Figure Drawings

Artist's Statement:

Jillian Wight

Medsker

AP Art and Design

24 September 2021

To create this piece, I was tasked with quickly sketching my peers. I had to create realistic proportions based on living subjects, and the purpose of the study was to help me strengthen my observational skills. Due to the nature of the assignment, there was not much room for creativity over the course of the project. I think that one of the only ways I was able to add a personal touch to the image was in the placement of my sketches. I did so the best I could, trying my best to create a cascading effect. I think that this worked pretty well, although if I were to go back in, I would start with smaller drawings. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to try this fast-paced sketching. It was challenging, but in the end, taught me the value of messy lines. I’m pretty happy with the result!

I started with a large, stiff piece of paper, and then did my sketches using an HB pencil. I didn’t want it to be too soft, because I didn’t want to have to think about how hard I was pressing down on the page. However, I wanted to avoid a pencil that was too hard, because I felt that I wouldn’t be able to freely sketch my lines as effectively. I used a small cap eraser to clean up some lines once my sketches were done, but I tried to avoid this. I also tried to avoid erasing lines during the sketching process, to preserve the integrity of the piece and to make sure I was practicing my skills in an effective manner.

I didn’t revise much over the course of this project, as that was essentially the goal. It was meant to be a very informal, quick series of drawings that demonstrated and developed basic observational skills. I did play around a bit with the spacing between sketches, and looking back, I wish I had placed more sketches in the middle of the page to avoid that sort of belt of blankness that exists. I did an experiment during the sketching process, to see where the best place was to start my drawing (the head, the torso, etc.) and how quickly I needed to make muy lines. It is clear that I spent more time and used more detail on some of the drawings, as I played around with what worked. I think that the process that was the most effective was starting with a very basic form and then spending a few seconds going in with shading and highlights.

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