So, my passion project for this year is technically officially done! I did my final presentation this week, meaning I no longer need to work on this project. I can't say that I will continue to do as much as I have in the past few months, but I'm pretty sure that I'll keep doing some drawing occasionally.
I never did finish my second portrait project, it's not very far along so I won't bore you all with pictures of a partially completed portrait :) But, I did accomplish a lot and am happy with what I did learn. I was able to set aside time for something that I enjoyed learning about {and realized that I do quite like to learn!} and also that it's good to not just dive into a project without background information.
I also realized that just because you have information and resources, it doesn't mean that you'll excel at something the first {or second...or third...} time that you do it. As I've said before, greatness requires practice... and practice requires discipline and the willingness to make mistakes. {Believe me, making mistakes was not enjoyable!} But if i never made some of the mistakes I did, like not measuring out proportions when drawing faces, or shading the dark lines really dark right away, I would have never learned the importance of those skills.
Overall, it's been an enjoyable and fairly productive semester. I might be back occasionally with some new projects, and possibly next year with a continuation to this "journal" :)
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
finishing up.
I know that I haven't posted any progress for the second portrait, but I'll do that pretty soon.
The end of the first semester is approaching, and that also means the end of my passion project work for now. We also have to do a presentation on our projects to conclude them... and that involves a bit of reflection. So this post is more about what and how I've learned throughout this project.
I started with a lot of reading and looking at other people's drawings, and tried some of it on my own sometimes. It worked better {i think} than just deciding to try draw portraits on my own. There is a lot more to drawing faces than simply copying lines... you have to consider lighting, angles, and face shape and structure. Plus, everybody has a differently structured face, so it's not like you can just draw the same outline every time.
While I was drawing child portraits, I realized that it was important to make sure that you only start drawing the features about halfway down on the face, and you can't make too many lines or smudges, 'cause that seems to add age. Their jawlines and cheekbones aren't as defined either, so the shading is a bit softer. When I was working on my first project, I realized that it is also pretty important to measure out the features and where they are on the face. When I just tried to guess approximately what the proportions were, the sketch turned out a bit far from the actual image.
I also had to start scheduling specific days to work on my project {like Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays} so that I'd actually get it done. :) Otherwise, other things would take priority. Hopefully, I'll still have time to work on this "hobby" {for lack of a better word} even though the semester is ending.
The end of the first semester is approaching, and that also means the end of my passion project work for now. We also have to do a presentation on our projects to conclude them... and that involves a bit of reflection. So this post is more about what and how I've learned throughout this project.
I started with a lot of reading and looking at other people's drawings, and tried some of it on my own sometimes. It worked better {i think} than just deciding to try draw portraits on my own. There is a lot more to drawing faces than simply copying lines... you have to consider lighting, angles, and face shape and structure. Plus, everybody has a differently structured face, so it's not like you can just draw the same outline every time.
While I was drawing child portraits, I realized that it was important to make sure that you only start drawing the features about halfway down on the face, and you can't make too many lines or smudges, 'cause that seems to add age. Their jawlines and cheekbones aren't as defined either, so the shading is a bit softer. When I was working on my first project, I realized that it is also pretty important to measure out the features and where they are on the face. When I just tried to guess approximately what the proportions were, the sketch turned out a bit far from the actual image.
I also had to start scheduling specific days to work on my project {like Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays} so that I'd actually get it done. :) Otherwise, other things would take priority. Hopefully, I'll still have time to work on this "hobby" {for lack of a better word} even though the semester is ending.
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