Foreshortening: Urban

This image explored the theme of foreshortening in an urban landscape. The buildings are of primary interest as the shrink off into the distance. You can see on all the architecture, the windows the doors, the wooden beams of the houses that they are all distorted at angles that reflect the foreshortening that this perspective on the building give us. Though the architectural details such as the roves of the third house along provide interesting detail on the angle of the view point, the trees in front of the house really stand out in terms of perspective. Though the trees appear to be evenly spaced out along the street the majority of them only appear in the last third of the page, and each gets progressively smaller and lighter. The vanishing point of this image is in the middle of the right slightly off the page and the lines of the architecture as well as the implied lines of the trees and the line of the street all act as the orthogonal lines pointing towards it. Almost everything in this image points towards the vanishing point accept the branches in the top right which serve to balance out the image.

Two-Point Perspective

The focus point of this image is the bell tower which from this vantage point we can see from two sides.  This gives us a two point perspective on it which helps to give a sense of depth and the illusion of three dimensions to this piece. The use of shadow can be very effective when working with two point perspectives and here we see it on the steeple as well as the roof top. The extrusion from the bell tower are also seen from two point perspective and on each one side has been shaded in more than the others, showing the shadow, with the left extrusion casting a shadow onto the wall thus giving away the position of the sun.

The building to left of the image gives us an interesting perspective at its closest corner, where we can see both sides of its walls but also its roof tops. This appears in a very different manner to that of the steeple which is not only a higher building but also has a far steeper slope to its roof because of this at the corner we see three perspectives meet not just two adding to the complexity of the image. 

Colour

In this landscape a wide variety of colour was used. In the background a mix of browns and greens to give the impression of trees on the hillside which have some reds and yellows subtly mixed in for variance within it. The mid ground uses more clear greens and yellows, with the three trees exaggerated to black and gold. The field to the right is mostly yellow and green and some more reds have been added to the brown of the path. In the foreground the mix of yellows is replaced with a mix a blues in with the green along with small hints of greys, all done to bring an added element of life to the image. This was also done to separate these three areas and thus give the image a sense of distance between them, the warmer background colours contrast and compliment the colder more blue colours of the front; this gives the piece more complexity.  The main focus of the image is at the end of the path where the middle tree grows; beyond this path we can see the next field along which is a bright unmixed green making the focal point brighter. The middle tree is also the brightest of the three as it isn’t darkened and mixed into the chaos of its background. 

Curves in Landscape

The focus of the image is in the midground where the three trees are, the line of the hill they are seated on roughly goes along the rule of thirds top horizontal line, with each of the outer threes of the three marking a vertical line.  This image also has a great focus on curve. Firstly the curvature of the hill themselves from left to right and the change in steepness can be seen. Then also the roundness and shape of the hills vertically across the page, the paths appearances from this perspective do a lot to add to the feel of shape for it. The distortion of the path on the front hill gives the impression of the hill being curved giving it a better sense of depth. While the path on the further hill shows us how steep the hill is while also revealing its scale as we have the two path segments to compare. The hedge on the left edge of the further hill also reveals the hills shape by its curve as you can see it rising across the hill and the then disappearing steeply down the other side, giving a real impression of depth. 

Single View-Point Landscape

The image tries to give the impression of depth when looking down a path although the angle of the path compared to the angle of the trees doesn't quite look accurate. The medium of charcoal gives us some good tools for creating different textures and shading and the use of this on the path itself as it fade into the distance does give the impression of depth.  The rule of thirds is fairly present in this piece with the rock lying on an intersession and also, along with the division between this part of path and the further one mark the horizontal lines of the thirds. There is also foreshortening on the grassy verge along the left side and some clear dirt mounts on the right.

Human Figure: Life Drawing

Life drawing image uses tonal changes to give the idea of muscles depth as well as an idea of lighting, we can also see some good observation of anatomy for example the muscles of the leg are clearly recognisable, both the curve of the lower leg and the bend of the knee are carefully done with knowledgeable tonal effects you can also see the detail of the ankle and heels of the feet. The top half of the inner leg is shaded as the body and the table are sheltering it from full illumination. Above it the navel a dark spot amounts the light stomach shaded only to guide the curves of the body to reveal the shape. The positioning of the navel helps give away the slight twist in the body, the legs facing towards us with the upper torso turned to face left as the figure leans on the table. The arms show necessary foreshortening on the image with the dark crease of the fold in the arm and the elbow clearly bent then the arm heading towards us. Near shoulder is a good example of muscle in the image, with the shape of the shoulder them the impression of the bicep created through variance in the tone. 

