Drawing from Observation Project Evaluation.

Throughout the length of this project, we have studied various objects from close up and afar, and have drawn our interpretations of them using various materials and processes. On my blog I have included each piece of work with annotations on how and I why I did each piece. The pieces we had to do were;
 -x4 A5 studies
-x4 A3 drawings
-x1 A3 black paint and oil pastel scratching
-x1 observational sheet

The techniques we used were mainly drawing in pencil and coloured pencil, however each were done on various backgrounds. We also used bleach to create a negative effect, which i thought was a nice contrast to the rest of the work. The four A5 studies were drawn on black tissue paper, coloured inks, various papers and white emulsion. Emulsion being the only paint we used during the project, which was a nice change to just focus on drawing alone. I felt this helped me with my drawing skills and improved them for next year. I became more aware of how to use coloured pencil, and used different types of regular pencil, from 4H to 6B, which helped me become more aware of which pencils I prefer to use, and which densities of pencil make different prints.

We also used Biro pen, which isn't entirely new to me however I really  enjoyed using it, and Biro is very precise and you can really get into adding detail into a drawing, compared to pencil. I used water colour pencils when colouring in my drawings, So I could make my drawings softer; It really added a nice tone in some areas, and made lines less harsh. In the homework studies we were able to collage into one of the  pieces, something I had not done before.

For applying media into my drawings, I used fine liner, especially in the A5 studies to highlight certain areas, as I  sometimes feel colouring pencils can not be as precise and tend to smudge around the edges so fine liner did a good job of securing that. The white emulsion made a great base of texture for pencil in terms of media, I could really get into the creases of the paint and was a lot different to using regular paper; pencil smudges onto emulsion so I could blend the pencils and create a completely different effect to the other drawings. An old media form I haven't used in a very long time was scratching into black paint and washing up liquid, revealing the oil pastel under layer. Again this gave great texture, I would really use the fine nib of the compass to etch into the paint, and was much  more fun than regular drawing.  I added some oil pastel in some areas to fill areas out, as sometimes colour pencil does not produce enough pigment.

The four A5 studies I really enjoyed doing, as I learned some new techniques from it. Apart from using bleach already, I had not used water colour inks before, or drawn onto mixed papers. Overall I think all my pieces went really well; I really enjoyed  being able to experiment with media, and really getting into shading into objects, blending them into the backgrounds. With the mixed paper piece, It was interesting to see how the pigment of the pencil changed on each type of paper I drew onto,

 some areas standing out more than others. The white emulsion was plain, so i could really get into filling the square with different things, compared to the inks that were all different shades. I also enjoyed experimenting with the inks, tipping and flicking it onto the paper in various ways, and adding water, watching it disperse into the paper. The main thing I enjoyed about the project was really being able to be free and experimental with medias and being diverse with each sheet.

My four homework studies ( Linear drawing, Tonally shaded, Coloured pencil and collage and Biro pen) Were all themed on various places in my house. I appreciated the fact that we could really make this project our own, and base it on our personal favourite items. This helped me to be more motivated and be more experimental with the objects and scenes I chose. I spent a lot of time on each piece, Especially the kitchen cupboard, however I think I could have spent longer on the linear drawing and tried to be more proportional. With the collage I chose to use sweet wrappers as well as magazine to add more texture, however I could have spent a little longer on the drawing side.

From this project I think my drawing skills have increased. I really got into detail on the kitchen cupboard drawing and I  learned how to highlight, something I hadn't done before. It was a nice change than using paint all the time, drawing being something I don't tend to do as often. This project helped me be more aware of my drawing skills and I enjoy drawing more now, which is a plus.
I think I managed my time well and did everything that was asked to be done. Out of college I spent alot of time annotating my work through blogger, rather that on my work to stop it being spoiled. I could have maybe produced another black paper sheet, with the time left over, nevertheless I feel my drawings are done to a good enough standard. I could have worked harder on some of the home works however, proportion definitely being something to work on in future projects.  I would like to have explored more into using oil pastel maybe, or even graphite, something we have not explored as of yet.

Overall I really enjoyed this project, and it helped me boost my drawing skills.