Freshman Homework

Foreshortened Self Portrait:

Subject:
 Begin your drawing by toning your paper to a 4 or 5 on a value scale (medium gray).  Always start with your vine charcoal to allow easy erasures and begin by looking at the Gestalt (the whole form) and envelope the outer perimeter of the largest forms in your drawing, then move onto organization lines which will set your height and width measurements.  Once you have correctly and accurately recorded the height and width measurements yo may begin blocking in the rest of the form (and you may begin addressing all of those beloved details ).  Please refer to the previous post for images of this beginning drawing process.

   Observing yourself from a mirror complete a full body self portrait in which a minimum of one of your limbs is employing foreshortening;  that is. begin with the form nearest you, enclose that form, then proceed to the adjacent form, enclosing it.  Be careful to draw what you see, not what you know or imagine the form to be.  For example, in drawing the leg analyze the parts that compose the form: foot, ankle, calf, knee, thigh, hip connection.  This is unlike a profile drawing where you are presented with the side view and each form flows into the next.  Foreshortening describes the forms projection into space.
 
   In foreshortening a feeling of distance is achieved by a succession of enclosed, overlapping forms.  Make careful sightings when making horizontal and vertical measurements.  Note the relationships in height and width between each level of overlap; for example in a reclining pose the height and width of the foot, compared to the shape immediately behind it, the calf; the length and width of the calf compared to the thigh, and so on.


Size: 18x 24

Materials:  Vine charcoal, Compressed charcoal, Kneaded Eraser, Rubber Eraser, Chamois or Paper Towel ( for toning the paper )


Due Date: Wednesday December 12th