Portrait of a girl

Objective: Draw a full-size portrait of another person. The portrait must be from the waist or mid-chest up, and they must have their chest area draped with a fabric of some sort (not a shirt or suit). This will allow you to concentrate on their faces, their features, their surroundings, and still have some areas to work into shape, form, mass, and texture if possible.

I have began this portrait as a black and white (graphite pencil and compressed charcoal), but as I progressed and drew the eyes I felt the urge to convert to color. I colored the eyes, the lips and the skin, then the background and finally the clothing. On this drawing I decided to work from left to right as working with charcoal and chalk pastels can be very messy (I wanted to eliminate as much dust as possible). I was really inspired by the beauty, innocence, and charisma of this girl, and drew and idealized portrait of her. Drawing her was really a pleasure.

Self Portrait

Assignment: Draw 3 self portraits. One self-portrait would be a standard self portrait. Let one self portrait be you making a funny, angry, or silly face. And let your last self portrait be something you think is really interesting.

 

 

I started out with 4B graphite pencil and finished with compressed charcoal. My family thinks that I look pretier than the drawing - ha ha ha. This is my first self portrait (the one I have truly put effort into it). Overall I am satisfied with the result. I am looking forward to the next two! 

 

 

I have chosen a different approach for the remaining two portraits. I have used 4B and HB graphite pencils. I have learned that portraits are not so scary matter, and with practice thing get better. I have had a difficult time with drawing humans but getting better now, and I actually enjoyed it. The hardest part was getting the dimensions right. Shading has been mastered with previous assignments, and I did not find it so challenging like glass (or transparent objects). 

Landscapes - Finished

 

 

1. Sketched landscape - Rodopa Mountain, Bulgaria

2. Finished landscape

 

I have used color chalk pastels to set the tones and basic shapes, blending the colors with a cotton ball. I have finished the drawing adding gouache paint to brighten up the colors, bringing the trees to a more natural look. Working in stages/ layers I have set apart the foreground and the background giving the painting more realistic look.

Landscapes

Assignment: Find 4 locations to draw landscapes from (these can be both urban and rural, but not imaginary). For each landscape, please use a whole page from your sketchbook. Take care and plan ahead if you know some great locations, but also don't forget to consider the different essences of the landscapes you are choosing.

 

I began sketching the landscapes, and I just could not stop myself of using color. All of the pictures for these were taken in Bulgaria (my home country). I have used graphite pencil for outlining, chalk pastels, and colored pencils, as well as newly discovered media - gouache paint. I usually use acrylic paint for my colored work, but decided to use something closer to water color. The gouache paint has great coverage without the shine of the acrylic. I have found it to be very versatile, and I like that it can still be diluted with water even after it dries up. The chalk pastels act a lot like compressed charcoal. They are very easy to blend, combine colors, and great for background. Harder to erase.

The work is not finished yet, just wanted to hear your opinions. Thanks!

1. Fall on a mountain road.
2. Christmas trees in Rodopa mountain
3. Black sea coast near my house in Bulgaria
4. Sea view (I went a little crazy with the colors on this one, just wanted to add more vibe to it)



Colored Pencils



Assignment: Find some items with great color and practice your skills. Break 3 pages into half-page illustrations each. Please remember to use the skills we learned in shape, form, mass, and volume to ensure that we are grounding our forms (not letting them float in space), and are paying proper attention to light, shadow, reflected light, and reflected shadows, etc.

 



 

 

 

My first drawing became a mixed media. I did not like how light the colors were so I added chalk pastels, and water colors. For the rest of the assignment I tried really hard to stick to pencils only. I ended up buying some Prismacolor pencils because mine were so hard I almost ripped the paper. Lesson learned: the softer the pencils the better the color vibrancy, and the coverage. They do not break easier just because they are softer.





Complex Shapes

Assignment: Create a composition with complex shapes. This still life should use a minimum of 5 items with complex shapes.

 

 

I went to a church in Raleigh with my drawing materials and sketch pad (my kids have Sunday school there), and while waiting I decided to do some work. I was not sure what to draw, and there it was right in front of me already set up for me ...the complex shape still life. I quickly snapped a picture of it because I knew that I would not be able to complete it in two hours, and started drawing. Here is the final result. I have used the usual materials so far: charcoal (compressed and vine), graphite pencil, eraser + something new - sharpie pen for some fine details, and dry erase marker for the thick black lines on the windows.

1,2,3 point Perspective

Using a single horizon line, create two one-point perspective drawings on the same page using any media you choose.

1. Asheboro, NC Zoo - Bridge in the kids area.
2. Cary, NC - Bond Park during Arts and Crafts Festival

 

Using a single horizon line and a vertical central line, create two two-point perspective drawings on the same page using any media you choose.

 

 

1. Downtown Cary, NC - Page-Walker Center

2. Our dining room

 



 

Using a single horizon line as well as two additional vanishing points, create two three-point perspective drawings on the same page using any media you choose.

 

1. Seattle, WA - Space Needle

2. Shanghai, China - The Oriental Perl Tower