mentioning is how effectively this piece meets its initial purpose, capturing such strong emotion through facial expression alone, the pouting mouth and stern look of the eyes in combination with each other makes the figure feel believable, as if there were a soul behind the eyes which is a very difficult aspect to achieve.

The biggest downfall of this piece is rather honestly quite a large glaring weakness, as mentioned before, the lack of control when applying the biro within the lower half of the piece completely flattens the form, the t shirt appearing exceedingly difficult to read especially in contrast to the sophisticated handling upon the face. In an attempt to create a much darker tone than the face, the layering of line simply creates a very uneven tone, making it impossible to read the fabric of the shirt and also sacrifices form quite a great deal. Furthermore, the hatching technique, while effective upon the face, creates a very distracting texture for the eye only further contributing toward how difficult the material of the t shirt is to read. To resolve this piece the starting point would most definitely be to simply start entirely anew with the lower half, opting for a much more controlled layering of biro similar to its use within the face.

[drawing4production]

Life drawing

This piece was produced during one of the later life drawings of the semester and it's clear that colour continues to develop into a very effective language to communicate form. The utilization of the peach hue in contrast with the bright yellow communicate the overall form of the figure exceedingly well. Most effectively around the thighs and back of the knee’s, the harsh areas of darkness fading across to the yellow pro marker and eventually to the very white of the paper conveys the sense of a bright highlight in which the light hits most, capturing the organic curvature of the human form. Furthermore, the lack of a constant outline in combination with this allows the colour to operate entirely on its own to communicate form. However, allowing this line to fade in within the darkest shadows of the body like the very upper thigh ties the whole piece together, ensuring areas of harsh shadow don’t lose their form simply being a flat area of colour, defining the muscle landscape in key areas where the promarker alone would flatten the form.

The only aspect of this piece that doesn't work is most definitely the fault of a lack of confidence in knowledge of the human musculature. The majority of the illustration holds true to reality for the most part but when it comes to the feet, especially around the heel, the lack of confidence in laying down the peach promarker to accent the bright yellow causes them to almost fade into the white of the paper. Adding the peach tone especially on the underside of the foot, and perhaps even a hint of the red outline would not only capture the human from much more effectively, but in addition ground the figure as the piece fails to communicate exactly where the weight is resting.

[drawing4production]

Gericault skull transcription

This piece was a transcription made in response to Theodore Gericault’s works and their use of tone studying the skull and like his works, tone is most definitely the strongest feature of the piece overall. The skull itself features a vast range of tone, progressing from pure black to pure white in a very effective way. Specifically, the technique of layering pro marker over itself creates a seam between the two areas in a darker colour which illustrates the uneven texture and cracks within the skull in a very visually appealing manner. In a broader sense the tonal quality captures the form very effectively, the eye sockets boast believable crevasses within the skull through dark pro maker tones and the curvature of the skull itself is communicated very well.

In addition to this, the presence of a harsh shadow beneath the skull itself grounds the object within three-dimensional space and makes the area around it feel vastly more believable which works very well compositionally.  One of the weakest aspects of this piece is present within the outer most sections of the skull which overlap the background as they have a very distractingly consistent grey outline. While this outline works fairly well within areas like the teeth for example, for large areas with many tones this consistent outline only flattens the form. Allowing this line to dissipate within areas of light would communicate the form of the skull much more believably. 

(Theodore Gericault’s skull study)

[drawing4production]

Life Drawing

This piece was one of the pieces produced during one of the early life drawing sessions and boasts a very appealing depiction of tone through the combination of hatching and crosshatching. One of the most engaging factors of this piece is most definitely how it captures form through tone, especially surrounding the buttocks the hatching captures the curvature of the muscle as it progresses into the thigh. This hatching also works very effectively in illustrating the muscle landscape extending upward toward the abdomen, alongside the heavy line weight around the waist the shape of the pelvis is very readable. Another aspect that works quite a great deal for me is the interesting texture created by the hatching itself. Like Da Vinci’s anatomy works, the heavy use of hatching, overlapping of precise delicate line creates vastly more interesting areas of shadow than flat colour would do for example, creating intricacies to entertain the eye.

