Assignment Four

Before I began this section I was not very confident in drawing people and I have to say how far I have come in overcoming this problem.  Out of all the sections I have done so far this for me has been a turning point and I feel I could tackle most difficult poses with more attack and enthusiasm. 
The first part of my assignment was a line drawing of a model sitting and I chose to use pen.  I started with a few preliminary sketches to choose the pose I liked the best.

The first pose looked Ok but I wanted some more foreshortening on the drawing.

The second was again not what I wanted and I wanted to have more of the model's body to draw.

I chose this one as the  front leg was coming toward me and I felt that this position presented more of a challenge.
The finished drawing I was quite pleased with and I put in some lines indicating light direction.  I found getting the creases in the clothing drawn without tone quite challenging.  I got the proportion right first time and since I started this section it is the one skill that I feel that I have moved forward on the most.  At the begining I was constantly checking proportion and altering and adjusting but now I am still checking the proportion but I am finding that it is mostly correct first time and needs little adjustment.
The Finished Drawing

The second part of my assignment I had decided to use tinted charcoal, which I have used in a life class before and quite liked them.  I had some paper larger that A2 and so chose a pastel paper similar to pastelmat.  It was easy to work on and very robust if anything needed to be adjusted.  I decided when my model sat down and was watching the football that I would be able to draw him.  As I have drawn this person several times I decided rightly or wrongly to use the pose as he was so I did not try any other positions and I was very familiar with his shape and look. Also as he had posed for me several times his patience was running low!
On the whole I am satisfied with the results I hadn't used tinted charcoal on such a big piece of paper before and I liked the texture it produced on the faded jeans.  The creases in the clothing were a challenge but a great exercise in understanding where the lights and darks appear on the creases.

On the whole I have thoroughtly enjoyed this whole section and I am continuing to do more life studies on a regular basis.  I think that out of everything that I have done I now prefer to draw people which is a complete turn around for me.