The Contour Connection

      For our contour line unit, we learned how to draw objects by following what our eyes saw with our pen.  We were instructed not to pick up the pen, and to draw everything we saw.  We started out drawing our hands, and we couldn't even look at our paper!  But we later did modified drawings, and they started to dramatically improve.  It was still tricky even at the end, but at least you could get the feel of drawing all of the lines and getting it proportional.  When I started out, my hands were scribbles all jumbled together and you couldn't even tell what I was drawing!  But with each drawing, I learned to take my time and keep my pen and eyes going at the same rate.  It was really cool how with each progression my drawings looked more believable.  This was a very tricky unit, but I thought it was a good thing to learn.  I thought that the backpack and the shoes were the hardest to draw because they were bigger with more lines and features.  It took some perseverance to keep drawing even though it grew tiring, but I managed to keep up with my concentration.  Contour line drawing is a different method than anything I've done before, but it was neat to learn and to see my skills increase with each drawing. 

The Value of an IPad

 

For our study in value, we experimented the lights and darks in a drawing and how they affect the outcome of it.  I really enjoyed learning to draw value using the different pressures of a pencil to blend the colors into a gradation.  To expand on this concept of value with pencil drawings, we incorporated oil pastels and the IPad app 'Layers Pro'  to create similar effects on drawings of cones, cubes, and spheres.  I found it pretty easy to blend the colors together with both the pastels and the IPad, and they both created interesting effects with vibrant colors.  What I found similar that seemed strange was that with the IPad as well as with the oil pastels, you could control the drawing utensil and still achieve the look you were going for that you got with the pencils.  But the feel of drawing with these two things was very different.  With the oil pastels, I could actually touch the drawing.  But with the IPad, it was very electronic in that the drawing didn't seem there until you really looked at the screen for the drawing.  I feel like I succeeded in blending the colors for the effect I wanted.  For the cone in my first IPad drawing, I imagined a setting in the pink clouds.  So I used pinks, purples, and blues to create a fairytale sort of setting in the clouds.  Then I stuck with the theme and included a pink and purple cone with value.  As for my second drawing,  I placed a cube in the grass.  Unfortunately, I was pressed for time on this one and was rushing a little bit to finish it.  I realize I could have blended the colors a little bit more so that you could tell the edges by the value, not the outline, and I would have remembered the shadow!  But I thought I would include it just for fun, to show another way to portray these shapes on the IPad.  I learned a lot about how to use the different pressures of a pencil to create blended value, whereas I normally use a blending tortillion.  This was the first time I've used oil pastels in a long time, so I learned how to get used to them and how to put pressure and layers on the drawings with them so they'd make the proper look.  I also learned how to blend down into the other colors, and I had to keep switching colors to blend them well.  This was my first time using 'Layers Pro,' and I really liked it and thought it was a cool app.  I learned how to maneuver the app, and how to use the colors and the blending on the shapes.  I found out that technology can be very useful in art.  With resources like the IPad, you can create new and unique pieces of artwork that you wouldn't get otherwise.  I found this to be very interesting and would like to look into the oil pastels and the app even more so that I can draw other various things.