2D Toolkit - Observational Drawing (08/11/24)

We started off by gathering around outside the classroom to draw Francis on the sofa. I find it easier to draw the figure first as that's what I'm most comfortable with. I then drew the sofa that Francis was lounging on and adjusted the figure accordingly. 

Areas In Confetti

We were then split into groups and given a floor to explore. My group was given the first floor and we were challenged to find areas we don't normally go to and draw them. We decided to start by drawing the areas in the stairwell.

 Here I drew what I saw outside the window on the stairs

Here I drew some students walking down the stairs

After we finished with the stairs, we decided to find an area in the first floor hallway and drew some of the people in the classrooms working at their desks.

Here I drew an individual working on a computer in a classroom

I then drew a figure from a different classroom also working on he computer. This allowed me to practice a similar pose but from a different angle. The posture was slightly different too.

Independent Learning

As part of our independent learning, we were tasked with drawing an area in our house and an area somewhere in Nottingham/ a place we wouldn't usually draw that isn't confetti.

Here I drew my living room

Here I drew the entrance to the Victoria Centre Market

Extra

On they way to lesson, I took the time to draw the people in the confetti cafeteria to help me with my observational drawing skills.

Here I drew the confetti cafeteria

Reflection

I honestly really enjoyed this lesson of observational drawing. This is a very weak area for me as I'm not used to drawing big areas. I found this to be quite the welcoming challenge. Last year when we covered this, I really hated it with a passion. I found that it took way too long and wasn't enjoyable at all. This time around I decided to be a lot more lose with my sketch and focus on the main shapes rather than trying to draw every single detail. This mindset helped me draw a LOT quicker than I did last year and overall I feel like I've learnt more here about what makes this enjoyable for me. I even had the motivation to get to confetti earlier to draw the cafeteria before my lesson started.

Feedback From Sam

I spoke to Sam about my observational drawing skills and he suggested that I should focus more on the line weight in my sketches to show what's in the foreground and background clearer. For example, in the drawing of confetti cafeteria, the figure behind the pillar should be lighter than the pillar. This will help make the composition of my drawings look a lot better. In images where there is no foreground (like my living room), the line weight should be a lot lighter.