Three Figure Drawings

For my three figure drawings I really wanted to play around and experiment with a lot of different mediums and look at how I can use them and combine them for a great portrait.
For my first study, I tried out a new medium, POSCA Paint Markers, which are bold, intense paint markers. I looked at using numerous colours to create an interesting affect.

Pose One- Standing

For this piece I wanted to explore how I could effectively use line to create an interesting portrait. I love the paint pens and how they can be applied with one another. I kept the background simple, like a colouring book in order to place the attention onto my model. I think it is an interesting attempt but could be developed further, perhaps by layering different mediums on top to make the drawing feel ‘fuller’. Perhaps thin layers of watered down ink for shadows and more tonal value within the piece. In terms of the structural drawing, I feel the proportions are accurate, feedback from my tutor made me note that the proportions could looks off due to my model being on the shorter side, but I feel I have done well to accurately depict his body here and I feel all the measurements add up well. The drawing style I chose feels rather basic and minimalistic, its not my favourite and if I were to return to this for a focus on line, I would like to layer a variety of mediums on top to make it feel fuller and more intricate.

Pose Two- Seated

For this drawing I wanted more of an emphasis on tone rather than line in order to reach out and explore other drawing approaches. I left the background plain as I loved the contrast of the dark tonal portrait against the stark white background. It took a lot of layers to get some of the areas so dark, and again I feel the proportions are accurate. I think the face could have been better and more detailed and the hair should have been darker. But I am happy with this approach. For the next piece I wanted to look again at combining mediums for a fuller, richer drawing. I liked the effect of ink and watercolour and so for my next piece wanted to look at a watercolour base and layering other mediums on top.

Pose Three- Lounging

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I began with a pencil sketch of the position my model and I settled for, before moving on to adding a layer of watercolour. I emphasised the saturation of the colour in places to make for a vibrant and eye catching study. I played around with the POSCA Paint Markers and how they could fit in, I used them to outliner parts of the background such as pillows and the bed frame. I thought about what medium to layer on top for the final touch of detail, I thought of using coloured pencils like my last attempt but decided to try layering oil pastels instead.

I absolutely love how this came out, I love how the colours blended together and how it looks like a painting. I love how the oil pastel colours grounded the over saturated colours of the watercolour layer and made everything feel a lot more weighted and heavy within the drawing. The new colours add life and reality into the piece. I liked the composition of how he is resting but making eye contact with me, it adds an intensity and makes the piece feel more personal. I feel my use of oil pastel on the pillows and white sheet added some weight to the background as well, the image flows and the background doesn’t feel separate to the model which I am very happy about. I actually love how this piece came out and is probably my favourite that I have produced so far on the course. I want to look into combining the mediums of watercolour and oil pastels more in the future as I think it produced a wonderful piece, especially for the depiction of my models skin tone.

Working through these drawings and thinking on my previous exercise and artist research of what lies underneath the skin of a body definitely helped to portray the body accurately and have the bodies presence feel real and weighted within the drawings. It helped me to create strong poses that have weight to them and helped in connecting all of the limbs together to form a real, accurate body within my drawings. Not only was I able to think about the body in more depth and accuracy but I was able to branch out and explore different mediums, and I will certainly be utilising the idea of combining watercolor and oil pastels again, I think the results from that combination have been beautiful so far. I want to look more into what mediums to combine to create a drawing utilising line in a strong and effective way as one of the assignment pieces will have a focus on my use of line. I am happy with how Part 4 has advanced my knowledge and skills.