Nanshan Road + Sketching Class: First Grading

I went to Nanshan to withdraw some pocket money last Monday -- decided to take yet another bout of nature photos along the way! Mmm, autumn.


























Last Friday, our class went on a trip to the Hangzhou Zoo to try our speed drafting skills on animals. That kept our classroom empty for professors to examine the works we put up for grading that day.











So anyway, here is my cornerrr. *hides under a rock*



Here's and obligatory close-up of my head bust piece -- the shading seems even lighter in this photo 8 [ -- ...



as well as my speed drafts. (The 'speed' part hardly counts, as you would imagine.) Head. Too. BIG.



(Oh my god, I'm seeing so many mistakes right now. 8 )))



Tried pulling off the volume-through-linework thing with this piece.



Finally, the only piece I'm actually proud of... Aren't you surprised. 8 )) Prettyyy.



I also included two of my speed drafts from the train station trip, ...





a random manga-style doodle of our ever-sarcastic class president, Chen Wen, ...



and, another random sketch -- of Du Liniang from the Young Lover's Peony Pavilion. The sketch is actually teeny-tiny. X3



Aaand, that's it.

... Believe it or not, the academy has selected my head portrait piece to add to their collection of selected undergraduate works -- they select a few during each grading -- and I'll be getting a certificate of recognition for it! WTFGETOUT.

Hrmm, well... I guess there's always the at-least-I-didn't-end-up-almost-having-neurosis-for-nothing bit... as well as the I-guess-I'm-not-so-bad-compared-to-my-classmates bit? Though I still kind of find it hard to grasp, haha. For the most part, I'm just proud of being able to make my parents proud of me? TTuTT;;;



REALLYGLADTHAT'SOVERWITH. <3

Sketch Trip: Train Station + Sketching: Week 5 + Comic & Illust Exhibit.

Last weekend, I and some of my classmates decided to spend one night at the train station to do our sketch homework. Why at night, you ask? Well, that's because people who travel at night, tend to nod off while waiting for their ride -- ideal, when you're trying to sketch them. 8O















It was really cold, and I, for one, kept getting sleepy while trying to sketch, but, it was fun! I'm glad I didn't miss the experience.

As for sketching from life in itself, well... In order to do that properly, you'd have to pay attention to all the technical elements of drawing, as well as make the execution as natural as possible. Apparently, there's no better way to do so than by making models of random people doing random things.

There's a difference between a model who is trying to maintain a pose long enough for you to draw it, than one who is not. Sure, at our level, our models would have moved several times before we finish our sketches. Then again, this is called 'speed drafting' for a reason -- we have to learn to memorize poses at a glance.

One way to do that is: first, familiarize yourself with the structure of your model -- know where the light falls and shadows are cast, why one part is lighter / darker than the other, etc. Second, learn to pinpoint the center of gravity -- make pose look natural, and not forced.

Lastly, develop a sketching technique that you find comes naturally to you, and practice it. Don't think that you have to draw in a certain way. The sky's the limit with art, and, the more unique, the better! Also, don't stick with a technique that you're uncomfortable with! Masochist. X ))

Here are some of the speed drafts by Chinese master artisans that Gu laoshi showed us. Confident strokes, confident dabs -- there are no words.





Also, there's this one artist whose style I've personally fallen in love with! His name is 顾生岳 (Gu Shengyue), and you can find some of his speed drafts here.

Sketch class: week 5. We're still doing speed drafting, with two quiet male models this time.







Gu laoshi also took us to see selected pieces created by 'pure FA' students -- that is, students who are taking up sketching / painting courses. You'll notice how their works look and feel 'complete' compared to ours. ^x^

These are their speed drafts, ...













paintings, ...









and, sketch portraits.











Here are some of the selected works exhibited by Comic -- not [Japanese] manga -- & Illustration sophomores and juniors. There were only a handful of digital works there, and these that I took photos of, are all traditional. Impressive!













Some departments in the School of Media and Animation also recently updated the contents of their showcase.











Whenever I see vectors and typography, I remember ADMU -- so sue me. : ))



Anyway, a hell of a lot has happened since I last updated, so I think I'll be blogging again real soon. Till the next post! *3*/