9. Week | Second Homework

This time in the Life Drawing Class, we spoke in small groups about our second seashell drawing homework:

Homework: second shell drawing (detail) | Katharina Jourdan

Besides the fact that my drawing is too small to cover the whole page, my group enjoyed my work a lot. They mentioned how the line variation supports my drawing. The dark lines of the drawing are creating main focus points. In other parts, lines are used sparingly. The lips of the shell get the most attention. My group helped me realize that I tried to ignore the broken tips of my shell and I should describe them with cross contour lines just like they are. My group appreciated that I used dark lines to describe which parts are closer to the viewer and which are on the bottom creating the illusion of width and depth. I used line variations in my first homework as well, but this time, I used them more consistently.

I was also impressed by improvements that other students have made so far.

Homework: second shell drawing | Katharina Jourdan

Amy wrote her critique on two cute post-its:

"- beautiful line work
 - wonderful cross contour work, especially around opening of shell and just behind that area, where lines are moving around the shell
 - continue to work in getting shell to fit in page
 - a thicker tool may help
 - back 1/3 to 1/4 of shell is confusing reach - I think it just needs more time spent looking and clarifying the form"

I agree with all of the points and looking forward to improving my drawing skills.

8. Week

On Tuesday, in the Life Drawing class, we made some progress on our Manikin work. On Wednesday, I went with my Painting I class to a field trip to Minneapolis. There, we visited the MCAD, MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Art) and the Walker Art Center. Inspired by drawings from an illustrator, Erika Olson Gross, I tried a different style when laying down my lines on the paper; we drew a pose for two hours on Thursday.

2 hour study | Katharina Jourdan

Open Drawing Class

Open Drawing class was a lot of fun this week! The model did an amazing job.
So, have a look at my work:

male model | Katharina Jourdan

male model | Katharina Jourdan

male model | Katharina Jourdan

7. Week | Reflection on the first ½ of the semester

reclining nude | Katharina Jourdan

It is mid-term. Hence, I reflected my improvements in the first two months of the semester. I am glad that I am taking the Life Drawing class this semester! I can definitely see some improvements. I prefer to use colors, mixed medias and collages to develop my illustrations. However, the Life Drawing class makes me experience the qualities of drawings. It will support my illustration work.

Besides the fact that I am aware of my developments, there are several things I will focus on to push them forward:

• I would like to allow myself more correction work during a longer study. I realize that I am often repeating the lines, which are already laid out on the paper, instead of looking for different angles or proportions to make the drawing more accurately reflect the nude I am drawing.

• I would like to focus more on the contour lines instead of the outlines of the figure. I will work more on my line variation. My drawings already include a span from thin to light lines, but this can be enhanced even more. There should also be a line variation with each single line.

• In longer studies, I have the tendency to draw the whole figure with the same level of detail. It would make a drawing more interesting to look at if there were areas with more detail and areas with less detail. This is important in order to create focus points to look at. There should be darker and lighter parts, which would also improve the impression of space in the drawing.

• There is no need to always draw the whole figure, thus I should think more about composition and what I want to have on my paper before I start drawing.

View my Mid Term Portfolio here.

image from my Mid Term Portfolio | Katharina Jourdan

In the beginning, my expectations for myself were not high. I know that I have other strengths. But during the last two months, I greatly developed my drawing skills. So, I am excited to develop my skills even more in the next two months.

Open Drawing Class

warm up drawings | Katharina Jourdan

study of seating woman | Katharina Jourdan

6. Week | First Homework

This week, we were discussing our shell drawing in small groups. To create a dynamic composition, I tried to draw my shell from an angle, which shows a log axis line. During the discussion in the small group, I realized that it could be even more dramatic. Amy critiqued this too. One goal of the homework was to draw contour lines instead of outlines. In the end, I erased some of my outlines, which first helped me to figure out the shape and then were not necessary anymore. In my drawing, there is already a line differentiation, but in the lighter part, it could be even more exaggerated. Everyone in my group agreed that a lot of plane changes are evident. In addition, my discussion group mentioned that there are some magic parts in my drawing and it has a definitive sense of life. Thank you for saying this! Next time, my wish is to have some more constructive critique that helps me to improve my work.

Homework: first shell drawing | Katharina Jourdan

Amy’s advice was to increase the contrast in the part of the shell, which is next to the viewer, and let the drawing have less detail and contrast as more of the shell moves away in space.

5. Week

There was no class this week, so I had time to focus on my homework with my shell: