Long Portraits

So for two weeks now we’ve been working diligently on long portrait drawings. We will complete three all together, spending three hours on each of them. Originally I thought this would be overkill for a portrait, but honestly it was a lot of fun. The half hour breaks made things very manageable for the artist and the model. Plus, these past few weeks I did not hear complaints about drawing. Everyone seemed to enjoy the project. I loved the detail I was able to get while observing the model for such an extended period of time. Each half hour I tried to focus on a different landmark or feature of the face and neck. Since the views were mostly ¾ front or back, there seemed to be a definite silhouette line that I loved to begin with. That outside edge set up everything for me. It gave my face shape and even definition for recognition. If that line was proportional to the face I was drawing, most likely the whole drawing would be relatively proportional. I really enjoyed how the drawings turned out, although as an artist I feel my work is never done and can always be revised or improved. For now, I have decided not to dwell on the drawings for fear of ruining them. I'll post all three drawings next week after the critique, for now here's the latest portrait of my friend Brick:

Returning to my statement about the outside line actually giving recognition to the model in front of me, I think of the number one rule of graphic design: Simplify. In logo design the basic idea is to convey a message or embody a company’s theme with as little substance as possible. To take any object and simplify it to its most basic structure, while still preserving that message. I love this idea of defining a person by that outside silhouetted line. I think for next time I’ll discuss how the critique goes on Monday and then during the week so various experiments in attempt to capture individuals with as little detail and features as possible. I’ll post more later!