Composite Figure

This is a drawing that I did based on a random composite prompt. To create prompts as a class, each student wrote down two nouns on separate pieces of paper and they were all mixed in a box. Then we each drew two pieces randomly to create a composite prompt. I drew the words "Beaver" and "Ripped Jeans." Logically, I drew a beaver wearing ripped jeans for my composite figure. In the composition I also added a hat and a belt, with a wood log cabin wall background. I chose colored pencil for my medium in order to accurately portray the texture beaver's fur. I started in graphite and used reference images from the internet to draw the beaver and then added the layers of fur and the coloration in colored pencil. I chose to draw the beaver in ripped jeans based on the prompt that I received, and I added the large belt buckle, hat, and happy facial expression to give the beaver a fun and comical sense of character. I played with space in this piece by allowing the beaver's tail and hat to break the boarder that I made for the drawing. I think this gives a more animated sense of space and makes the piece more intriguing as a whole. I burnished with the colored pencil in order to create greater color contrast and a wider range of value, however, I think the piece could still be stronger if the coloration was even more saturated. Although the beaver is almost centered in the piece, he is leaning off to the side to create a slight sense of informal balance.

This project evolved in that I completed a full layer of shading lightly with colored pencil before going back to burnish. I emphasized the darker colors by shading more the first time, but the ultimate effect was an incomplete range of value. For this reason I decided to go back to burnish all my colors and attain a better range of value and color saturation.

I enjoyed this prompt because of the freedom I had to add to the beaver. The ripped jeans provided a starting point and from there I kept adding to give the beaver more personality. I think that the facial expression and the hat and belt add to this and give a friendly vibe which I like. This project relates to my life in that I have seen many beaver dams and lodges in ponds, and while I have never seen a beaver in nature, I have seen a lot of woodchucks at my house and this beaver bears a certain resemblance to those. I think this piece could be stronger if my marks were neater in general and if my colors were slightly more saturated.