Blog Post #2 Final Shoe Drawing

Blog Post #2- Final Shoe Drawing

       I chose to go out of my comfort zone and use charcoal, a medium I had never used before. I have seen many videos and drawings in charcoal that made me curious and when I heard we could use different materials, charcoal was the first thing that popped into my mind. I love how charcoal blends and the different values of the charcoal can effect the drawing so dramatically. Since I heard so many wonderful things about charcoal, it intrigued me. One of the very first aspects of my final shoe project was watching videos to help me better understand how to use charcoal. In the videos I learned all the different aspects including two new ones for me which are reflected light and how cast shadows work. When looking carefully at any object, I noticed the shadow was darker as it got closer to the object. The videos also helped to teach me how to use certain materials including a blending stub. The blending stub was an important factor in my final shoe project because it helped me blend with control. Fingers are also a great blending tool when the area being blended does not need to be a small area or straight line. I tried out all the shades of charcoal on a piece or paper before starting. This helped me get a feel for the charcoal. Once I did this i could start the process of drawing my final shoe.

     One problem that I struggled with was creating different values throughout my drawing.  When I first started adding details I noticed that my shoe felt monotonous in color. The peer critiquing helped me the most with this problem because I could easily add in darker and lighter charcoal however, when we did the critiquing I was able to hear new perspectives on how I could use the different charcoals to tie in my project.

  I challenged myself by using charcoal. This was a new material for me. Using charcoal was a great experience for me because when I look back at the art I have done, I notice a similarity with the art. The art I did was usually tempera or acrylic paint. By using charcoal I opened up a new pathway for my art. I will now be able to use it on my own and practice to get better.

In my final shoe project, I can identify areas that need improvement and also areas that I am happy with. One thing I would do differently next time would be to spend more time sighting before I started to add details. I would do this because when I hung up my drawing on the wall and took a step back, I realized that the proportions were off. An aspect that I was proud of was the very front of the shoe. I am happy with that part because I captured shadow and light in it. That made the shoe look more realistic like it was curving.

One thing I wish I could change would be the angle. I am happy with the original angle that I chose but as I moved onto the laces, I noticed that I slightly changed the angle. The angle I started with was a side view but as i did the laces it looked more like a top view.

       One major aspect that I learned that will help me in the future is the sighting technique. I have struggled with proportions even at the beginning of art ex. when we worked on looking at a drawing and recreating it. After looking back at my final drawing I saw that I rushed the sighting. This mistake helped me learn to take time on this step. This technique is probably going to be the most useful in my art career.

Blog Post #1 Practice Drawings

Blog Post #1
Shoe Practice
9/15/16

Blog Post #1 Shoe Practice Drawings

The first step I took to draw my practice shoes was sighting/measuring to make sure when I gestured that the proportion would be accurate. Then I lightly gestured in the outline of my shoe. When doing that I made sure that I used the measurements I found by sighting to make the drawing precise. I have done gesturing and pencil drawings before so I wanted to try to capture all the unique angles and details. Before going onto the contouring I double checked all my gestures and all the lines I made. I then took the time to carefully look at all the small details and started to contour. I tried to mostly look at the shoe so I could make it the most precise as possible for me. I also compared the size and shapes of the different parts of the shoe to make sure I was making the contouring lines in the correct area. After doing the first drawing (the side view) I wanted to take on an angles that I would really need to focus with (the front view). At first I struggled to get the overall shape of the shoe from the front view. The next day I took the shoe back out and having a fresh mind helped me narrow in on the right shape for the outside of the shoe. I took the same steps as the first drawing after completing the outline of the shoe.
The technique, sighting, is an important aspect when doing art. Before art exploration I had never used that technique before. I even messed up on my proportions in art class before we learned it. Sighting helps make sure you get the correct proportions for your drawing. It also helps to make sure that when you gesture you know how much room on the page you can use without cutting the drawing off or not being able to use the right measurements.

       The most challenging angle for me was the front angle. When thinking about a shoe the first thought that comes to me about the shape is that it is horizontally long and has curves just like feet. I looked at the shoe from the from angle and it wasn't like that. Since I have an simple idea of a shoe in my mind, when I saw it differently it was hard for me. I looked over the drawing many times and was constantly erasing and reconfiguring.

       The overall she was the main problem and like I talked about before, I solved the problem by coming to class the next day with a new positive mind set about the drawing. This made me optimistic and when I sat down to draw I had more confidence. I still had to gesture many times before getting it right however, I managed to overcome the problem. Another challenging aspect of the shoe for me was with the side view. As I drew the correct shape my eyes tricked me into slanting the whole shoe instead of just trying to get the illusion of an angle. I realize know when I do my final project I need too watch out for that.
       As we work on our projects one aspect that is standing out o me as improving is my proportions.  I know that countless time I have stared something and had to erase the whole thing because my proportions were off. I am grateful that we learned sighting because it has really helped me improve as an artist. 

       When first staring the final project I worried that because it was my first time using charcoal that I would not know how to use the materials properly. This made me think that I was going to mess up my project but as I practiced I realized it was just going to take time to get better at it. Like all other thing practice helps you improve. As I continue to us charcoal I find new and interesting ways to use the materials.