I was really excited for this week's task after such a long time using just pencils and charcoal. I had been in love with watercolour for a few years before starting to work more with pencil, so I was really happy since ink washes are similar, just that the tones are gray.
Even so, when I was painting with watercolours, I would always sketch beforehand. Since I wasn't allowed to do it this time, it was quiet nerve wrecking to put brush to paper at first. I started with using light tones and then switched to even lighter just to be safe, until I had the general shape. Then I used a slightly darker tone to work into the strongest shadows and midtones. I really liked how the really strong light area on the leg looked, so I avoided adding much more definition there.
After it dried a bit, I added even darker tones and quickly added some shadows on the face to indicate the general shape. I added some details, like the shadows of the ribs. I also added the background, since it looked like the model was floating in a void and this weird feeling distracted from the drawing itself. Plus, the overall darker background makes the person stand out.
For the next drawing, I had to use ink washes to indicate the tones and shapes of the muscles and anatomy, then use line in the darkest parts as well as in places with interesting shapes. This time, I wasn't as scared of making a mistake at the beginning, so I managed to move faster and leave the drawing to dry a bit before adding the line, so it wouldn't spread and smudge. I really like how the shadows and muscles on the legs started to take shape and the highlights and the contrast were already forming.
Afterwards, because the drawing was lacking detail, I observed the shadows further and overall added more contrast. The shadow on the leg underneath was quite flat, so I worked on that and I must say I am really proud of how it looks. Now, the shadow gives even more tridimensionality to the leg. If I'm honest, I think the leg area is my favourite of this drawing. I also added the background and made the cast shadow really dark so the model would contrast against it and be the focal point.
The next one was my favourite, though I really enjoyed all of them. I think because it was the last one and the first ones allowed me to get used to making more gestural drawings and portraying the human body in a more dynamic, subjective way, I gave myself the freedom to draw more loose, more expressive lines.
This time I was allowed to start with a quick pencil sketch and I was happy to see how gestural even my sketch ended up being. I then faded the pencil lines with a putty rubber and started adding lines, as I didn't want to spend much time on the sketch.
I tried to keep everything as curved and organic as possible, in order to keep the shapes from becoming stiff. I really like how the left leg turned out, as well as the shadow on the chest. The "shading" on the leg was a mistake that I plan to fix it with a bit of white tempera.
Lastly, I added the background using really loose lines to convey the folds of the drapery, as well as added cast shadows to bring more contrast and push the focal point, the model, forward.
I really enjoyed this task. I think it helped me learn to build the shapes without using lines and at the same time taught me to use more gestural line to make my drawings more dynamic and expressive. I like that none of the drawings ended up looking stiff and actually have quite some flow to them. I think the tones could have had even more variation and the drawings could have overall been a bit tidier, but I think that is something that will most likely come with practice.
I will make the last few corrections and then post the final drawings here.
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