While this line weight works rather well in areas of shadow, within areas of harsh light, this line weight fails to thin out enough to communicate this, instead the constant presence of an outline flattens certain areas such as the left most outer thigh. Keeping this line fluid and allowing it to dissipate would communicate this light more effectively. If this piece were to be resolved,  the line weight would most definitely be one of areas for attention. Also perhaps introducing areas of flat colour alongside this hatching would create a more readable progression between the mid tones and areas of harsh light that lack hatching.

[drawing4production]

Life drawing

This piece was illustrated within one of the later life drawing sessions of the semester and I think its most definitely a rather effective study of the human form. I find the most striking aspect for the eye to be the harmonious utilisation of form in combination with colour. The pale green Pro maker complimented by the fluid line weight of the blue Biro captures the organic curvature of the back leading inward toward the spine most prominently and remains rather consistent throughout the entire piece. Furthermore, within areas where the line is much less prominent, the Pro marker alone still communicates a readable depiction of tone, especially within the muscular landscape of the back leading around across the rib cage, the negative space operating rather well as areas of light with pro maker communicating shadow and the hatching with blue Biro extreme areas of darkness to pull away from tone operating entirely on mid tones alone. 

The clearest area of weakness for me is most definitely the feet grounding the model as they clearly lack the likeness achieved by the rest of the piece, much too small compared to the rest of the body overall. While there's most definitely a believable sense of balance to the figure overall, as the feet ground the whole form, their lack of believable form distract quite heavily from the piece, becoming rather difficult to read. If the piece were to be resolved the most obvious area for change would most definitely be the feet, believably grounding the figure would keep the form consistent throughout and readable. Another area that would potentially improve the final look would also be the introduction of a third colour to bridge the gap between the areas of light and the pale green. Introducing a pale pink for example, similar to how artists within the renaissance period would illustrate light and dark, would create a much steadier, believable progression of tone and also allow the addition of finite details across the muscle landscape.  

[drawing4production]

Colourist Research

Samuel Peploe

Samuel Peploe was a Scottish Post-Impressionist painter, noted for his still life works and for being one of the group of four painters that became known as the Scottish Colourists. His works in my opinion use colour in quite a striking, offensive way almost, utilising local colour instead of a  reflective approach. For instance, the focal point of the image is made without a doubt due to colour, the striking orange of the fruit just jumps from the canvas, grabs the eye before anything else has chance.

Francis Cadell

Francis Cadell was a Scottish Colourist painter, renowned for his depictions of the elegant New Town interiors of his native Edinburgh. In heavy contrast to Peploe his works rely much more on reflective colour as shown immediately below, with the rocks reflecting a lot of the darker blues of the water. However, Cadell was not afraid to break these rules either, below the lake painting there is a total break form format. The foreground and background are almost entirely different scenes, the striking orange creates an incredible surreal spin on a fairly grounded and realistic scene.

John Duncan Fergusson

John Duncan Fergusson was a Scottish artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the major artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting. Similar to Cadell’s first example, Fergusson’s works make beautiful use of reflective colour. The dominant pinks and red’s of the painting play into almost every other aspect, creating an almost rosy filter for the whole painting 

Leslie Hunter

Leslie Hunter was a Scottish painter, also regarded as one of the four artists of the Scottish Colourists group of painters.

[drawing4production]

2 point perspective reflection

The overall focus for this piece was to illustrate an A3 cityscape employing the use of 2 point perspective and looking back over the piece I find it difficult to come to an overall consensus, there are many aspects I think work yet also some that stand out far too much and appear rather distracting in the grand scheme of things. One thing I think works very well is the range of line weight I used from the left portion of the cityscape toward the right side where I illustrated the sun. Within the darkest sections I opted for very heavy, thick lines and thinned this out as it moved toward the left. I feel like this really allows the buildings to stand out against the background, creating an illusion of tone, something that I also tried to communicate with colour also. Using blue ink within the darkest portions and moving from purple then to pink for the lightest . This however I dont think communicates tone as well as I had hoped but personally at least transforms this cityscape into something vastly more exciting than just a monotone landscape.