Human Figure: Tone

This anatomy image explores tone in the creation of the impression of the human figure; different tones are used in multiple ways in this image. Darker tones are used on the leg to distance it from the rest of the body and give the idea of depth. The darkest tones are used on the cloth of the table to bring attention to the body and highlight its lighter tones. On the back we see the idea of the spine a being given using the grey tones. There is selectivity in the shading, the back is mainly unfeatured so remains mostly white with however some hints of muscles. The darker tones are used to show the curve of the shoulders as well as the curve around the chest. The impression of muscles is gains though the shading on the arm curved and primarily to the front of the arm. There’s a lack of tonal variation on the head and neck as the muscles and lighting of the skin in this area was of less interest, however with the large light patches on the back of the arm and on the back the tones of the head fit in well. 

Interior Landscape: Perspective and Composition

This is an interior architecture landscape image. The theme of perspective is prevalent here as we see from this vantage point we are looking down the building towards the vanishing point, the pillar to left give us a good example of foreshortening as from here we have a two point perspective which allows the shape of it to gives us a real sense of depth in the image. The angle of the floor tiles is distorted due to their progression into the distance. As well as this both the actual lines of the walls and the implied lines of the windows show the orthogonal lines in this image. The horizon line isn’t entirely clear but is roughly somewhere in the centre between the two central bridges.

The picture is very much divided between foreground and background. In the foreground there are many areas of interest such as the pillars; the elephant’s rear; the dark corner to the left and the surrounding walls; the darkened sign and the handrail going across. The darkened sign and large elephant exhibit to the right are balanced out on the page by the dark pillars and darkened corner on the left hand side. 

Landscape: Interior

One area of interest is the bar across the page, which shows very strong foreshortening as it travels across the page. Another area of interest is the bar holding it up to the bottom left of the page, the darker tone and the detail on it bring more focus to it. It’s also at an interesting angle as two sides of it are visible. Similarly another area of interest, the rectangular cage of the lift which is also darker and more detailed and likewise has two-point perspective on it. 

Another interesting quality this picture has is a very high use of the rule of thirds. The lift cage shows one line, while the top edge of the top floor railing shows a horizontal line. The close-by bar roughly travels along to other horizontal line, likewise the pillar at the end of it helps create the implication of the other vertical along with the feet. The different areas of the image roughly fit within the thirds. One significant point of interest and perhaps the focal point is at the meeting of the bar with the pillar although as they create a point the focal point could arguably be the head of the human figure, as the lines point to him. 

Foreshortening: Nature

This nature landscape focuses on the use of perception of curves with an emphasis on the way depth can be given through differences between the foreground and the background of the picture. The more detailed darker front most tree greatly differs from the simplified lighter impressions of the trees to the top right  these trees are less detailed and appear further away, thus the impression of depth is given. The curve of the hillside as seen from this perspective allows us to see the trees shrinking and fading as we look further into the distance. The image would be quite unbalanced if it were not for the shadows of the trees and the lines of the curve of the landscape pulling the eye to the right side of the page,  without this the front tree would create unbalanced focus. Even the front most trees branches stretch to the right adding to this point right. Also the implied line of the trees, curving towards the busier distance of the upper right corner draws focus away from the front tree where focus begins. The shadow to the bottom right corner balances out the buildings and trees to the top right improving the pictures composition. 

Landscape: Nature

This piece is a landscape of a natural setting. There is a lot of use of line in this image, the lines both of the trees themselves and the lines on the tree bark that give it the sense of texture it has; then also the lines of the shadows the trees are casting and even the darkened shadow line on the front tree. There is also an implied line created by the trees themselves, this implied line is curved and line the line to the background curves around the hill gradually. The line of the background curve takes you to the horizon line at the base of the faded background trees. You can see that the piece is draw from uphill as the shadows are caste diagonally sloping down the hill. You can see the further off  trees are might lighter than the closer ones causing the sense of distance as well as the detail such as the circular patterns on the front tree not to mention the shadow. While the front tree and its shadow are definitely areas of interest there’s no obvious focal point for the image.

Non-Human Anatomy

These are some of the images that looked at the anatomy of animals considering their bones, fat and muscular structures as see from different angles.

This angle of the sea lion allows us to see both the round curve of the body and the leaner neck and smaller head. The darkening of the underneath combines with the curve of the back to give a sense of the roundness of it and the loose makes used to make the flippers reflect the more agile nature of them.

