Intermediate Drawing - Class #5
Apr. 20th, 2004 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hwangoTonight's session has left me in kind of a crappy mood. People commented once again that they don't like photo-realism, and that if you're going to bother to make something that realistic, why not just use a photograph instead. That's fine - I can see where they're coming from with that. Someone said something about just printing a photo onto canvas, which prompted a disparaging comment about the effects of technology on art. That one bugged me. If they don't like art that involved a computer somewhere in its production that's fine, but I don't think it's fair to say that technology has had a negative impact on the world of art. However, the worst comment was yet to come - the incredibly ignorant statement that if you know how to use image manipulating software it's really easy to get a job. I'd been silent up until that point, but I got vocal and angry at that point. I don't understand what makes people think that knowledge of computers is either magical or automatically lucrative.
For actual class content, we spray painted the posterboard we'll be drawing over next week. We put stuff on the board and spray painted lightly over it, leaving negative space where it was sitting. It's kind of neat, but I think it would have benefited a bit from a better selection of interesting stuff to spray-paint over. Then, while that dried, we were supposed to sketch animals some more and finalize what we'd be drawing on the poster board next week.
The comments about the ease of gaining computer-related employment had soured my mood enough that I didn't have much enthusiasm for the sketching parts. I screwed up the wolf that I was drawing, making the body too long. I also can't get the legs to look right - they always look too thick or too thin. I started another one of just the head, drew a really nifty eye, and then proceeded to put the nose way to close to it and screw it up completely. By the time I headed home I was pretty discouraged.
My mom asked me before my class tonight if I thought it was turning out to be worth it. I told her that I was still trying to decide. The practice has been good, but a little determination would be good enough to get regular practice into my routine. We haven't had much in the way of actual instruction, except for the bit on perspective. I guess I don't feel like I'm "learning" anything, I'm just being urged to practice in certain ways. The beginner's class probably has more actual instruction in it, but it would mostly be things I don't need to be told, I think.
At this point, my feeling that the class will serve at least one purpose - it will reassure me that I don't actually need to take classes, I just need to practice. Either that, or I need to take much more formal, advanced classes at an actual school, which isn't really something I could afford without freaking out about it too much to enjoy it.
For actual class content, we spray painted the posterboard we'll be drawing over next week. We put stuff on the board and spray painted lightly over it, leaving negative space where it was sitting. It's kind of neat, but I think it would have benefited a bit from a better selection of interesting stuff to spray-paint over. Then, while that dried, we were supposed to sketch animals some more and finalize what we'd be drawing on the poster board next week.
The comments about the ease of gaining computer-related employment had soured my mood enough that I didn't have much enthusiasm for the sketching parts. I screwed up the wolf that I was drawing, making the body too long. I also can't get the legs to look right - they always look too thick or too thin. I started another one of just the head, drew a really nifty eye, and then proceeded to put the nose way to close to it and screw it up completely. By the time I headed home I was pretty discouraged.
My mom asked me before my class tonight if I thought it was turning out to be worth it. I told her that I was still trying to decide. The practice has been good, but a little determination would be good enough to get regular practice into my routine. We haven't had much in the way of actual instruction, except for the bit on perspective. I guess I don't feel like I'm "learning" anything, I'm just being urged to practice in certain ways. The beginner's class probably has more actual instruction in it, but it would mostly be things I don't need to be told, I think.
At this point, my feeling that the class will serve at least one purpose - it will reassure me that I don't actually need to take classes, I just need to practice. Either that, or I need to take much more formal, advanced classes at an actual school, which isn't really something I could afford without freaking out about it too much to enjoy it.
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Re: American Artist Magazine
Date: 2004-04-22 07:21 am (UTC)Re: American Artist Magazine
Date: 2004-04-22 05:35 pm (UTC)May I ask why you've started taking classes? I just recently picked up several books on drawing to freshen up and it was interesting to see someone else having what appears to be a similar idea at a similar time.
Re: American Artist Magazine
Date: 2004-04-22 08:00 pm (UTC)I took the class in the hope that it would get me motivated to work on my art more often, and to fill in some gaps in my skills. I don't have much formal art training - just a graphic design class in college. I used to work in technical writing and web stuff, but repeated layoffs have left me bitter and disillusioned with corporate life. I decided I'd like to try illustration as a method of obtaining income. Even if I fail, I figure that at least I can look back in 20 years and say that I tried.
Re: American Artist Magazine
Date: 2004-04-22 11:15 pm (UTC)I'm toying with the idea of becoming a comic book/fantasy artist. Do I have a natural talent? No. That's one of the things I like about art. People see it as this mystery, when all it is is hard work and training. I've got natural talent in a lot of areas (I know, modesty isn't one of them) but I was never "naturally" good at drawing - I just spent a lot of time on it. Then I got carried away by doing things that were easier for me, and forgot how rewarding it is to draw/paint something and get it just so.
I seriously encourage you to pick up this issue of American Artist - it also has an article on classical training methods that is superb.
Re: American Artist Magazine
Date: 2004-04-23 02:34 am (UTC)