As the buildings fade into the distance I tried to replicate something I found effective within canaletto's work, using less and less detail as the buildings travelled into the distance away from the perspective view. Although this technique was communicated much differently in his works I tried to duplicate this by simplifying the amount of line I used on the furthest buildings, often simply cross hatching over it completely to draw the focus toward the forefront buildings.

One thing I found really difficult was filling the foreground and ultimately is what I think works the least overall. I attempted to counteract the piece potentially seeming incomplete by fading out the colours and almost framing it within the A3 page instead of considering the edges a frame in itself, yet even still the lack of detail in the wide open spaces of colour within the bottom of the frame feels unresolved. If I were to repeat the piece again, my main focus would most definitely be resolving the overall format, filling the negative space within the bottom of the frame and making the piece overall feel whole and complete. 

[drawing4production]

Two point perspective

Throughout my research process I feel at first it was difficult to find a singular source that explained the theory and guided you toward employing the technique within your own work. At first I found lots of images employing this technique and information about how it developed yet i felt relatively lost when it came to creating my A3 cityscape composition. 

The point at which everything opened up to me was when I began to diversify the places I explored for that information, instead of simply doing a google search and scrolling through those sites, I found it immensely useful to actually utilise a few video tutorials. This way I felt like i could understand what I was doing and why more importantly. Overall the research process may not have been extensively long but it taught me to diversify how i searched for the info i needed. 

[drawing4production]

Linear perspective artists

Perhaps the very founder of the technique itself, Brunelleschi was also considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect and designer. Brunelleschi applied a single vanishing point to a canvas, and discovered a method for calculating depth. In a famous noted experiment, Brunelleschi used mirrors to sketch the Florence baptistery in perfect perspective.He was able to mathematically calculate the scale of objects within a painting in order to make them appear realistic.

The first known picture to make use of linear perspective was created by  Brunelleschi of course the artist Masaccio was the first painter who demonstrated the result of the new rules of perspective in art.

Masaccio was an immensely influential artist within the Renaissance period radically transforming Florentine painting and eventually helped create many of the major conceptual and stylistic foundations of Western painting. He did this in his fresco the Holy Trinity, in Santa Maria Novella, in Florence.

[drawing4production]

Canaletto

Canaletto was born in Venice as the son of a theatrical scene painter. He was very influential, famed for his precisely depicted and evocative views of the city

Canaletto’s use of linear perspective within his paintings at first glance honestly wasn't immediately obvious but using the technique myself, studying his work more its clear there’s always a vanishing point in which his cityscapes converge toward, mostly being toward the very centre of the painting, drawing the eye in with a confusingly realistic illusion of depth.

The detail he utilises within his work is immense, complex shadows and intricate decor fading away as they travel toward the vanishing point creating that illusion of distance and depth like the eye is unable to focus on the buildings filling the background. 

[drawing4production]

Crating

Crating is a method of drawing a 3D object in isometric inside a crate or Wireframe, most useful in drawing things accurately and in considering all views of an object regardless of their visibility to the viewer

[drawing4production]

Current influential contemporary artists

A key figure of the international art scene, the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, represented by the Galerie Perrotin, colours the world with his flowery art inspired by the vibrant manga scene. Often referred to as as Andy Warhol‘s successor, he is associated with the Japanese neo-pop movement

The famous Japanese artist needs no introduction. Yayoi Kusama has invaded the art market and cultural institutions with her signature dots. Her art is all the more fascinating as it is the product of a mental illness the artist has had since her childhood, in which she experiences hallucinatory visions. For Kusama, art is a form of important catharsis.

[drawing4production]

Neo Impressionism

Neo-impressionism is characterised by the use of the divisionist technique which attempted to create an impressionist approach to painting of light and colour on a scientific basis by using an optical mixture of colours. Instead of mixing colours on the palette, which reduces intensity, the primary-colour components of each colour were placed separately on the canvas in tiny dabs so they would mix in the viewers eye.

[drawing4production]

Vesalius

Vesealius’ ecorche works depict the human figure stripped down to the muscular structure with painstaking accuracy, his works among the most famous of ecorche alongside Da Vinci.

He breaks down the human form into each and every overlapping and underlying muscle across the entire body making his works incredibly useful in depicting the human form firsthand.