Look at That Booty

This week for life Drawing we had a rather uneventful week.  On Tuesday, due to the heat, we cut class short to work on our Mannekins.  We built the gluteus muscles.  I'm finding it very interesting building the muscles.
On Thursday class was canceled. 

I think this is relevant to our class.  It really demonstrates the vast

variety in shape and size of the muscle structure.

I think steroids played a key role in this example.

It Might Be Clickin' a Little

 After this week in Life Drawing, I'm certainly seeing an improvement in my skills.  I am still struggling with the shoulders of the figure, but I feel that I'm beginning to understand the proper proportions.
I'm finding it much easier to bear the multiple short drawings and I am getting much better at understanding the building block approach to drawing the human form. 
I've finished the abdominal muscles on my Mannekin.  I'm starting to feel more comfortable with translating the structures in the book to the Mannekin.   

This week in life drawing we worked on drawing from the model.  We paid particular attention to the spinal column as well as the position and feel of the ribcage.  By properly plotting the curves of the spinal column and position of the ribcage, it becomes much easier to fill in the rest of the form.  Our instructor, Amy, urged us to draw the spinal column to look as if it could move, expand and contract.  She also urged us to leave evidence of our movements when we draw.  We practiced drawing the ribcage to resemble an egg and how it tips out slightly from the spinal column at the bottom.  We also focused on the long axis line along the front of the figure, paying special attention to the pit of the neck and the pit of the ribcage.  These points serve as useful landmarks in the early stage of a drawing where building proportions is critical.  We also took an in depth look at the proportions of the different parts of the ribcage and how they attach, not only to each other, but to the spinal column.  We paid special attention to the sternum; it serves as an important landmark along the ventral long axis.  I’m beginning to understand the stepping stone approach to this class a little more now; I can understand that having anatomical knowledge that builds from the skeleton is important to building successful human forms on a two-dimensional plane.  Knowing where bones begin and end as well as their positions relative to other bones in the body provides helpful clues on proportions.  Again, I felt rather frustrated with the shorter drawing times, but can understand that we are doing so many in order to improve our efficiency.  I am still struggling with the concept of cross-contour line drawings, but I feel I’m getting, at least, a little better at it.

Tuesday 9-21 was our first opportunity to draw from a model in class.  We started off by doing a number of very short (20 second or less) drawings of the model.  We do so many from so many different angles in order to better understand the model's form, thus be able to better draw it.  Some of my drawings were moderately successful at that stage, however, I was quite frustrated with the short drawings.  This frustration lets me know that I need to work on seeing the form better in order to more efficiently draw it.

We then proceeded to draw a number drawings, increasing the allowed time.  As the time increased I felt more and more comfortable with how my drawings were turning out.  Having a bit more time allowed me to pay more attention to proportions and more accurately draw the from.  At the end of class we did 2 different 30 minute drawings.  This was the drawing I was most pleased with during this class period.




















On Thursday 9-23 we received our mannekins.  After cleaning off the clay from the past semester's students we went over the terms we would be using to describe the form in an anatomical sense.  We also received our first assignment on the mannekin, to build the spinal erectors, the muscles that allow us to stand upright and be bipedal.

Getting back in the swing of things.

This past week in Life Drawing I we did a few exercises to get back into the swing of drawing.  On Tuesday, 9-14 we did blind contour drawings of the seashells we were given by our instructor.  I found this to be rather frustrating at first, but, after looking at what everyone comes up with, really enjoyed going through the exercise.  When we looked at the drawings as a class, I thought some of the drawings were excellent despite being sloppy.  My drawing vaguely resembled a seashell, and I can see that I need to work on my lines; they all tend to be the same thickness.  My classmates suggested that I slow down while drawing and vary my line weight more. If I start altering my line weights I think it will help my drawings along quite a bit.

On Thursday 9-16 we drew from the skeleton mannequins in class.  We studied the curves of the spinal column and how individual vertebrae align along the spine.  We learned the names of the curves: cervical being the curve of the neck, thoracic being the long curve of the back, lumbar the lower back, and sacral, the curve of our tailbone.  During class we did a handful of short drawings from various angles of the mannequins, all the while making the spine, pelvis and ribcage our primary focus.  I can really see how studying the human form piece by piece will make our overall understanding of the form better.  We also learned how to use specific parts of the human form as points of reference.  I can see from my drawings that it will take some work for me to fully understand the human form and how the different parts of the body flow into the others.
I'm looking forward to drawing from a model and putting what we learned to use.

Introductory Post

My name is Cody Pinnow.  I am a student at UW-Stout in Menomonie Wisconsin.  I am currently majoring in Studio Art with a metals concentration.  I first got into art late in high school and have been ever since.  Some of the work that I am most proud of are my raised vessels of copper.  The cup to the right is a raised copper cup with two (you can only see one) castings of my fingers forming impressions on either side.  The coloration is a heat patina produced using controlled heat of a propane torch.  The cups and pitcher below are also of raised copper, they rest on holders of bent acrylic.  I deeply appreciate the physical strength and endurance necessary to create such pieces.  My favorite course thus far at UW-Stout has been sculpture.  I, very much, enjoyed the opportunity to work very conceptually, something that I do not do very often in my work.  I tend to work more formally in my metalwork.  I am taking Life Drawing I to complete the requirements of my major.  I do not often work two-dimensionally, so, I'm sure this class will provide me with a better understanding of the human form.  After I graduate this spring I plan on attending graduate school and obtaining my Master's degree.