Mixed Media Drawing

Mixed Media Photo Realistic Drawing

Charcoal - Black and white sticks and pencils

-" x -" (Need to measure)

For this project, we were prompted to draw anything realistically, but largely scaled.  I chose to draw my dog when we first got him.  I think that I wanted to be able to translate an image into a drawing people could interpret and be able to distinguish what it was.  With this, I also wanted to prove my versatility with materials. 

At the start, I created a large grid, to make proportions easier to recreate. I then used my black charcoal stick to lightly outline/sketch and plan out the squares. (I only did my starting squares, which was only a couple) I planned out the next few squares once I completed my previously mapped-out ones. I layered the black charcoal and went back over with a lot of white to make different shades. Once I achieved my desired shade, I made fine details with the charcoal pencils. As I completed squares, I moved down from the top of the project to the bottom. I spent a really long time on the little I have done. I didn't know how I could create a non-spotty background, while spending less time. 

I had to make several decisions when creating this piece. Firstly, I had to choose what to draw realistically. I chose my dog because I wanted to challenge myself by drawing faces. Additionally, I challenged myself to draw different textures. Challenging yourself in art is a very important aspect in art because it is one of the only ways you can experiment and improve your skills. Another decision I made was how I blended the charcoal. At first I tried to use tortillons, but the black charcoal would stay on the tortillion and blend into the light parts of my drawings I wanted to blend. I decided to use my finger. I was able to blend more at a time, and it was more precise and efficient. Additionally, not as much black charcoal would be blended into lighter parts. Reflecting upon this work, I am upset with the results after the 6-7 hours I spent. Many others have finished works in half the time I spent. I have it only half way finished, with double or exceeding double the time that they spent on theirs. I really don't know how I can be thorough with my artwork without spending lots of time.