ACAN

so i'm sick at home due to stomach flu so i guess i can finally start on my first post!  it was a very tough decision to give up something i've strived for for such a long time to pursue something i've always wanted to do, but was too scared to... but i have to say, it's an awesome feeling walking down AC and going to a class i loved from the beginning.  the teacher is exceptional, and i've learned and improved so much.  i really didn't expect to learn so much from a drawing class, but then again, i've never had the opportunity for such an experience before.

first day was interesting.  i've never had a nude model (or any type of model really) before....so it was an experience in itself.  i learned later that in comparison, our first model was on the quiet and shy side (kinda odd for a nude model...ha).  some models will chat up a storm and some will even give you pointers if they are artists themselves.  kinda fun!

this is what i started out with.  the teacher wanted to see us draw without any instructions at first.  here's a couple...i think i used a graphite pencil in 4B since i didn't know how to use all those fancy supplies that i just bought.  this is after not really drawing anything for over 13 yrs....and never having drawn a human figure before.  i did it the only way i knew how - starting from the top/head and then moving down.  no lay-ins, just one line (more like short stroke) at a time, not looking at the figure as a whole.  it's all a little outta proportions and very rough and flat looking. 

pencil - 3 min  |  9.16.10

pencil - 3 min  |  9.16.10

so on to class.  the first technique we learned was silhouettes.  we had to look at the image/pose as a whole and just block out the shape.

soft vine charcoal - 2 min poses

soft vine charcoal - 2 min pose

soft vine charcoal - 3 min pose

we had 1-3 min poses and just drew like crazy.  some of them were a little disproportional.  the last one was my favorite one of the nite.  i also learned that soft vine charcoal is super messy!