Lifedrawing with Ink

So.. drawing feet again today! This time it was a little bit more challenging, because we had to use a STICK with drawing ink!

Well, this was challenging for me, because normally I try to be very controlled with my drawings, but with a stick and ink, it's quite hard to do so. Therefore; for the majority of my drawings, I opted for the go-for-broke just go for it attitude. Here are the results:

 Here is my first attempt. I think its good for a first try, but the lines are a little heavy around the edge of the foot in the foreground. I think the toes have been blended in and shaded well, but I found it quite hard to do the shading on the main foot without it all blending together and looking flat. So, I opted for wispy lines.



My second drawing, which I think is better in a way because the shapes are more defined and the foor behind has been shaded successfully because you can tell that the big toe is pointed upwards. Again the lines are a little heavy around the base of the foot, which I realised early on. So, I went back over them to give a certain hint of movement and life into the drawing. I think I did well with experimenting with line densities but more could be done to shade the ankles and calves.

Okay, image 3: I carried out a couple of experiments here. I did it on cartridge to see how the material affected how the outcome looked. I also used a plastic knife as well as the stick to draw with. I was more confident to shade more, particularly around the ankle and the length of the foot. I did this by using the stick to create light, broad lines and then used the knife to put little scratchy lines in and around areas to create a sense of shadow and depth. I used the knife around the ankle and the base of the toes. I think this worked well. Overall, the perspective of the foot could have been executed better, but I'm happy with the shading:it brings movement and realism to the image.

Okay, they were my good ones. The next two images aren't as good, but I figured I'd better upload them anyway because I experimented with materials again.

 Well straight off we know this isn't good because it isn't finished for one. Basically we had to combine the ink with using chalk for highlights, and given the 20 minute time limit, I admit I did panic a bit and wasn't really sure about how to combine them effectively without areas looking flat. I think the toes look okay, as well as the base of the foot but the top of the foot doesn't look realistic as I was unsuccessful in combining the materials.

More of the same story really for this final image. This time I drew the leg to broaden my techniques. This was even harder to draw, not only because of the change of medium but also because we had to combine ink, chalk and charcoal! Oh God, was my first thought. I mean I struggled with just using chalk. I drew the basic shape with charcoal first, before adding the ink and blending it in a bit. I think this worked on the knee and the left side of the leg, but the charcoal could have been darker to complement the tone of the ink better. Nevertheless I was happy that it was better than my last one. Then I added the chalk and things didn't improve. The white area just looks flat really, and although the bloacks of colour add an abstract effect, it doesn't really work as a life drawing.

So there you have my second set of lifedrawings. Will be uploading more next week, but I should warn you, these are going to be the nude ones...