The perspective on the bat is interesting as while one wing is entirely revealed in shape almost looking down on at it, the other smaller and less shapely due to foreshortening on this image. The contrast of the soft fur of the bat and the leathery wings is reflected in the choice of mark types made by the graphite.

The stage skeleton is a quick pen image that from the angle of looking just slightly up at it gives it a real noble sense. The detail of the knee joints and the impression of the spine and rib cage show the attention t anatomy. Notice the angle of the body looking off to the left and how this angle is reflected in the antlers.

Movement

These three images are from part of a movement study where each has been drawn over the other to create the sense of movement. 

Even amongst the chaos some of the structure of the anatomy can be clearly see. The knees in the folded leg position on image one, the arch of the back and the head leant over and the internal structures of many of the knees and shoulders. The arm and shoulder on the furthest right pose gives the impression of muscular external structures even if not entirely accurate. 

 

Image two has the figure stretching as the final pose with a foreshortening used on the arms.This figure switches between internal and external structures for the different poses based on what was most prominent and seemed most important to convey each, though some like the final pose show both, particularly notably the spine. 

Image three also shows some good structure, the impression of the muscles on the shoulder on the right; the impression of the gastrocnemial muscles can be seen. Proportionally image three is inaccurate but all three give the impression on movement quite successfully, the dark tone of them makes it more difficult to differentiate between figures, but aesthetically it makes the pieces more interesting

Human Anatomy: Muscles

For this image I focused on the muscular accuracy and looked at the distinct shapes of each component of the body. An area of interest in this image is the gluteus  as its one of the most visible areas of the body here we see the round shape of it exaggerated by the curve of the lines on the lower back, while itself it is kept fairly clear of lines. The back itself is curved forward as show by the spine, although the thickness of the back is again given away by the curve of the lines across the back. The top leg is foreshortened as it is bent away. The inner crease of the knee as well as the area that shifts between gluteus and leg has been darkened to imply the shape of the muscles. The muscles of the lower leg and the foot are somewhat distorted by the angle of the view point but are still visibly there. Also notice the attention to the foot visible underneath the top leg and see the implied bend in the leg that is out of view. The visible shoulder and arm are also curved to imitate the muscles of the figure.

Human Figure: Pose

These three images were part of a study of pose in the context of human anatomy. All three look at the subject face on but each pose conveys a very different impression. For these pieces careful observation of human anatomy done very quickly and with relative proportions and observation of the body was needed. The bottom left figure shows example of internal structural lines; the angle of the shoulders, the presence of the spinal line as implied by the posture, the lines of the knees all used as simple methods to express the pose. The top figure is a good example of attention to external structure and muscular shape. The shape of the legs and hips are clearly done and the navel positioning showing the angle and shape of the stomach. This figure also shows foreshortening of the arms as they point forward. On the bottom right figure notice the muscles clearly visible in the leg and how both the stomach and the sternum can be identified at this unusual angle also the inclusion of the biceps and the relative proportional accuracy of the figure even in the distorted position. 

Human Anatomy: Posture

This figure drawing looks at the posture of the figure and how that is conveyed. The angle of the legs crossing one another is obviously vital in conveying posture, notice how the shape of the knee and the muscles of the leg can be seen. The shading of the back and the detail of the clavicles which convey the angle of the torso, which differs from that of the head help to convey the specific posture of the figure. The visible folds of the skin across the stomach add to the impression of being bent over which all adds to show where the weight of the figure is resting on. The body’s weight as it sits is placed onto its gluteus and its left leg (as the other leg rest on top of it). However its head rests on its arm, this is an area of interest in the image and so more attention to detail has been given to it. Specifically the gesture of the hand so as to show the weight resting on it, the detail of the arm muscles and the drawing on of some of the facial features to give away the angle of the head. 

Human Anatomy: Figure 1

The bent leg still shows the shape of the knee even as it bends away from us, while the focus point of the image, the front arm gives the most attention to detail, with the detail of the elbow and muscles of the arm, as well as the fold as the hand points directly at us, is contrast with the simplicity of the back and the leg. With very few lines on them, just simply the outline and a few structural aspects to give the impression of the twist in the body and the sag of the skin. The twist in the body is also revealed by the difference between the angle of the hips and the angle of the shoulders. The hips are closer to a profile view while the shoulders almost straight on, though the left side of the figure is visible the twist creates a difference in angle of visibility between the top and lower halves. The torso also reveals a slight lean to its right and the higher right shoulder and more solidly drawn arm leave the impression of weight being leant on it. Her weight is on her right hand so by contrast the right hand been draw resting more lightly.