Title: Skeleton Medium: compressed, vine, and pencil charcoal, white paper Date: 20 August 2021 Exhibition TextThe life drawing "Skeleton" is a piece done in vine and compressed charcoal. This artwork acts as an experimentation piece with the intention of exploring the properties of the charcoal medium on white paper.
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Process
PICTURE 1 To create a solid gray background as a base for the rest of my sketch, I started my process by filling the entire piece of paper with the vine charcoal. As I was doing this, I experimented with applying the charcoal at different pressures to examine the effect it had on value. I blended this with my hands to create a uniform base. I then started sketching the outline of the plastic skeleton on my table with the vine charcoal. I created basic sketch lines of where I wanted to place each element of the skeleton, blending out the vine charcoal if I was not satisfied with the placing of certain lines. |
PICTURE 2 Once I had made a basic sketch of the outline of the skeleton, I worked to refine my placement of the lines composing each part of the skeleton. I added more rough sketching lines to start to build the form of the skeleton. In some areas, I also pressed harder on the vine charcoal to begin adding minor details, such as in the spinal bones. Adding more pressure on the vine charcoal also allowed me to begin shading general areas like the top of the skull that I knew I would want to be darker. |
PICTURE 3 I used the vine charcoal to fully sketch a more detailed outline of the whole skeleton, adding more lines to guide where I wanted the placement of the rib cage and spinal bones. Finishing the outline of the skeleton, I began to start experimenting with the blending properties of the compressed charcoal. Pressing very lightly with the compressed charcoal, I started to add depth in between the rib bones. I also began developing dimension with the compressed charcoal by shading in parts of the skull and hip bones that did not have much light touching them. |
PICTURE 4 After beginning to work with the compressed charcoal, I started to apply more pressure to the charcoal to create a darker gray value. After adding more compressed charcoal in between the rib bones, I realized that this type of charcoal is more difficult than vine charcoal to erase or relocate when unintentionally spread to other areas on the paper. Because I was heavily applying the compressed charcoal to this area, the charcoal was blending onto the rib bones which I wanted to have a lighter value that contrasts the darker gray values for highlight. To highlight the rib bones and give dimension, I used a white charcoal pencil to add whiter values. I continued adding compressed charcoal to the whole piece to create form. |
Reflection
I created the life drawing "Skeleton" through experimentation with different types of charcoal. I first started by creating a basic outline of the skeleton with vine charcoal, adding more refined lines to create detail and dimension as the process continued. Through this process, I learned that vine charcoal has a lighter appearance and quality that allows lines to be erased or blending into the paper easily. I used this quality to my benefit, sketching and erasing lines with the vine charcoal until I had an accurate placement of each component of the skeleton. I also observed that a detailed piece can be made by creating basic sketches and outlines and building detail as the process continues. I then used compressed charcoal to add darker gray values to apply form to the shape of the skeleton, creating the illusion of dimension. Although I was able to add dimension with the compressed charcoal, I believe I could have created more depth in areas like the skull. A disadvantage to compressed charcoal is the darker quality that does not allow for erasing and carries easily. After observing this quality, I realized I was faced with the challenge of maintaining contrast between the components of my piece that I intended to be highlighted and the components that contained more depth. To maintain this contrast, I started using a white charcoal pencil to add highlights to parts of my drawing, such as the bones, that appeared to have lighter gray values compared to the negative space in between the bones. The white charcoal pencil had the advantage of allowing for specific components of the piece to be highlighted to create depth by adding contrast between the lighter and darker values.