Life Drawing- 29th November 2016

During today's lesson, I look part in a life drawing activity. Unfortunately we could not get hold of a real life model, therefore we had to make do with mannequins. This was still an effective method, and it helped with hand- eye coordination, how to draw in proportion, and how to make use of highlights and lowlights, and how these can make a sketch go from 2D to 3D. I enjoyed this activity and found it really useful, as I was learning new skills and how to make the best use of the media you have, and I will then apply these skills to my sketch book work, and more illustrations. As I am still figuring out the types of shapes and silhouettes I want, this was an effective exercise for me, as it allowed me to see what shapes fir best with my theme. I would like to stick with more organic shoes, instead of geometric shapes, and this activity has helped me some to more of an informed decision. I will adapt the skills I learned to create more illustrations that relate to my elemental theme. I could do this by emulating the illustrations I created today, instead add colours relating to my theme such as blue and other neutral tones. 

We begin the activity by simply drawing the mannequin exactly as we saw it. From the angle I was at I had the back side of the mannequin, so this may have required me to use different techniques to get the proportionate shapes, than people drawing the front of the mannequin. This was only quite a quick sketch, mainly the outline of what I could see, and then we started adding in different textures and shades. Next, we looked at the lowlights that were coming through on the mannequin, for this I had used a red marker pen, I drew in every low light I could possibly see. next, we drew in the lowlight, I did this using a yellow marker, to easily contrast with the red. And once again I marked in wherever I could see the lighter shades coming through onto the surface of the mannequin. For the next stage, we had to use a coloured pencil to fill in the white spaces which were the mid-lights. We could do this using any techniques, maybe crosshatching, swirling or simply colouring in. Finally, to with the main shape of the mannequins for definition, we lightly sketched around using black fine liner. This technique has helped me to understand the importance of using lowlight and highlights when drawing (especially life drawing) as it can make an image go from looking 2D to 3D with a few simple strokes. 

The next technique involved us drawing the same mannequin from the same angle, but this time we used our non-dominant hand (which is my left hand). This exercise was to improve hand-eye coordination, and also to see what the outcome would be if we drew with the opposite hand. This is my example of this technique, I think the way I have drawn this makes the mannequin look more abstract, for example the way the left leg has been drawn, it doesn't look like a drawing of a real life leg, however it is easy to see that this is the mannequin's leg. I think I work best using fine liner when drawing, as I am able to get more precise lines than if I was to use a pencil. Using just a fine liner also makes the shapes stand out more. Most of the illustrations I create for this project will be fine liner based, as my favourite illustration technique is continuous line, and this always works best when using fine liner.

This technique was slightly different from the previous two. First of all, we changed positions so this time I was looking at the front of the mannequin, giving me a different perspective. Media we used included black ink, marker pen masking tape. To begin with, I had to use strips of masking tape to create an outline of the shape of the mannequin. This was to give the basis of the mannequins shape. Next step was to use the black ink, I had to use the end of a paint brush to dip into the ink and draw around the outlines of the masking tape, and to add in more ink where it was dark, and less ink where the highlights were shown. Once this had dried, using the yellow pen marker, I had to draw in where I could see the highlights standing out the most, this was to give the illustration more definition. Then, using the pipet and the black ink, I squeezed ink from the top of the page, and this automatically ran down the page, and past the drawing of the mannequin. This gave an interesting twist to the simple ink illustration.

Once I had waited for all the ink to dry, I was able to remove all the masking tape, which left an interesting outline to the mannequin. The ink marks appear much finer than before, which I prefer as I thought they were going to look too harsh. You can see the highlights of the pen marker more clearer too in this finished piece. To apply the skills of this technique, I will be doing more of these illustrations for my project. It is a simple illustration to try at home, as I only need access to black ink, paper, a marker pen, and I could use any objet to draw from, this way I will be able to practice my drawing skills, my hand-eye coordination skills, and how to find the highlights and lowlights of all different kinds of objects.

At a later date, I further developed the 2nd drawing on this page. I transferred it onto acetate by screen printing, I also did this on a piece of calico. This is the process I took to get this effect; 

1. Transfer image to acetate 
2. Coat print screen with emulsion (FOTECOAT 1970)
3. Dry screen. Store light sensitive coated screen in dark area
4. Place acetate gloss side down on exposure unit glass
5. Place screen print side down on acetate and press run
6. Wash screen and allow to dry for approximately 1 hour
7. Place screen on print bed ensuring screen is held firmly in place
8. Choose ink colour and mix with screen gel
9. Place paper/fabric on screen bed and press vacuum switch
10. Spread ink above image area on screen
11. With print screen raised, spread ink across image with squeegee
12. Lower print screen over paper/fabric and spread ink twice
13. Raise print screen
14. Remove paper/ fabric with printed image and place on drying rack
15. Wash screen and squeegee

I have used this technique to see what the image will look printed onto fabric (calico), acetate and paper. Each outcome was slightly different, I preferred the print on acetate as it's very clear, however I also think that the print turned out well on the fabric too, and it adds texture compared to the acetate. Below is how I have laid them out in my sketchbook.