Have you managed to make a complete statement in this time? What were your main problems?
I was surprised myself, but in this figure drawing project it was for about the first time that I felt ok with instructions and the task at hand. I felt I was able to draw what was required to depict the figure. I used graphite for the first four sketches, which was pleasant to use but did not produce very dark marks. I also tried black and grey felt pen, ball pen and charcoal.
The main problems were with the face – I wasn’t able to make those tiny marks that help to read the facial expression. Mine look a bit wrong, and I preferred to draw no face at all.
Another central problem was that of drawing myself and not another person, because it limits the positions and poses available. It also made sitting quite uncomfortable at times, because I did not dare to move for fear to loose the exact view on my position.
But the restriction to 5 or 10 minutes did not pose a particular problem. This surprised me as well, because on other occasions I regularly felt disturbed by the instruction to have only so-and-so minutes to make a quick sketch.
How well have you captured the characteristics of the pose?
I think this worked out quite well in all the drawings I made for this project. I also think that the center of gravity is well captured in the sketches. Again, I was surprised how well this worked, compared with my difficulties in other parts of the course.
Do the proportions look right? If not, how will you try to improve this.
Yes, I think proportions look ok in the drawings. In some I appear more overweight than in others, but I think improvement on this aspect is a matter of practice. Most of the drawings look quite accurate in their overall impression of my figure.
Concluding remarks
I was curious and read through the remainder of the course book, including the options for the final assignment in part five. I felt so comfortable with this first figure drawing project that I thought this might be an option for the final assignment. I haven’t definitely decided, but I think I would like to make a self portrait for the final assignment. I’ll see how I get along and if enthusiasm remains, I think I will go for it. I found the instructions a bit thin particularly for the figure drawing option, but this may in the end be even more convenient for me because I can decide flexibly which aspect needs more preparatory studies.