Saturday 8 December 2012

It's competition time!

So, just entered my first illustration competition! Very very nervous to be having my work judged by professionals (or anyone) but fingers crossed, we all have to start somewhere right?


I am very proud of this picture as I pretty much poured my heart and soul into it. This is a continuation of my exploration into charcoal and I think it may be a media that I will use indefinitely now. It just provides so much tonal quality and atmosphere which I adore and lends the image so much soul. But I'm beginning to sound ridiculous now so lets just say that I was very happy with the results.

The image itself is a recreation of the moment that Paris of Troy seduces Helen of Sparta and ignites the Trojan war. I wanted the image to appear as if we were looking into the scene as someone intruding and are glimpsing the passionate moment of first embrace. I wanted there to be lots of atmosphere and foreboding, as we the audience know all too well the result of this embrace...

Thursday 6 December 2012

Finishing line in sight!

It's almost Christmas, which means I'm beginning to draw an end on my first modules of year two. In retrospect, there are plenty of things that I would have done differently. Time management is still my arch nemesis and will continue to be for some time. But, as I sit here at 05:36 in the morning, a glass of wine beside me, I take some solace in the fact that despite my inability to handle my time accordingly (and at the expense of my health) I look over my produced work and feel a great deal of pride. For some time I refused to take praise from myself or others, and it is something that any creative professional has to overcome. But ultimately, if you cannot take joy in the work you create then it really isn't worth doing at all. My latest final piece which will be scanned in today is something which I feel reflects me and my work more than anything that has come before this.

But for now, I will have to bore you with my life drawing!













If I haven't said it before ill say it again here. Life drawing this year has been the best so far. Now that we are able to dictate our own media choice, I've felt that I've learned more than I did previously because I can use the techniques and theories that they are teaching and actually apply it to the way I draw. Out of the pictures above, I felt that the second image was my strongest. I was particularly pleased with how I'd managed to replicate the delicate the pose. It's often the most subtle of gestures that make or break a picture and I felt this one turned out great, especially how all of these were just 20 minitee exercises.